OPERATION LEVI
Operation Levi is a program of the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund) in cooperation with Operation Benjamin to identify German Jewish soldiers killed in WWI fighting for Germany and mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses. The mission of Operation Levi is to identify these soldiers and replace their headstones with Stars of David.
Jewish soldiers in the German army celebrate Hannukah on the eastern front, 1916
Jewish Museum Frankfurt, S. Ajnwojner Collection
In an initiative first executed in May 2025, Operation Benjamin has teamed up with the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge or VDK) called “Operation Levi” devoted to the memory of German Jewish soldiers who fell in the service of Germany in the First World War.
The mission of Operation Levi is to identify Jewish soldiers buried in WWI German cemeteries around the world mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses and replace their headstones with Jewish monuments.
Operation Levi is named for Meier Levi from Bornheim, Germany who fell on December 29, 1917. He was the son of Isaac Levi and Rebecca Silberberg and was a Landsturmmann in the German Army and was buried under a cross at the Warmeriville German Cemetery in Northern France. Operation Levi and Operation Benjamin replaced his headstone to a Star of David on May 21, 2025 in the presence of his family, officials from the German War Graves Commission, supporters of Operation Benjamin and many others.
Previous headstone of Meier Levi
Current headstone of Meier Levi
Operation Levi has identified over seven hundred such cases, like that of Meier Levi from Bornheim, of German Jewish soldiers from World War One that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country but were mistakenly buried under Latin Crosses. We are now appealing to the greater German-Jewish and Jewish genealogical community to assist us in connecting with any surviving family, cousins, descendants, distant relatives of these warriors so that they can participate in the process of giving the ultimate honor to these Jewish fallen.
Below, you will find an alphabetized list of the German Jewish WWI soldiers we have identified buried under Latin Crosses. If you think you might be a family member of a soldier on this list, or are a researcher interested in volunteering to work on any soldier, please click the contact button to fill-in a quick form that will be sent to our research administrators who will get back to you quickly.
Thank you for participating in this meaningful project. These Jewish soldiers have been waiting for us for over 100 years. We will not forget them.