12,000 Jewish soldiers were killed in service for Germany in the war — a sacrifice that was little-heeded by the public and later denied by the Nazis.
By ASSOCIATED PRESSGerman ceremony for Jewish WWI 311 AP(photo credit: AP)
Germany — German officials have laid wreaths in honor of the thousands of Jewish soldiers who died for the country in World War I.German Deputy Defense Minister Christian Schmidt said Sunday at Frankfurt's Jewish cemetery that about 12,000 Jewish soldiers were killed in service for Germany in the 1914-18 war — a sacrifice that was little-heeded by the public and later denied by the Nazis.RELATED:Female rabbi trained in Germany set to be ordained Lion's Dan: Germany’s Freiheit joins the fray According to DAPD news agency, Schmidt told the ceremony that many Jewish citizens served as patriots in World War I and recalling their fate is a duty.Gideon Roemer-Hillebrecht, representing a German Jewish soldiers' association, said that because of the Holocaust "there are today barely any relatives who can honor the dead together with us."Some 50 soldiers are buried at the cemetery.
