The German Unit of the Palmach: a suicide commando in the Second World War Palestine Mandate

Abstract

In 1942, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) partnered with the Haganah to provide irregular forces to defend the Palestine Mandate. One force, known as the German Unit, was remarkable – it was a suicide unit and required its members to shed their liberated identities and assume the personas of their former oppressors. This article examines how the unit, trained by both organisations, prepared for their task. By employing a combination of traditional sources and interviews, it explores the role of identity and restores this little known story to the historiography of the Second World War while recovering the voices of the unit.