Synopsis of Palmach history
Palmach Commanders
The Beginning of the Palmach
Struggle against the British
The War of Independence
Dismantling of the Palmach
Palmach and the Settlements
The Palmach's Military Thinking
Units and Organizational Structure
The Land Squad
The Palmach Headquarters - departments, services and activities
Palhibe Platoon
Hayot Hanegev (the Negev Animals)
The French Commando
The Palmach Special Units
The German Unit
The Balkan Unit
The Palestinian Paratroopers
The Palmach's Air Platoon
Hamahlaka Ha'aravit - 'Hashahar' (the Arab Unit - Dawn)
The Palmach's companies in Italy
The Palmach's Religious Platoon
The Palmach Brigades
The Palmach Battalions
The Palmach Companies
Female Palmach Members
Culture and Folklore
Palmach Contribution and Legacy
The news of the massacre of the Jews in Europe began arriving in Palestine at the end of 1942. This, in addition to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, has upset the Hebrew settlement and urged the preparations for the Hagana Salvation Program. The Palmach headquarters, under the command of Isa'ac Sade, reached the conclusion that the realization of the program requires the set up of a wide network of messengers.
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The news of the massacre of the Jews in Europe began arriving in Palestine at the end of 1942. This, in addition to the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, has upset the Hebrew settlement and urged the preparations for the Hagana Salvation Program. The Palmach headquarters, under the command of Isa'ac Sade, reached the conclusion that the realization of the program requires the set up of a wide network of messengers which would strive to accomplish the following:
To help the Jews in the territories under Nazi control.
To organize an anti- Nazi underground in the Balkan.
To sabotage and collect intelligence in order to aid the Allies.
At the beginning of 1944 a special unit, the Balkan Unit, was set up in order to achieve these goals in the framework of the Palmach's Company Seven alongside Hazore'a course. The unit's twenty eight men were chosen according to their origin and their social and personal compatibility. The unit operated in Kibbutz Hazore'a as an ordinary Palmach Platoon, its men stayed in the creamery in Yoqne'am and trained in the forests of Mishmar Hae'mek and in Dalyat- A- Roha (near En- Hashofet).
The unit's trainings were divided in two:
From the military aspect: the men were trained in guerrilla warfare which required physical fitness, in rescue and camouflage abilities and in various combat methods and fighting techniques.
From the theoretical aspect: the men studied about the target country. The training was meant to strengthen the men's spirits and their belief in the importance of helping their brothers.
Following a marine course in Caesarea (on the 9th of April 1944) the unit's men were transferred to Ramat Hakovesh to train with the rest of the Palmach forces. Some of the unit's men, who were graduates of Hazore'a course, were recruited to the British army and to the Parachuting Project. Those who were not recruited returned to Yoqne'am and continued training in three different squads; the Hungarian squad under the command of Ya'akov Salomon, the Austrian squad under the command Menahem Hirsh (Zinger) and the Romanian squad under the command of Shmuel Yannai (Sameq).
The unit's operating program was designed by the Jewish Agency; at first the programs dealt mainly with penetration techniques rather than the activity which would take place in the target country. One program planned a massive parachuting operation above the triple borderline between Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria; another, the landing on the shores of Yugoslavia. On July 1944, the Defense Program was crystallized; it involved dozens of Hagana members, including men from the German and Balkan units, who were to penetrate and set up a military camp which would be used as a base for defense and rescue work which would take place in the area. The program was submitted to two Secret British Intelligence branches, the I.S.L.D and the A-Force (the escape staff), but the British, on whom depended the unit's existence and operations, rejected the program.
The rejection of the Agency's initiative was due to political interests such as the fear that the unit's operation would later grant the Agency a right for political claims after the War.
In the beginning of September 1944 the British announced of the dispersion of the Balkan unit, and its men returned to their original Palmach units.
The Palmach's involvement in the parachuting project
Yoel Bar-Lev
Samuel Giveon
Menachem Glazer
Esther Kener
Jacob Salomon