Saturday, June 30, 2012
Patton: The Magic Jews in the Cemetery
In "The Magic Jew in the Village" I wrote about how author David J. Smith apparently cooked-the-books to ensure there would be at least one Jew in
If The World Were A Village. Recently, I watched the 1970 film Patton and a similar occurrence caught my eye. At about 36:53 into the film General George S. Patton, played by George C. Scott, is shown visiting an American military cemetery in North Africa. As the camera pans right, Scott walks left and pauses just behind a Star of David grave marker. In the entire cemetery scene I counted three Stars of David and sixteen crosses. That would indicate that 15.8% of the graves belonged to Jewish soldiers. How plausible is such a percentage?
Well, Patton led US troops in 1942 and 1943. So, the closest US census data is from 1940. In 1940, the low estimate for the US Jewish population was 4,770,000 and the overall US population was 134,146,298. Thus, the low estimate for the percentage of the US population that was Jewish in 1940 was 3.6%. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, 550,000 Jews "served in every branch of the armed forces of the United States" during World War II and "11,000 Jews were killed, 7,000 in combat." According to a 2010 report prepared by the Congressional Research Service, "American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics," 16,112,566 US military personnel served in WW II with 405,399 total deaths, including 291,557 battle deaths.
Therefore, Jews comprised 3.4% of US military personnel in WW II and suffered just 2.7% of total deaths and 2.4% of combat deaths. The data indicate then that Jews served in the US military in WW II in numbers roughly proportionate to their share of the US population but they died in disproportionately lower numbers compared to non-Jews. Thus, we conclude that there are good grounds for believing there are magic—i.e. contrived, fabricated—Jews in that cemetery scene in Patton. This conclusion is further bolstered when we look at actual photos from the only American military cemetery in North Africa (see images below) where you see nothing like 15.8% of the graves being marked with Stars of David. What else would you expect from Hollywood?
Well, Patton led US troops in 1942 and 1943. So, the closest US census data is from 1940. In 1940, the low estimate for the US Jewish population was 4,770,000 and the overall US population was 134,146,298. Thus, the low estimate for the percentage of the US population that was Jewish in 1940 was 3.6%. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, 550,000 Jews "served in every branch of the armed forces of the United States" during World War II and "11,000 Jews were killed, 7,000 in combat." According to a 2010 report prepared by the Congressional Research Service, "American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics," 16,112,566 US military personnel served in WW II with 405,399 total deaths, including 291,557 battle deaths.
Therefore, Jews comprised 3.4% of US military personnel in WW II and suffered just 2.7% of total deaths and 2.4% of combat deaths. The data indicate then that Jews served in the US military in WW II in numbers roughly proportionate to their share of the US population but they died in disproportionately lower numbers compared to non-Jews. Thus, we conclude that there are good grounds for believing there are magic—i.e. contrived, fabricated—Jews in that cemetery scene in Patton. This conclusion is further bolstered when we look at actual photos from the only American military cemetery in North Africa (see images below) where you see nothing like 15.8% of the graves being marked with Stars of David. What else would you expect from Hollywood?
Labels: Hollywood, Jews, military, statistics, War
