The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

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Philip S. Walker
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The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#1

Post by Philip S. Walker » 08 Apr 2011, 14:49

There is a story about a Romanian Jew which appears in several works about the French Foreign, Vietnam etc. The spelling of the name varies though all the versions I have seen seem to stem from the same source, namely: Mercer, Charles (1964). Legion of Strangers. Holt, Rinehart,and Winston of Canada, Ltd.. pp. 283–286. ISBN 85669-0114. I must admit I have never seen this book, only other books referring to it.

In some of the versions there is mentioning of a concentration camp in Chisinau, but as far as I know there never was such a camp, which raises the question if this story is real or just a legend.

This is the version you can find on Wiki:
Eliahu Itzkovitz was a Romanian Jew who during the Second World War, while a prisoner in a concentration camp witnessed the murder of his family at the hands of a Romanian prison guard named Stănescu. Itzkovitz vowed to avenge his family's murder at the hands of his fellow Romanian, but was unable to find to the man after the war. After the war he subsequently immigrated to Israel where he served in the Israeli Defense Forces until he learned that Stănescu had enlisted in the French Foreign Legion which led him to desert from the IDF and join the Foreign Legion. Itkowitz was able to track down and kill Stănescu in French Indochina. He was later court-martialed in Israel for desertion and sentenced to one year in prison.

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Waleed Y. Majeed
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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#2

Post by Waleed Y. Majeed » 08 Apr 2011, 16:38

The German version of Wiki mentions, not a camp but a Ghetto... So could he have been a Ghetto guard?
Das am 24. Juli 1941 in der Altstadt von Chișinău eingerichtete Ghetto diente als Zwischenstation, dessen Bewohner man als Arbeitskräfte im Steinbruch von Ghidighichi arbeiten ließ. Das Ghetto beschränkte sich auf wenige Straßen und bestand aus wenigen Gebäuden, von denen die meisten bereits stark zerstört waren. Um das Ghetto verlief eine Mauer mit mehreren kontrollierten Ein- und Ausgängen. Laut Angaben der rumänischen Armee befanden sich im Ghetto von Chișinău 11.525 Personen.
Why you only use one (English) version of Wiki I don't understand...?


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Philip S. Walker
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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#3

Post by Philip S. Walker » 08 Apr 2011, 21:01

There seems to be no German version of Wiki's page on Eliahu Itzkovitz. You must have been looking at some other page.

All the versions I have read of this "legend" have been in English. I have seen no references to the Chisinau ghetto, only a concentration camp which doesn't seem to have existed. However, you sometimes see the ghettos referred to as concentrations camps, so that may be where the confusion comes in.

The commandant in question is named as Stanescu. Not an uncommon name in Romania, I believe, but I wonder if perhaps a commandant of that name was in charge of the Chisinau ghetto. That would clear things up a bit.
Last edited by Philip S. Walker on 08 Apr 2011, 22:26, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#4

Post by CanKiwi2 » 08 Apr 2011, 21:14

References:
Mercer, Charles (1964). Legion of Strangers. Holt, Rinehart,and Winston of Canada, Ltd.. pp. 283–286. ISBN 85669-0114.
Szajkowski, Zosa (1975). Jews and the Foreign Legion. New York, New York: Ktav Publishing House. p. 23. ISBN 0-87068-270-9.
Fall, Bernard (1994). Street Without Joy. Mechanicsburg,: Stackpole Books. pp. 286–290. ISBN 0-8117-17003.

Street Without Joy was first published in 1961 and this story is mentioned in the book - the Wiki article credits both books for identical references, so perhaps Mercer picked it up from Fall's book, given Fall was in Indo-China at the time. I've got Street Without Joy at home somewhere, I'll take a look to check this out.
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Philip S. Walker
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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#5

Post by Philip S. Walker » 08 Apr 2011, 22:25

I seem to remember reading that Charles Mercer (a pseudonym? Mercer = Mercenary?) claims to have actually met this chap, but as I said earlier I've never seen the book. The first time I read the story was in Hugh McLeave's "The Damned Die hard". Since then, I have seen it pop up several times in other books in a slightly rewritten form.

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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#6

Post by CanKiwi2 » 08 Apr 2011, 22:46

Philip S. Walker wrote:I seem to remember reading that Charles Mercer (a pseudonym? Mercer = Mercenary?) claims to have actually met this chap, but as I said earlier I've never seen the book. The first time I read the story was in Hugh McLeave's "The Damned Die hard". Since then, I have seen it pop up several times in other books in a slightly rewritten form.
Well, here's the cover of Mercer's book

Image

Well the author was actually "Charles E Mercer" and here's his obit. He seems genuine enough as a historian, so the story is probably based on something, rather than just invented.

"Charles E Mercer, a novelist and former editor at G. P. Putnam's Sons, died Wednesday at his home in Edison, N.J. He was 71 years old. Mr. Mercer was the author of 17 novels, including ''Rachel Cade,'' a 1956 book about an American missionary in Africa, which sold more than three million copies, was translated into 14 languages and was made into a movie called ''The Sins of Rachel Cade.'' His other popular novels included ''Enough Good Men,'' a tale about the American Revolution; ''The Reckoning,'' about an alcoholic investment analyst, and ''The Drummond Tradition,'' a story about an Army family.

Mr. Mercer began his career as a reporter for The Washington Post and was a feature writer and television columnist for The Associated Press for many years. He spent 13 years with Putnam's, retiring in 1979 as a vice president and senior editor in charge of young adult books. Mr. Mercer also wrote 12 nonfiction books, including several for children and young adults. During World War II, he was an Army intelligence officer, and he also served in the Korean War.

He is survived by his wife, Alma."

The books available on Amazon for about $3.00.
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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#7

Post by Philip S. Walker » 08 Apr 2011, 23:27

Thanks CanKiwi. Looking forward to see what else you can pull out of the wood work.
The books available on Amazon for about $3.00
Plus $ 38.98 postage to Europe, unless you can wait 3-6 weeks in which case it is "only" $ 12.49. :x

Regarding Zosa Szajkowski's "Jews and the Foreign Legion" it is mainly about how Jews residing in France were lured into the Foreign Legion at the time of the German invasion by promises of gaining French Citizenship. Didn't really happen. Another problem was that the NCO's were mainly German.

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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#8

Post by Waleed Y. Majeed » 09 Apr 2011, 09:16

True about there not being a German version of Eliahu Itzkowitz on Wiki...
I took it one step further and checked the town Chisinau as you mentioned it!

The German version mentions a ghetto, the English does not. Wiki is all about who posts what.
I'm sure, if I could read Romanian or Russian those versions would have all together other stories to tell.
The reason for Eliahu only being on the English version is most likely because it's not been translated yet.

Had you bothered checking Mercer and not simply relied on your memory CanKiwi2´s second post
would have been unnecessary.


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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#9

Post by Philip S. Walker » 09 Apr 2011, 11:16

@Waleed Y. Majeed

Don't get me wrong, you did the right thing and it opened up new possibilities.

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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#10

Post by Waleed Y. Majeed » 09 Apr 2011, 18:18

Which part of the foreign legion are you talking about having German NCO's...?
As far as I know the legion was many things many places and even fought each other!

Somehow can't see German NCO's "commanding" frenchmen and foreigners to fight and kill fellow German NCO's... :?
If you meant the Vichy-controlled part, well that's another story but you should have made this clear for all to understand instead of confusing the matter and putting the whole legion in a bad light.


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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#11

Post by Philip S. Walker » 09 Apr 2011, 21:28

As far as I recall it was in North Africa, but it's more than ten years since I borrowed this book from the Library. I was only mentioning this so people knew it didn't include any more essential info on Eliahu Itzkovitz than you can find in the sources we already know.

If the issue is generally important to you, I suggest you get hold of the book. I don't know if it will be in the Danish library system. I was living in England when I got hold of a copy from a library there.

If you are more generally interested in the Legion around WWII I will recommend "Saraha, Narvik, Brest" written by a Danish legionnaire at that time, Svend Richard Christensen.

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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#12

Post by George Lepre » 17 Jun 2013, 19:56

Hi all -

I just looked in the Indochina casualty database located on the French military website:

http://www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense ... rubrique18

and found no one named "Stanescu." I am of course aware that men who enlist in the Foreign Legion can request new identities but these persons are listed in the database under both names. For example, a U.S. Army deserter named Ernest Perella enlisted and became "Louis Grandville." He was killed in Indochina and is listed under his real name, but his Legion identity is also provided in the database.

Anyone in the forum who ever served in any army is aware how improbable it is for a private to have himself assigned to a particular unit of his choosing. There were Legion elements fighting throughout Southeast Asia, yet this guy managed to arrive in Indochina at the same time Stanescu was there, and was able to have himself assigned to the exact SQUAD that he wanted.

Was there ever any Romanian reaction to this story? Do the Romanian archives contain any information on "Stanescu"?

Best regards,

George

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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#13

Post by Bernaschek » 18 Jun 2013, 06:25

about German NCOs : in German army circles Dien Bien Bhu is called 'the last battle of the Waffen-SS'
"nuts"

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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#14

Post by George Lepre » 16 Aug 2015, 15:50

Hi all -

I have found that the French army casualty database for Indochina contains an entry for a man named STANCESCU (not Stanescu), but he does not appear to be the fellow in the Itzkovitz story. This STANCESCU was assigned to the 2e REI and not the 3e REI, which the story says was the unit in which the killing occurred. (These two regiments operated in different areas of Vietnam.) Also, the story states that Stanescu was a caporal, while STANCESCU was a buck private (2eme classe). STANCESCU was born in 1925, making him all of 16 when the killings and deportations of these Romanian Jews at Chisinau took place in late 1941.

I believe that the only way to solve this story is through cursory research in:

a) Romanian archives to determine if this man Stanescu ever existed.

b) Aubagne to see if Itzkovitz was really a Legionnaire and to see precisely which unit(s) he served in during his time (if any) in Indochina. Then the casualty database can be used to discover if any Legionnaires of Romanian birth (if any) died and under what circumstances. According to the database, only 68 men born in Romania were killed in Indochina while in French service, and some of them were clearly ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche), so it shouldn't be too hard.

George

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Re: The Legend of Eliahu Itzkovitz - true or false?

#15

Post by HaShomer » 16 Aug 2015, 18:51

Checking Israeli IDF archives would also settle the issue.

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