# Jews in WW2 Draft? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 13, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327 "2012-08-13T01:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/101 "2012-08-15T13:12:50Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > I would think that since Jews are there own culture first and their resident country’s culture second (this is the way it has been explained to me. If this is incorrect in any way, please point it out), Seriously? You shouldn’t have to have someone point that out to you. It’s a stupid, insulting comment. Jews, like any other group, live all over the world. That doesn’t mean they favor their culture over their resident country. The same goes for any other ethnic group. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/102 "2012-08-15T13:22:54Z")
I recall the guy in Ship of Fools who shows the dwarf a medal he won in the first world war. “See this? I am a German, they would do nothing to me.” The dwarf responds, “You’re the most German person I ever met.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/103 "2012-08-15T13:30:25Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > On the one hand, we have: > > And yet on the other hand we have: > > Just so this doesn’t get out of hand (which might be impossible), these two quotes are at odds with each other. For the historians out there, which was it? Did the Jews in America not know of what was happening to their European families? Or did they and the rest of the world know what was happening? Jews, like everyone else, did not know the details of the Nazi mass extermination plan until after the war. However, it was no secret that Jews were imprisoned, deprived of their rights, treated with arbitrary cruelty, occasionally murdered, etc. just for being Jews. Everyone knew that, since it was happening before the war as well. Anecdote time: my mother, who is Jewish, grew up in Toronto during the war, and was told that the Germans were “to the east” - being a little kid, she though that meant east of Yonge Street! For years, she had an irrational hatred of crossing Yonge Street to the east, because of her childhood fears that “the Germans” would get her. Thus, your average 5 year old in North America was well enough aware of the dangers, well enough aware to develop an ingrained phobia. Though of course she had no specific knowledge of the death camps until later. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/104 "2012-08-15T13:31:46Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Seriously? > > You shouldn’t have to have someone point that out to you. It’s a stupid, insulting comment. > > Jews, like any other group, live all over the world. That doesn’t mean they favor their culture over their resident country. The same goes for any other ethnic group. No, it is not a stupid, insulting comment. Jews have for centuries been a nation that lived without a country. Some groups of Jews behaved as other ethnic groups did. They adopted local ways and very quickly assimilated into the local culture. Other groups of Jews maintained their own culture. They very carefully refused to assimilate. This is why some groups adopted special ways of dress and so on. (Is there anything Jewish about wearing black coats and Stetsons? If so, why do other groups wear fur hats? A leader at some point just decided to adopt a style of dress to be distinct from the locals.) Like the Amish or some other groups, orthodox Jews have fought to preserve their own way of life. Of course many other groups do the same thing, and further there is nothing wrong with living your life as you choose. Still **lance’s** lack of understanding of what they are doing is breathtaking. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/105 "2012-08-15T13:55:30Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > No, it is not a stupid, insulting comment. Jews have for centuries been a nation that lived without a country. Some groups of Jews behaved as other ethnic groups did. They adopted local ways and very quickly assimilated into the local culture. Other groups of Jews maintained their own culture. They very carefully refused to assimilate. > > This is why some groups adopted special ways of dress and so on. (Is there anything Jewish about wearing black coats and Stetsons? If so, why do other groups wear fur hats? A leader at some point just decided to adopt a style of dress to be distinct from the locals.) Like the Amish or some other groups, orthodox Jews have fought to preserve their own way of life. > > Of course many other groups do the same thing, and further there is nothing wrong with living your life as you choose. Still **lance’s** lack of understanding of what they are doing is breathtaking. Go back and read his post, and then mine, again. You don’t seem to understand either. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/106 "2012-08-15T13:59:09Z")
Anecdotal, but I hope other vets will augment: I had Jewish shipmates in the 1980’s navy. And they _weren’t_ in supply/payroll/admin! And they _weren’t_ officers! And they _didn’t_ run convenience stores out of their lockers! And they were from\* lower middle-class backgrounds\*, just like the rest of us! And when they fucked whores in the Phillippines, they _didn’t_ do it through holes in the sheets! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/107 "2012-08-15T14:02:47Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > This is why some groups adopted special ways of dress and so on. (Is there anything Jewish about wearing black coats and Stetsons? If so, why do other groups wear fur hats? A leader at some point just decided to adopt a style of dress to be distinct from the locals.) By this “logic”, Catholic priests and nuns wear funny outfits just to look different from the locals and avoid assimilating, too. Can **Paul** clarify whether he is perturbed by any and all ethnic and religious groups which maintain distinct customs and dress and so don’t look and act like everyone else in society? Or is there something especially “other” about Jews that bugs him? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/108 "2012-08-15T14:13:54Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > And when they fucked whores in the Phillippines, they _didn’t_ do it through holes in the sheets! … I assume you weren’t in the room at the time. Nevermind, I don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/109 "2012-08-15T14:25:08Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > No, it is not a stupid, insulting comment. As a blanket statement about Jews, yes, it absolutely is. There are some groups of Jews that (like other very conservative religious groups) make a point of not assimilating or adopting local customs, but those are a small minority and **Stink Fish Pot** ’s comment was not limited to those groups. It is insulting to say as a blanket statement that Jews are more loyal to their culture than the countries they live in. It’s that much more insulting when it’s said in a discussion of Jews fighting in World War II against the Nazis, who constantly made this exact claim in their propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/110 "2012-08-15T15:27:55Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > No, it is not a stupid, insulting comment. Jews have for centuries been a nation that lived without a country. Some groups of Jews behaved as other ethnic groups did. They adopted local ways and very quickly assimilated into the local culture. Other groups of Jews maintained their own culture. They very carefully refused to assimilate. > > This is why some groups adopted special ways of dress and so on. (Is there anything Jewish about wearing black coats and Stetsons? If so, why do other groups wear fur hats? A leader at some point just decided to adopt a style of dress to be distinct from the locals.) Like the Amish or some other groups, orthodox Jews have fought to preserve their own way of life. > > Of course many other groups do the same thing, and further there is nothing wrong with living your life as you choose. Still **lance’s** lack of understanding of what they are doing is breathtaking. The issue isn’t assimilation, it is whether Jews favour their ethnic group over their country. Many ethnic groups do no assimilate. This is not generally taken as proof that they favour their ethnic group over their country. For some reason, this accusation is made more commonly concerning Jews than other ethnic groups. In my opinion, the reason is because of the long and unhappy history of Jew hatred, rather than because the accusation has any merit. Wearing a funny type of hat is not, perforce, proof of disloyalty or lack of patriotism. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/111 "2012-08-15T15:30:23Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > … I assume you weren’t in the room at the time. > Nevermind, I don’t want to know. There was something called “peso shows,” where the girl would pull a guy onstage and lie him on his back with a rolled-up bill in his mouth, and squat down to kegel it away from him.. You’d think the Jewish guys would really make her work for it, but such was not the case. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/112 "2012-08-15T15:31:55Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > There was something called “peso shows,” where the girl would pull a guy onstage and lie him on his back with a rolled-up bill in his mouth, and squat down to kegel it away from him.. You’d think the Jewish guys would really make her work for it, but such was not the case. Go figure. But the Jews would ask her for change back. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/113 "2012-08-15T15:43:00Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > There was something called “peso shows,” where the girl would pull a guy onstage and lie him on his back with a rolled-up bill in his mouth, and squat down to kegel it away from him.. You’d think the Jewish guys would really make her work for it, but such was not the case. Go figure. Did she have a sheet with a hole in it? There was someplace around Philly famous for this for a while. I don’t think the guys needed to be pulled on stage, and a $20 bill was the minimum. (all anecdotes, strip joints rarely turn out to be the way they are decribed). ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/114 "2012-08-15T15:49:31Z")
[http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/x02985/upright-citizens-brigade-hole-in-the-sheet](http://www.comedycentral.com/video-clips/x02985/upright-citizens-brigade-hole-in-the-sheet) Only part of this great sketch. Later on, he has sex with his furniture…through the sheet. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/115 "2012-08-15T15:58:24Z")
Well, we’ve sure gone off the topic here! The Italian said “I massaged my wife with olive oil, made love to her, and she cried for half an hour!” The Frenchman said “I massaged my wife with eau-de-cologne, made love ot her, and she cried for a full hour!” The Jew said “I massaged my wife with chicken schmaltz, made love to her, and she cried for six hours!” “Six hours? How did you do that?” “I wiped my hands on the drapes.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/116 "2012-08-15T16:02:39Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Well, we’ve sure gone off the topic here! > > “I wiped my hands on the drapes.” I like that one. I use the variation where the Italian drives his wife insane with amore. The Frenchman makes her mad with passion. The Texan wipes his hands on the drapes, “She goes fuckin’ nuts”. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/117 "2012-08-15T16:27:58Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > There was something called “peso shows,” where the girl would pull a guy onstage and lie him on his back with a rolled-up bill in his mouth, and squat down to kegel it away from him.. You’d think the Jewish guys would really make her work for it, but such was not the case. Go figure. Heh. I obviously didn’t hit the right bars. I thought you meant that, upon hiring a hooker, a Jewish sailor would make and use a hole in the sheet out of a sense of propriety, like a medieval knight who lays his longsword down between himself and a woman (who he is sharing a tmepororary sleeping arrangment with) he is not married to, out of a sense of honor. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/118 "2012-08-15T16:30:26Z")
He said they _didn’t_ do it through a hole in the sheets. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/119 "2012-08-15T16:34:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He said they _didn’t_ do it through a hole in the sheets. That was the sailors. We’re not sure about the strippers and knights. ETA: Were there a lot of Jewish knights? You know because of the “Why is this knight different from all other knights” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327/120 "2012-08-15T16:40:36Z")
_Doug Zolatar_ - that was one of the Jewish squids’ names. I remember because it was when _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe_ was big, so we gave Zolatar a lot of shit for his name sounding like he belonged in with that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jews-in-ww2-draft/631327.md?page=7)