Bracha Fuld

Bracha Fuld, also known as Barbara Fuld (1926–1946) was a Jewish resistance fighter who died in an attempt to help Jewish Holocaust refugees enter Palestine. She was the first female Jewish soldier killed during the pre-state conflict with the British.[1]

Bracha Fuld
Born	Barbara Fuld 1926 Germany
Died	1946
Cause of death	Wounded during exchange of fire with British soldiers
Monuments	Bracha Fuld Street in Tel Aviv
Occupation	Palmach resistance fighter

Bracha Fuld (left) with her father Lothar Fuld (1886-1938) and her sister Hannelore (also known as Petra), circa 1930. Source: Netzorg Family Papers Collection, box 35, Petra and Bracha Fuld. University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library.

Early life

Fuld was born Barbara Fuld in 1926 in Germany.[1][2] Her father had served in the German army during WWI, and he took his own life after the events of Kristallnacht in 1938, unable to reconcile his Jewish and German identities.[1]

Fuld's older sister Petra had been sent to the United States to escape antisemitism. In 1939, Fuld left Germany and immigrated with her mother to Palestine, where Fuld became known as Bracha instead of Barbara. Fuld's mother, Lotte, opened a candy store.[3]

Military career

Upon graduating high school in 1944, Fuld joined the Palmach, an elite Jewish military force that was working with the British. She was named an outstanding cadet, and was one of the few women who trained to become a squad commander.[1] She was made an officer at the age of eighteen. Fuld first instructed women soldiers, and was later put in charge of several platoons and military detachments.[2] Fuld became romantically involved with fellow Palmach member Gideon Peli.[1][3]

At the end of WWII, the British attempted to stop Jewish Holocaust refugees from coming to Palestine, and the Palmach fighters revolted. They began to sabotage and assault the British military, while helping to smuggle Jewish immigrants into Palestine.[2]

Death and legacy

Memorial plaque dedicated to Fuld

In March 1946, a ship of illegal Jewish immigrants from Italy was set to arrive in Palestine. Fuld and her squad were sent to protect a stretch of road that would be used to help the immigrants reach safety.[3][2] The ship was captured and diverted by the British before arriving, but the message to abort the mission did not reach Fuld and her squad in time, and they soon encountered a British tank unit. After an exchange of fire, Fuld was badly wounded. Instead of receiving medical treatment, she was taken to a police station to be interrogated, and she died of her injuries shortly afterwards.[3][1] Fuld was the first female Jewish fighter killed resisting the British during the pre-state conflict.[1]

Bracha Fuld Street in Tel Aviv

Six months after her death, a ship for transporting illegal Jewish immigrants was named the S. S. Bracha Fuld, which the British soon seized.[1][2] The song “Banu Heinah” (We Came Here) was written to memorialize her.[4]

In the city of Tel Aviv, Bracha Fuld Street is named in her honour.[2]

References

1. Mann, Nir (2011-03-27). "Wingate Night, Revisited". Haaretz. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
2. Women and war : a historical encyclopedia from antiquity to the present. 1. Cook, Bernard A., ABC-Clio Information Services. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. 2006. p. 211. ISBN 1851097708. OCLC 70680524.CS1 maint: others (link)
3. "Streetwise: Woman of valor". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
4. "Palmah | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved 2017-11-25.

External links

Media related to Bracha Fuld at Wikimedia Commons

• Fuld Family Papers at the Bentley Historical Library (University of Michigan)