Nahum Golan

Nahum Golan

Nahum Golan (right) with Jigal Allon during Operation Ovda (March 1949)

Nahum Golan ( Hebrew נחום גולן; born in Norbert Spiegel ; * 1915 in Gera ; † 1991 in Israel ) was a German-Israeli brigadier general of the Israel Defense Forces and from 1948 to 1950 commander of the Golani Brigade .

Life

Nahum Golan was born in Gera in 1915 as the second child of Jakob and Sara Spiegel. He attended the Jewish school there and switched to the Rutheneum grammar school in 5th grade .

In preparation for his planned emigration to Palestine and the expected manual work as a settler, he left high school in 1932 and began training as a bricklayer in Gera . He was active in the leadership of the Gera local group of the Zionist- socialist youth movement Brith Haolim and went to Leipzig in 1933 to work in the Gau leadership. There he continued his bricklayer training and passed his journeyman's examination, admitted only on condition that he later did not work as a journeyman bricklayer in Germany.

In the summer of 1933 he went to Berlin and worked there in the management of the Hechaluz until April 1935 . He was responsible for the Aliyah department and worked with Levi Eschkol , who later became Israeli Prime Minister, among others . In April 1935 he left Germany forever and emigrated to Palestine. Later he settled in the kibbutz Kfar Szold .

During World War II he fought in the Jewish Brigade of the British Army and after the establishment of the State of Israel became a colonel in the Israel Defense Forces. From 1948 to 1950 he was commander of the Golani Brigade with the rank of brigadier general. He took part in the Israeli War of Independence , Sinai War , Six Day War and Yom Kippur War . After the conquest of the Golan Heights in the Six Day War, in which the Golani Brigade played a key role, he continued to use the Golan family name.

In addition to his military service, to which he was only called in times of crisis, Nahum Golan devoted himself to scientific tasks, was involved in the kibbutz movement and was active in the diplomatic service.

literature

• Werner Simsohn: Jews in Gera I, a historical overview . Hartung-Gorre Verlag, Konstanz 1997, ISBN 3-89649-112-1
• Werner Simsohn: Jews in Gera II, Jewish family stories . Hartung-Gorre Verlag, Konstanz 1998, ISBN 3-89649-260-8
• Werner Simsohn: Jews in Gera III, anti-Semitism in the newspaper: Life, suffering in the Nazi state, consequences 1933-1945 . Hartung-Gorre Verlag, Konstanz 2000, ISBN 3-89649-413-9

Web links

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