How a 1943 Soviet Tour Shaped Jewish Support for WWII Efforts
In June 1943, two leading figures of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (JAC), Solomon Mikhoels and Itsik Feffer, embarked on a state-backed international tour. Their mission was to rally global Jewish support for the Soviet Union's fight against Nazi Germany. The journey began in Moscow and took them across the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and beyond.
The JAC had formed during World War II to unite Jewish voices against fascism. Initially envisioned as a broad, politically diverse alliance, it was soon reshaped by Soviet authorities into a tool for state propaganda. By 1943, with the arrest and execution of two key socialist activists, Viktor Alter and Henryk Erlich, sparking international outrage, the tour aimed to counter negative perceptions.
The 1943 tour briefly united Jewish support for the Soviet war effort. But its tightly controlled messaging and the later purge of the JAC revealed deeper conflicts. The episode left a lasting impact on Soviet Jewish communities and their relationship with the state.
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