Shiffer, Moshe

Son of Berta and Mendel. He was born on May 15, 1926, in the town of Shinova, Galicia, to a Zionist family steeped in the love for the people and the country. At the age of four his family emigrated to Berlin, where he was educated at the elementary school and joined the Hebrew youth unions. In 1938, the father was deported with thousands of Jews from Poland to the Polish-German border and from there was sent back to Dachau. Moshe stayed with his mother in Germany but managed to join the last convoy of youths who left for Palestine as part of the Youth Aliyah. In 1941 the convoy arrived in Palestine. Moshe was transferred to the educational institution at Magdiel and was absorbed in the first graduating class of this institution. At the age of seventeen, he enlisted in the conscription office to volunteer for the ranks of the British army fighting the Nazis but was rejected because of his youth. It was only after much effort that he managed to enlist, fought on the Italian front and excelled in battles. On March 19, 1945, an order was made for the capture of German prisoners. On the 23rd of Nissan (March 6, 1945) Moshe Shiffer was in a position on the banks of the Senio in Italy. The position was bombed by the enemy, went up in flames and Moshe and four of his comrades perished in the fire. He was buried at the British Military Cemetery in Ravenna, Italy. He was survived by a brother. His name was immortalized in the books – “Nineteen that Fell – Magdiel” and “The Jewish Brigade Book.”