History Windows
Discover more about the Jews in the First World War with our expertly curated History Windows and delve even further into the past with our Resource Bank, where you will find a wealth of material to search through.
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'England has been all she could be to the Jews – The Jews will be all they can be to England' - The History of Jews in Britain
Thousands of Jews signed up to fight for their country in the FWW, but Britain wasn't always a welcoming place
'I Wonder Who Will Employ Me Now?' - The Rothband Employment Scheme for Disabled Ex-Servicemen
Almost two million men who had served in the First World War returned home injured and permanently disabled. With no welfare state, it was up to individuals such as Sir Henry Rothband to campaign for a national scheme that would guarantee them employment on their return to civilian life.
'Our prayers are with you'
A series of Service booklets was created to mark events following the declaration of war in August 1914
Alien Restrictions Act 1914
The Alien Restrictions Act was established immediately after the outbreak of war, and affected a large proportion of the Jewish community in Britain
Animals in the First World War
According to the Imperial War Museum, 16 million animals served in the First World War in transportation, communication, military support and morale.
Ashton-under-Lyne Munitions Works Explosion
On 13th June 1917, the Hooley Hill Rubber and Chemical Plant on the outskirts of Manchester, whilst manufacturing TNT for the war effort, exploded and devastated the town of Ashton-under-Lyne.
Belgian Refugees in the UK
When the First World War started, in the summer of 1914, much of Europe was in turmoil as troops were moved into position and civilians mobilized for the war effort.
Boy Soldiers of the First World War
An estimated 250,000 underage boys signed up to serve in the Armed Forces during the First World War
British Jewish Chaplaincy in the First World War, by Jonathan Lewis
In times of conflict a fighting man needed his God!
DORA
The effects of DORA were incredibly far reaching, with some of the rules and restrictions still having an impact on UK law and attitudes in the 21st century.
Entertainment in Wartime
Discover the ways men in the trenches and those on the Home Front were kept entertained during the war
Faith in the Front Line
We have been farmers, scholars, merchants and professionals - we have also more than done our part as soldiers.
First World War Aircraft to the Battle of Britain
Aircraft was one of the most striking advances in technology of the First World War - discover and reflect on how this links with the Second World War and the Battle of Britain
First World War Soldiers in the Jewish Communities
Jewish soldiers travelled widely across Europe and frequently visited Jewish communities, often in the areas they had come from originally.
Foreign Jews Protection Committee
Conscription created complications for foreigners in Britain, especially Russian Jews, meaning there was a need for specific charitable organisations to support those affected
General Allenby and the Elimination of Malaria in Palestine & Israel
The key to the British Army’s success in defeating the Turkish army in 1917–1918 was due in part to their control of malaria in Palestine.
General Allenby Enters Jerusalem
In November 1914, the Ottomans entered the First World War on the side of Germany, taking the war firmly into the Middle East and the rivalries and Western influences already prevalent there.
How Jewish trade unionists persuaded the Labour Party to embrace Zionism.
The Labour Party’s public support for Zionism did not begin with the BaIfour declaration but three months earlier with the publication of their War Aims Memorandum.
Hull Jewish Community and the Old Hebrew Congregation
The minute book of the Hull Old Hebrew Congregation 1915-1917 gives an insight into what life was like for the Jewish community at home during the First World War
Introduction of Tanks to Warfare
One of the key problems of the war in Europe was the lack of movement; any advance inevitably involved one side having to attack the other across exposed ground.
Jewish Artists and the First World War
Around 1890 a group of Jewish children were born, who became important artists. They had a large and long lasting impact on British art in the Twentieth Century and each have interesting stories.
Jewish Communities in Port Towns and Cities
Jewish immigration in the late 19th Century meant growing communities in sea ports around the UK
Jewish Communities in the UK in 1914
While to the non-Jewish outsider the Jews may have seemed like one group, to those within the community it was a mixture of social classes, backgrounds, languages, ideas, politics and beliefs.
Jewish Community of Gibraltar
Discover the role of the Jewish community in Gibraltar during the First World War
Jewish Conscientious Objectors
Conscientious objectors were widely despised as cowards and were often imprisoned under harsh conditions.
Jewish life in the German and Austrian Armed Forces
When war was declared, German and Austrian Jews stepped up to serve, answering the call for duty.
Jewish Members of Parliament in the First World War
At the 1910 election seventeen Jewish MPs were elected to Parliament, and a further six won by-elections between then and the end of the war. These MPs were drawn from across a wide spectrum of the Jewish community.
Jewish Nurses, VADs and Military Hospitals.
An assessment at the start of war calculated that there were approximately 50,000 beds available. By the end of 1914 there some 73,000 injured had already been brought home.
Jewish Officers in the British Forces in the First World War, by Martin Sugarman
Explore who the Jewish men were and what their lives may have been like prior to the First World War.
Jewish Victoria Cross Recipients
The Victoria Cross (VC) was introduced by Queen Victoria in 1857 as the highest award for gallantry.
Jews interned during the First World War
On August 5, 1914, immediately after the declaration of the First World War, the British Government passed the Aliens Restriction Act.
Jews who did not want to fight
Many of the Jewish socialists and anarchists of the East End’s vibrant political scene viewed the conflict as a capitalist and imperialist war in which the workers had no stake.
Jews’ Free School First World War Magazines.
The Jewish Free School (JFS) was established in 1732 as the Talmud Torah of the Great Synagogue of London, serving orphans of the community
Leeds Anti-Jewish Riots, June 1917
The night of the 3rd-4th June 1917 saw anti-Jewish rioting in Leeds
Pesach in Uniform
Wars and conflicts do not stop for religious festivals and religious festivals and practices do not stop for wars.
Petticoat Lane Market
‘The Greatest Sunday Open Air Market in the World. Everything may be bought here, from a Pair of Bootlaces to a Building’
Photographs of Spitalfields a Century Ago by C. A. Mathew
One morning in April 1912, residents of the streets of East London are captured with startling clarity by the enigmatic C. A. Mathew.
Poetry and the First World War
First World War poetry provides an access point for subsequent generations to try and understand an intense, complex event in our history, the scale of which seems incomprehensible.
Punch 1914-18 - Cartoons, Humour and Satire
Here is a selection of cartoons and comments – mainly selected for the inclusion of a Jewish theme or reference.
Rationing and Food Shortages
In 1914, the UK produced a lot of its own food and resources, supplemented by imported food and other basic goods. Once the war had begun, many of the sources of those necessities were threatened.
Records, Documents and New Interpretations for Historians
Paula Kitching has been reflecting on the ways in which research for the We Were There Too project has highlighted how ordinary people coped with huge changes to their daily lives. With a focus on the Jewish Chronicle and Jewish World, Paula discusses how newspapers record the changing attitudes of the time, when many believed their lives would quickly go back to normal when this was all over.
Ruhleben internment camp
In autumn 1914 following the outbreak of war citizens from the different Allied countries that were living, travelling or working in Germany were interned.
Russia or Britain – take your pick!
Immigrant Jews who had arrived in the UK before 1914 did not need to become naturalised in order to live and work in the UK and some never did.
Sermons Heard by London Jews During the Great War.
Like other sources more or less contemporary with the events—the newspaper, the diary, the letter from the Front—the topical sermon draws us back to a unique moment in the past.
Strategic Camouflage.
Solomon Joseph Solomon, pioneer in the introduction of camouflage techniques to the British Armed Forces, was born in London on 16 September 1860.
Terris and Romaine
My great uncle Jack Terrisfield was half of a successful vaudeville act, Terris and Romaine, which performed in Music Halls throughout the country and beyond. During the First World War years they performed in more than 500 performances for wounded soldiers.
The Battle of Jutland
When War was declared in 1914, the British Royal Navy, the best in the world, went into immediate defensive action.
The Battle of the Somme
In four months, in 1916, over 1.2 million men were injured fighting in the Battle of the Somme.
The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun defines waste and sacrifice for little gain better perhaps than any other battle.
The British Jewry Book of Honour
Following the end of the War, it was decided to create the British Jewry Book of Honour to bring together information about the British Jews who had served in British and Colonial forces during the First World War.
The First World War through the eyes of London’s Jewish children
Books discovered in the archives of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue (LJS), St John’s Wood provide a testament as to how the war influenced Jewish children and young people of the period.
The Jewish Contribution to the Royal Flying Corps
Discover the stories of the Jewish men who served in the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Air Force during the First World War
The Jewish Legion, the Royal Fusiliers and the Judeans.
On 2 February 1918, the 38th battalion marched through the City of London. To demonstrate that the men were not just a gimmick, the Mayor allowed them to march with fixed bayonets. On 3 February, the men left London for the Middle East.
The Munitions of War Act, July 1915
The Munitions of War Act brought private companies supplying the armed forces under the tight control of the newly created Ministry of Munitions, regulating wages, hours and employment conditions.
The Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service
The Queen Alexandra nurses were the official female unit for medical services in the British military.
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Royal Air Force (RAF)
The Royal Flying Corps was formed in 1912 and the Royal Naval Air Service just before the outbreak of war.
The Royal Navy
At the outbreak of the First World War, the Royal Navy had been dominating the high seas for over a century. It played a pivotal role in protecting the British Empire and most crucially protecting British trade.
The Siege of Sidney Street, January 1911
The Siege of Sidney Street was one of the most notorious events of the East End at the time.
The Third Battle of Ypres - Passchendaele
The third major Battle of Ypres started on 31st July, 1917, and lasted until 10th November, 1917. It was an Allied offensive launched to break the deadlock around the Northern and Eastern arcs of the Ypres Salient.
The United Synagogue 100 Years Ago... Remembering World War One
100 years ago, Europe stood on the cusp of a conflict of such frightening ferocity, that it would change the course of history.
The War Poets: Isaac Rosenberg
Isaac Rosenberg is a published poet who was killed during the First World War.
The Zion Muleteers of Gallipoli (March 1915 - May 1916), by Martin Sugarman
The Zion Mule Corps was formed in March 1915 and was the first regular Jewish fighting force for 2000 years.
Voluntary Aid Detachments
The Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) were established to support medical services. Over 90,000 women served as VADS over the course of the First World War.
World War One and the Manchester Sephardim
Discover how World War One impacted the 1000 strong Sephardi community of Manchester from author Basil Jeuda
Zeppelins – Attack from the air
In 1900, Count von Zeppelin, a retired German General, built his first airship, which became known as a Zeppelin.
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Documenting & commemorating the contribution British Jews made during the First World War.
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