Approximately 500,000 Jews served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II. Jewish G.I.s constantly faced the specter of anti-Semitism in the army and they were forced to consider how open they should be about their religion. They had deep emotions about facing an enemy who was methodically capturing and murdering Jews. Jewish G.I.s feared the consequences if caught by the Nazis. Their last name, physical appearance, or the “H” (for Hebrew) on their dog tags could mean being shipped to a concentration camp.
Robert Levine, aged 19, from Bronx, NY, was one of the young Jewish American soldiers who landed in England prior to the Allies’ D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. Together with his crew he arrived on the French coast behind the 90th Infantry.
Levine's first assignment, after stepping off the boat at Utah Beach, was to carry 81mm mortar shells forward to positions shelling the Germans to force a retreat from Hill 122, a German defensive position near the landing zone.
After a fierce battle, the Americans succeeded in forcing the Germans off the hill, but getting back down the other side was a problem.
“The Germans retreated, but they set up traps,” explained Levine. “We got caught at the bottom of the hill, where the Germans were waiting for us. Suddenly a grenade came over and caught me in my leg, above the knee. And I looked up and I saw this German paratrooper. He looked about 10 feet tall, and pointed his submachine gun at me. The kid next to me got up and took off, and the German wheeled around and shot him. I put up my hands and surrendered."
Levine found himself a Nazi prisoner of war.
Robert Levine, center, in hospital during World War II.
Marching with a dozen other American prisoners under the control of German forces, they raised clouds of dust, a target for incoming mortar shells from the American 90th Infantry Division. Ironically these were the same type of shells Levine had carried from Utah Beach. Suddenly one of these ‘friendly fire’ shells exploded. The soldier beside Levine, who absorbed most of the blast’s deadly force, died instantly.
"A guy named Mike and me – we both went flying. My leg was really damaged, and Mike was killed. To this day, I believe he took the bullet for me, he died so I could live," Levine maintains. Of the dozen American POWs captured that day, he was the only survivor.
With his leg injured far more seriously this time, Levine’s chances of survival appeared precarious at best. His salvation was to come in the unlikely guise of a dark-haired German doctor named Dr. Edgar Woll.
Levine recalled finding himself on the ‘operating table’ in a German field hospital – the kitchen table in a French farmhouse. The military doctor looked at him and told him in accented English, "For you, the war is over." Then the doctor noticed his dog tags and asked in German, "What is 'H'?"
The H for 'Hebrew' identified me as Jewish. I had just turned 19 and I thought that was the end.
At that time all GIs wore stamped metal tags on chains around their necks, containing identifying information including their religion: C for Catholic, P for Protestant or H for Hebrew.
"I knew the H for 'Hebrew' identified me as Jewish," Levine said. "I had just turned 19, and I thought that was the end for me. I said to myself – and I can still hear myself saying it – ‘There goes my 20th birthday.’ I really did not think I would make it.”
Levine was probably too petrified to say anything at that point. He thought his life was over. The doctor must have suspected what the H stood for.
Yet on that summer day in July, 1944, Levine awoke from the operation. He discovered that although his leg was gone, he was still alive. Emerging from the anesthesia, his relief at being alive was greater than the loss of his lower right leg.
Dr. Woll’s surgery saved the Jewish soldier’s life. The compassionate doctor also removed Levine’s incriminating dog tags, insuring his Nazi captors would not kill the young GI because he was a Jew.
“He took the dog tags knowing full well that I would have got in trouble somewhere down the line,” recounted Levine. “I believe he saved me.”
Robert Levine (L) as a young soldier, Dr. Edgar Woll (R) as a young doctor. In the center is the handwritten note explaining the treatment done by Dr. Woll.
Inside his shirt pocket he found a note written by Dr. Woll in German on the reverse side of a Nazi propaganda card with quotations from Adolf Hitler. Though Levine could not read a word of German, he kept the card for months. Then he was rescued by Allied troops and a ship took him home to the United States. When Levine had the note translated, he discovered why the doctor had chosen amputation, including details of the post-surgical treatment: “Crushed right foot. Fracture of lower leg. Foreign body in upper right leg’s tissue. Opening of the ankle joint. Amputation at place of fracture. Bandage with sulfa. Vaccinated against gas gangrene.”
The removal of his dog tags likely saved Levine from being sent to an infamous camp for Jewish POWs where 350 American soldiers were worked to death.
The removal of his dog tags likely saved Levine from being sent to an infamous camp for Jewish POWs where 350 American soldiers were worked to death. Levine’s wife Edith believes her husband would have died if not for Dr. Woll’s exceptional act of kindness towards an injured enemy soldier.
Upon his return home, Levine became a businessman and owned several fast-food restaurants. He led a full life as a husband, father and grandfather. Yet he could not forget the sympathetic German doctor who had inexplicably saved his life, though he never had the chance to thank him or see him again.
Bob Levine, aged 91, at his home in Teaneck, N.J. with his collection of military medals, including the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and France’s Legion of Honor insignia awarded to Allied veterans who served in France during World War II.
It took Robert Levin nearly 40 years to track down Doctor Woll but the mystery started to unravel during an emotional visit back to Normandy Beach in 1981. There, through a network of connections implemented by the curator of the Utah Beach Museum, Levine was able to meet Dr. Woll’s family in Saarbrucken, Germany.
Although Dr. Woll had died of cancer in 1954, his widow and their three children were deeply moved that the veteran, after all these years, was willing to travel to Germany to acknowledge the doctor's humane treatment.
“The family wanted to meet this American Jewish soldier. It was an amazing connection,” said Levine.
Bob and Edith Levine, who have two daughters of their own, spent the weekend with the doctor’s family. They presented Mrs. Woll with her late husband’s old handwritten note.
There was a Saturday night party, with a few drinks and a few toasts. One of the German guests raised a glass and turned to Levine. “Bob,” he declared, “without you, we’d all be saying Heil Hitler. You lost your leg, others lost their lives, but now we can say what we think."
The Levines returned the hospitality. When the Wolls’ granddaughter attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, she stayed at the home of the New Jersey couple.
A second Woll granddaughter was a frequent dinner guest while her husband studied for a law degree at NYU.
The Levines received a family portrait from the Wolls when the doctor’s wife turned 100. The Woll great-granddaughters went home with souvenir T-shirts after a recent U.S. visit.
“They became our extended family,” Levine said. “It’s special. How many guys came out of the war with this kind of connection?”
At a time of unspeakable brutality, the life of one young Jewish soldier had been saved by one Nazi doctor with a compassionate heart.
(26) David Knopf, August 6, 2020 4:52 PM
wonderful
Wonderful story. It shows some Germans had hearts. And the family connection is fabulous. I wonder if there were other similar stories.
(25) Sarah-Hadassah, August 9, 2017 6:09 AM
Never judge a book by its cover - saving one Jew is like saving the whole world!
Dr Woll is German and perhaps a Nazi, but he had a compassionate heart and could not let someone Mr. Levine die from his injuries and then probably saved his life again by removing the dog tags, so he would not be killed.
He saved this Jewish man twice and is in a wonderful place in Heaven and each of us can hope and pray that we will get to be anywhere near that.
It gives each of us the chizuk to always show compassion to others and do what we can to help them.
Baruch Hashem for Dr. Woll, what a special human being!
(24) Donna, March 16, 2017 12:39 AM
My Hero
Bob's life history exemplifies a true Hero. His work with POW's over the last 20 years needs to be included in a future book.
(23) Eric, July 31, 2016 10:14 AM
Hasid umot haolam?
Does Dr. Woll qualify for recognition by Yad vaShem?
(22) Mike, July 27, 2016 11:52 AM
why does the title say "Nazi Doctor"?
Why does the title say "Nazi Doctor" if this surgeon was apparently not a Nazi?
It's one thing that he treated the Jewish-American soldier, it's another thing that he hid the dog-tag!
jason, July 27, 2016 12:55 PM
as the author stated below in the comments...
it does seem likely that the doctor was nazi.
Mike, July 30, 2016 7:52 PM
but why?
I don't know how much exactly one can infer from the physicians actions, and maybe I overlook something, but I don't see what would prove that the physician was a nazi. It's true that he served in the German/nazi military as a physician but he may very well have been drafted. He is also wearing a uniform bearing nazi symbols but that was the uniform that he had to wear and saying openly that he was disagreeing with wearing nazi symbols may well have sent HIM to a concentration camp. So, although there may not be enough to fully exonerate the physician, I don't see that it is evident that he was a nazi, even though that is a possibility, like you say.
(21) Donna, July 27, 2016 2:45 AM
It is wrong to label anyone!
He was a kind man who happened to be a good surgeon. God blessed our soldier by pairing them together. How wonderful! I am so grateful for them both and their families..Thank you for sharing your story.
(20) Bea Green, July 26, 2016 5:20 PM
Not all Germans were Nazis
Great surgeon - brave chap who may have hated Hitler!!
(19) eugene mazzilli, July 26, 2016 4:34 PM
My Uncle Peter
I would like to mention that it is unfair to label all Germans as Nazi's. I know of a true story of German kindness during WWII wherein one German soldier saved the lives of many prisoners in a concentration camp in Germany.
This story was told to us by an uncle who served in the U.S. Army and was captured by the SS inside Germany and shortly thereafter was transferred to a concentration camp inside Germany. He was forced into slave labor as were others, mainly Jews, where they were barely given enough food to eat or sustain life. Before being drafted, my uncle previously was a master chef working in our family restaurant in New York. Uncle Pete did not tell us how the Germans knew of this but as such, he was given a job in the German kitchens serving the German officers and troops. One day, the officer of the mess hall kitchens told my uncle Peter to place all kitchen scraps (potato, vegetables and meat scraps) in a large metal pan in the corner of the kitchen. He did as he was told. Later that evening after they cleaned up all of the scraps of food from the dishes and remains of scraps of food left in the pots (which were all thrown in the large metal pan in the kitchen corner), the officer told my uncle to come to the back of the kitchen and take the scraps back to the concentration camp. My uncle thought that this was some kind of trick and refused to do this. So the German officer said that he would do it himself until my uncle knew that he was sincere . Every night, (until my uncle took over the job), the German officer carried the bag of scraps to the concentration camp where it was picked up by a prisoner.
Those scraps, and the bravery of one German soldier saved the lives of many unknown concentration camp prisoners, including my uncle. Many such stories show the goodness of people that remain to be documented. So, to quote blessed Anne Frank, "I believe that all people are good at heart".
(18) Jak40, July 26, 2016 3:23 PM
I would like to add:
those who judge and use improper words and analysis are people with sentimental feeling rationale but NO LOGIC. It reminds me those who regularrly say that "every goy KNEW what hapened to the Jjews" and wihed it ! and in the same narrative, explain that Jews were caught ignorant of their fate and they Believed the SS and general lies of those Neighbor "who are supposed to have knew everything about their coming story....
Fact: some saw knew understood (very soon or late) and mostly fled...! the others were stubborn blind and coward like ostrich legend of head in the sand...
How can Jews be such un-logical people after 2 Millennia of Talmud Learning!????
(17) Jak40, July 26, 2016 3:06 PM
precision exactitude and knowledge should drive everyone
That Dr Woll was a "German Surgeon at war" with his unfortunate happy Landsleute and NOT a Nazi, of course; as if such, he wouldn"t have behaved like he did!
I suppose that most of Wehrmachts Medicals weren't Nazis as when such, they would have been in SS troops and Nazi Health (!)State Organisations instead of serving hard and dangerously on the Fronts!!!!!
It is a pity to hear, read and listen to false Semantic uses and ignorance...Words are made of Letters and Our conception of them is that they are sacred and Building the World (even if not Hebraic!)
Think about that: DO YOU ARE SURE to have all your free choice all the time for anything in YOUR ACTUAL DEMOCRACY? Ilagine you, as even a majority....in Nazi Germany driven by SD-Gestapo and other SS polices troppops and hierarchy??????
(16) Anna, July 26, 2016 5:24 AM
Some people have asked if the doctor was indeed a Nazi.
I'd say that he certainly was. There is no likelihood of his not being.
Anonymous, July 26, 2016 11:15 AM
German = automatic Nazi?
Why? Did you ask him or what makes you so sure? Or do you assume that all Germans were/are Nazis?
What about the 67% who did not vote for the Nazi Party?
Sorry, but its more complicated than that, and this black/White way of thinking is dangerous.
There are known cases of even People who were at first in the Nazi Party, saving Jews and Poles etc. Just visit Yad vashem.
(15) Beth LeVine, July 26, 2016 12:40 AM
That is one of the most amazing stories of human kindness and thankfulness.
I do not always read the stories, but my intention is to do so. For some reason, tonight, as I am at the Jersey Shore with friends, I saved this story to read. With the events that unfold these days in the world, this story is so heartwarming. I teach Kitah Alef in a Jewish day school. This is a story that I will share when we teach about Yom HaShoah next year. Thank you.
(14) a good freind (DP), July 25, 2016 4:40 PM
The doctor was not afraid to be real.
People tend to be followers. Here is one ( the doctor.) who not only was not a follower, he was real and lived in the moment and made decisions based on both his heart and his intellect. Simultaneously he worked to the rhythm of Hashem's plan for Bob Levine's life..
(13) Mrs H, July 25, 2016 3:35 PM
Beautiful story
Beautiful story, beautifully written and presented.
(12) Carlos Perdomo, July 25, 2016 2:06 PM
What a wonderful story
I'm glad when things like these happen.
(11) Kathleen Dahnke Nottestad, July 25, 2016 1:27 PM
To be or Not to be?!!
beautiful - a Dr. Who choose to save lives vs ending one. I think if you serve your country in what ever capacity - one also serve a higher power God. One does not necessarily embody all the beliefs of any group they belong to. Soldiers are trained to do what soldiers do BUT humanity still surfaces - UNtold stories of when the gift of life was granted by another with the power to choose. I'd like to believe it isn't so rare. For - there but for the grace of God go we.
(10) Geoffrey L Rogg, July 25, 2016 12:10 PM
Nazi Doctor saving injured Jewish G.I.'s life.
Only German Jews are qualified to comment on or judge their fellow Germans' acquiescence to the Nazi regime. The rest of us cannot begin to imagine want it meant to oppose the evil juggernaut.
(9) Valerie Knowles, July 25, 2016 12:24 AM
I also agree with Amy and Clark
(8) Anonymous, July 24, 2016 8:46 PM
thank you
Such a touching event, these stories need to be shared with all peoples, so people learn and understand these times. This story and others like them need to be shared internationally.
(7) Marvin Feil, July 24, 2016 5:26 PM
Judge the Person, Not the Group
This is why we should judge people as individuals whenever possible.
(6) Marsha Wernick, July 24, 2016 4:57 PM
When Humanity Triumphs
Our only hope as a species is to turn to our God-given humanity - our conscience - rather than to allow ourselves to be led by evil dogma. This was a very moving story. The German doctor and the Jewish soldier were each a hero and a mensch.
(5) h george kagan, July 24, 2016 4:28 PM
My mother too was miraculuously saved by one sympathetic nazi officer
In late 1939 or early 1940 my mother and two teenage friends chose against her mother's imploring (that "this" would blow over) and left Milosna, a little suburb of Warsaw, taking the train, intending to cross into the Soviet Union at the nearby border at Sevastopol. On that very day the Germans had massacred Jews there, many of whom lay dead in the town square. Germans were in control of the train station and a 'fellow Polish' passenger informed that these three were probably Jews and so they were brought by soldiers to some level of commandant there. He questioned them; looked at their papers and found the "truth" about their identity; he paused a moment (during which my existence hung in the balance) and told them in essence to get the hell out of there (meaning keep going east, across the border on foot). They hid in a abandoned warehouse in the freezing night and at dawn ran across the frozen river but a German patrol with dogs saw and ran after, ordering them to halt, which they did not do. Russian soldiers on the other side were cheering them on but then immediately arrested them because the border had been closed, and after another miracle in the Russian jail courtesy of a merciful female Russian Dr., a near fatal illness was cured (her cellmates banged their cups on the bars wanting the 'dead girl' out of their cell. Then the Russians unknowingly did her the greatest favor they could, miracle #3 (actually there were a few miracles before this, like when the Germans were burning vacation cabins down around a lake and stopped just short of the one her family was hiding in -- the catalyst for Mom's decision) they sent her by cattle car six weeks, as she tells it, to Siberia where of course she survived the Nazi invasion which followed. The story moved me to tears, and though not as dramatic as going to Germany to find the unknown commandant, I felt like setting it down for the first time (although my mother, Ann Kagan, did do one of the Spielberg tapes).
(4) Amy, July 24, 2016 3:58 PM
Why call him a "Nazi doctor"?
There is no reason to think, based on the story related here, that this doctor was a member of the Nazi party. In fact, judging by what he did, he probably wasn't. Plenty of Germans who served during WWII were just draftees who were not Nazis. Yes, this doctor served the Reich, most likely because he had no choice in the matter, but to call him a Nazi is an unnecessary defamation of a clearly principled and admirable man.
Clark Zlotchew, July 24, 2016 6:34 PM
I agree with Amy
What Amy wrote is exactly what I was about to write. German doctor, yes. Nazi doctor, NO.
menucha levin, July 25, 2016 11:44 AM
author's response
According to the sources I found, most described Dr. Woll as a Nazi doctor:
'The Nazi doctor who treated Levine was Dr Edgar Woll. When Levine woke up after some time of unconsciousness, he found out that his leg had been amputated, and that the Nazi doctor was gone. His dog tag was missing and there was a note tucked into his pocket. The doctor had written a note on back of a Nazi propaganda card bearing quotes of the Fuehrer.' - War History online
In the Jewish Veteran Vol.69, #2, someone raised the same question:
One has to wonder whether Dr. Woll was a member of the Nazi Party or a surgeon in a Nazi related unit like the Waffen SS. Do we know if he was, in fact, a Nazi?
Their reply:
I don’t know how you verify that someone was a card carrying member of the NSDAP (Nazi Party) – at least not quickly verify. There are more than enough examples of people ignoring the Geneva Convention and Hippocratic oath. Oskar Schindler was a Nazi, so membership doesn’t necessarily preclude someone from having a soul and Josef Mengele presumably should have been guided by some code of ethics, but obviously wasn’t. Dr. Woll is mentioned in an article online as a military doctor and there’s a photo of him in a uniform. As Nazi is generally a catchall for any German during that period, much like GI is a catchall for anyone who served in the US military (rather than just draftees), I think it’s pretty safe to say that Dr. Woll qualifies as a Nazi.
Sincerely,
Pamela Elbe Collections Manager/Archivist,
National Museum of American Jewish Military History
In the photo of Dr. Woll, the insignia of the Nazi eagle appears to be attached to the collar of his uniform but is too tiny to be seen clearly.
In any event, compared to the brutality shown by other Nazi doctors during the era of the Holocaust, Dr. Woll's act of compassion is even more outstanding.
Menucha Chana Levin
Menucha Chana Levin, July 25, 2016 2:58 PM
Was Dr. Woll a Nazi?
In my research about this story I found this reply to the same question you asked:
I don’t know how you verify that someone was a card carrying member of the NSDAP (Nazi Party) – at least not quickly verify. There are more than enough examples of people ignoring the Geneva Convention and Hippocratic oath. Oskar Schindler was a Nazi, so membership doesn’t necessarily preclude someone from having a soul and Josef Mengele presumably should have been guided by some code of ethics, but obviously wasn’t. Dr. Woll is mentioned in an article online as a military doctor and there’s a photo of him in a uniform. As Nazi is generally a catchall for any German during that period, much like GI is a catchall for anyone who served in the US military (rather than just draftees), I think it’s pretty safe to say that Dr. Woll qualifies as a Nazi.
Sincerely,
Pamela Elbe Collections Manager/Archivist,
National Museum of American Jewish Military History
(3) Anonymous, July 24, 2016 2:57 PM
wonderful
Wonderful story and highly unusual I am sure.
(2) Bettina, July 24, 2016 2:35 PM
Thank you !
This story brings tears to my eyes. Yes, from my parents and grandparents stories I know of many incidences of such human compassion which should be in everybody's heart but as history and the present shows is sadly so often not the case. As a post-war German woman I cannot tell you my gratitude to all veterans for fighting to give us freedom and democracy . My best friend from Israel and I once visited a restaurant at Veterans Day where many of those good souls enjoyed their dinner... We thanked them and showed them the result of their Brave endeavor .they also had tears of joy in their eyes.....my father was a German soldier during World War II ( I grew up in post-war Germany ) who raised his children stressing the beauty of melting pot societies and my Israeli friend ( growing up in France and Israel ) equally enjoyed her parents raising them without prejudice towards a people and encouraging cross-cultural experiences. Now we need to accomplish and pray for that same peaceful and enlightened existence for the whole world . Thank you Aish.com ! You may not realize this but you enlighten readers from many religious backgrounds ! Bless you all! ??????????? ???
(1) Joseph, July 24, 2016 1:13 PM
The Power of the Good Deed
A good deed continues to bless. The doctor lives in sacred memory of two families.