Brazilian Jews in WWII
By: Eric Feinstein

BACKGROUND

This collection comprises a list of the Jewish soldiers and servicemen and women that served with the Brazilian Expeditionary Forces during the Second World War.  The Brazilian Expeditionary Force, nicknamed Cobras Fumantes, was a military division of the Brazilian Army and Air Force that fought as part of Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II. It numbered around 25,900 men, including a full infantry division, liaison flight, and fighter squadron.  In Portuguese it was called the “Força Expedicionária Brasileira,” or “FEB.”  They served mainly in the Italian campaign and fought in the Battle of the Atlantic.

DATABASE

This database includes 86 Jews from Brazil that served the military and fought in the Second World War.

The fields in the database are:

• Surname
• Given Name
• Place of Birth or Residence
• Date of Birth
• Place of Death
• Date of Death
• Rank
• Military Unit
• Occupation
• Father’s Name
• Mother’s Name
• Comments (With extensive notes about each individual)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The information contained in this database was compiled by Israel Blajberg.  A historian and President of the Academia de Historia Militar Terrestre do Brasil / Rio de Janeiro, he is the author of several volumes that document the Jewish contribution to his country’s military.  This includes Soldados que Vieram de Longe; Os 42 Heróis Brasileiros Judeus da Segunda Guerra Mundial [Soldiers Who Came from Far Away The 42 Jewish Brazilian Heroes of World War II,] and

Estrela de David no Cruzeiro do Sul [Star of David on the Southern Cross,] which is a comprehensive examination of Jewish participation in the Brazilian military from the earliest settlement to the present day.  

Thank you to Nolan Altman, Director of Special Projects and Coordinator of the Holocaust Database, for his continued devotion and dedication to JewishGen’s important work.

Searching the Database

This database is currently searchable via the JewishGen Latina America Database or the JewishGen Unified Search.