Joseph Liebman

Major Joseph Liebman (26 June 1910 Germiston, South Africa - 13 March 1990 Wassenaar, Netherlands) service number 27633V, South African Military Forces, was the son of Benno Liebman (1874-1962) and Grunya Liebman (nee Hilson) (1877-1943) of Germiston, South Africa. His parents emigrated to South Africa from Latvia.

He enlisted in the Union Defence Force. In Italy he was involved in guerrilla warfare with the Partisans in conjunction with the Thirteenth Infantry Brigade. He then volunteered for service with the Jewish Brigade and in March 1945, he was attached to the Brigade as Infantry Company Commander. With the Jewish Brigade he worked his way through Germany, Belgium and finally the Netherlands. Major Joseph Liebman, aged 33, already had a military record stretching over 5 years. He was present at the Sicily landings and was among the first to set foot in Italy. Soon afterwards he was instructed ty General Sir Miles Dempsey (1896-1969) to raise a group of 200 anti-Fascist Italians for special work in conjunction with the Thirteenth Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom). Liebman was to train them as commandos for raids behind the German lines. He could not speak a word of Italian, yet somehow picked the right candidates and effectively taught them. Split into patrols of five and six men, they penetrated far into enemy territory where they produced a surprising amount of dislocation in troop movement. One of Liebman's coups came near the end of the war. He and his Italians captured a group of 20 S.S. troops in the woods on the Italian-Austrian border. They handed them over the authorities.

Liebman volunteered with the Jewish Brigade. "The first knowledge I had of the Jewish Brigade", he wrote "was one day in Italy when reading General Orders. These called for Jewish officers with some battle experience to volunteer for the Jewish Brigade, which had just arrived in Italy after undergoing extensive training in the Middle East. At the time I was seconded to the Imperial Army and was operating with a special band of Italian commando troops. I was very much attached to them, but the call of my own was too strong and on that fateful day towards the end of 1944 I volunteered for service with the Brigade. The sequel came a few moths later, and on March 1, 1945 I found myself attached to the Brigade in the capacity of Infantry Company Commander. Naturally, I was as curious to see my new men as they were to see me, and I was more than surprised to see about 150 sunburned, husky fellows in my company. They were all keen to get to grips with the enemy of our people, and I began to realise that my men were more than ordinary soldiers. They were true crusaders of modern times, and I felt sure the Jerries who got in our way would have more than a bad time." The Jewish Brigade went straight into action at Alfonsine, on the eastern Italian coast near Lake Commachio. The country was most difficult and consisted of flat ground, freely cultivated and interspersed with numerous canals, ideal for ambush and surprise. Major Liebman's company took over a sector form an Italian unit, and as the Italians left, they informed their successors that this was one othe "stickiest" areas on that front. "From the outset", said Major Liebman, "the sector 'hotted up' and although Jerry did not yet realise that their mortal foes were opposite them, they knew there had been a change-over and reacted accordingly. They brought up all their modern improvements, including a battery of "Moaning Minnies' consisting of large calibre six barrelled mortars and several self-propelled guns of heavy metal, stiffened up by the infantry. We, too, had good supporting arms and surprised the Huns several times by the bold use of tanks as mobile artillery, and also by daylight attacks and other novelties. This sector produced two outstanding engagements, which shook the German morale considerably. The first consisted of establishing an advanced ambush position. This involved digging by night with the utmost caution, as the actual position was well within the enemy lies. The working party had to withdraw before dawn and carefully camouflage its work before leaving. The climax to this came a few night later, when we sent in a strong fighting patrol. Their patience was well rewarded when a German patrol approached in close formation. The enemy had not yet deployed into battle formation and unsuspectingly walking into the trap. Six dead Germans were left on the field. We had no casualties, although the enemy opened up with all they had and made the night hideous. The following night they staged a full-scale counterattack, but this was beaten off, not without some cost to ourselves. A few days later our C.O. decided to shake the Huns again and after due consideration, decided on a full daylight infiltration and attack without any preparatory fire. This took place one morning and before the enemy realised the position, thirteen prisoners were on their way back. The Germans opened up with bitter fury and soon two of their own men went to Valhalla having been killed by fire from their own lines. The rest of the prisoners need no coaxing and doubled up very smartly. The rearmost German, very tall and very frightened, was assisted by a very short ex-Berliner, who encouraged him with his rifle and also some well-chosen phrases in the prisoner's mother tongue. The climax came later when the prisoners were informed that they were in the hands of the Jewish troops. However, they were not killed out of hand -as they fully expected to be- and were given the normal treatment accorded to prisoners of war." A short while afterward the Jewish Brigade was transfected to a mountain sector on the Senio River, where it took over from a Gurkha unit. This area was held for three very trying weeks, taking part in many skirmishes. On their flank, the Jews had Italian troops whose trench discipline was very bad. The brigade bore the brunt of most of the enemy counter-fire, and its casualties were heavy. After a short rest it took part in the huge attack which was the prelude to the end of the German domination in Italy. "I find it difficult" Major Liebman wrote "to describe the combined air force and artillery barrage which preceded the attack. It was awe-inspiring. We then moved off and the approach led through the densest minefields. However, we managed to clear a reasonable path and soon we were in contact with the Germans. After a bitter skirmish they withdrew under cover of darkness and the following morning my company followed up. We ran into some very heavy rearguard fire, but took our objection, which we held for two days. By that time, other Allied troops had passed through us and we retired for a well-earned rest. It was the end of the fighting, and very soon afterward, the German armies in Italy capitulate. What a wonder feeling", Major Liebman recorded, "to see the Magen David proudly flying at the head of this historic column. The Germans at first could not believe that the men were Jews, and it was amusing to note their reactions when they realised that this fine well-disciplined body of stalwart men was composed of the people they had tried to exterminate. The men bore themselves with the greatest restraint and ignored the overtures by the Huns. It is a great tribute to their discipline to record that were no incidents." Major Liebman who was serving with the Jewish Brigade, wrote as follows of others among the liberated Jewish survivors: "these poor, homeless creatures wander about Europe, hopeless and helpless. Their expressions are so full of despair that one realises they have given up all hope. It makes one boil with rage to think they were once fine people, full of pride and dignity, and now mere wreckage in the stream of life." Major Liebman was mentioned in Despatches. At the close of the campaign Major Liebman was attached to the newly constituted Jewish Brigade, with which he worked his way through Germany and Belgium, finally reaching Holland. There the battalion headquarters was located in an old house near The Hague. One day a young girl came by and told the soldiers that her family had owned the house before she had been taken prisoner by the Nazis. Now she had been set free again. She met Liebman and before many days they were married. The woman Major Liebman married was Henriette Jeanette Wolf, known as Hannie. She was born on the 9 May 1921 in the East Indies (Indonesia) and was the daughter of Daniel Wolf (1898-1943) and Rene Louise Wolf (1899-1984) of the Netherlands. She married Joseph Liebman on the 21st November 1946 in Wassenaar, Netherlands.

Sources: 1. Chapter VIII, With the Italian Partisans. South African Jews in World War II. SA Jewish Board of Deputies 1950 pages 53-54. 2. Chapter X, With the Jewish Brigade. South African Jews in World War II. SA Jewish Board of Deputies 1950 pages 74-77. 3. Chapter XI, Soldiers of Liberation. South African Jews in World War II. SA Jewish Board of Deputies 1950 page 83. 4. The South African Jewish Database Jewish Migration and Genealogy. 5. Forces War Records. J Liebman service number 27633V, South African Military Forces, Temporary captain 1946 SA Military Forces. 6. Supplement to the London Gazette 23 May 1946 issue 37575-page 2494. 7. USC Shoah Foundation Survivors interviews: Hannie Liebman May 29, 1996.