The Jewish Brigade

In October 1945, with World War II now ended in Europe, Leslie Toliver, formerly a British racing driver, leads a team of the Jewish Infantry Brigade to rescue survivors from the Nazi death camps. Bewildering and challenging are but two words to describe this graphic novel representation of the courageous young volunteers serving with the British 8th Army. As they cross the desert from Alexandria to southern Italy in a progressively more battered jeep, they confront precarious adventures, encountering belligerent Russian and German soldiers, still armed and unwilling to concede defeat. Barely escaping with their lives over and again, the three-part saga is at first bewildering and challenging but unequivocally exciting.

When the inception of the State of Israel nears, and the story gathers yet more momentum, the identity of the Brigade’s enemy changes, leaving Europe’s armies behind to be replaced by the conflict between Arabs and Jews begins. Anyone naïve enough to assume a “graphic novel” is lighthearted will be shocked by the The Jewish Brigade, a profound interpretation of a critical period in world affairs. The story of the Jewish Brigade is familiar to many; this unique version is brilliant.