Amcho: Difference between revisions
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During [[World War II]], when [[Jewish refugees]] were seeking family and friends during [[genocide]], the term ''amcho'' served as a [[shibboleth]] to identify fellow Jews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jacob Szapszewicz |url=https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2003/11/03/holocaust-survivors-gather/50714714007/ |website=St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum}}</ref> In modern times, various [[Holocaust survivors|survivors]] recall using it to determine if strangers were Jewish and potentially find allies or assistance,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Slucki |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Laughter_After.html?id=oxioDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description |title=Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust |last2=Patt |first2=Avinoam |last3=Finder |first3=Gabriel N. |date=2020-04-07 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-4479-8 |language=en}}</ref> while some deny that the term was in common use during the war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is it true that during WW2, Jewish people had a secret code word called "amcho" that let other Jewish people know they were Jews? |url=https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-that-during-WW2-Jewish-people-had-a-secret-code-word-called-amcho-that-let-other-Jewish-people-know-they-were-Jews |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Quora |language=en}}</ref> |
During [[World War II]], when [[Jewish refugees]] were seeking family and friends during [[genocide]], the term ''amcho'' served as a [[shibboleth]] to identify fellow Jews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jacob Szapszewicz |url=https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2003/11/03/holocaust-survivors-gather/50714714007/ |website=St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum}}</ref> In modern times, various [[Holocaust survivors|survivors]] recall using it to determine if strangers were Jewish and potentially find allies or assistance,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Slucki |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Laughter_After.html?id=oxioDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description |title=Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust |last2=Patt |first2=Avinoam |last3=Finder |first3=Gabriel N. |date=2020-04-07 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-4479-8 |language=en}}</ref> while some deny that the term was in common use during the war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is it true that during WW2, Jewish people had a secret code word called "amcho" that let other Jewish people know they were Jews? |url=https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-that-during-WW2-Jewish-people-had-a-secret-code-word-called-amcho-that-let-other-Jewish-people-know-they-were-Jews |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Quora |language=en}}</ref> |
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The term originates from [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''עמך'' (amkhá) meaning "one's nation |
The term originates from [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''עמך'' (amkhá) meaning "one's nation" or "people",<ref>{{Cite web |title=מה זה עמכו - מילון עברי עברי - מילוג |url=https://milog.co.il/%D7%A2%D7%9E%D7%9B%D7%95 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=milog.co.il |language=he}}</ref> [[Yiddish words used in English|through Yiddish]] ''עמך'' (ámkho) meaning "common people," essentially "Jews".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> |
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== Personal anecdotes == |
== Personal anecdotes == |
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Revision as of 02:31, 24 April 2024
Amcho or amcha, also transliterated as amkho or amkha (Hebrew: עמכו, romanized: ʾamkho, lit. 'one's people', plural: עמכות ʾamkhot; Yiddish: אמכא, romanized: amkha, lit. 'common people'), is an idiomatic term that refers to the common people, especially Jews, as opposed to the elite.[1] It was commonly used among Jews in Europe, especially during the Holocaust, as a means of identification.[2][3]
During World War II, when Jewish refugees were seeking family and friends during genocide, the term amcho served as a shibboleth to identify fellow Jews.[4] In modern times, various survivors recall using it to determine if strangers were Jewish and potentially find allies or assistance,[5] while some deny that the term was in common use during the war.[6]
The term originates from Hebrew עמך (amkhá) meaning "one's nation" or "people",[7] through Yiddish עמך (ámkho) meaning "common people," essentially "Jews".[1][2]
Personal anecdotes
Polish Holocaust survivor Jacob Szapszewicz recounted an incident during the war where he used the term amcho to identify a fellow Jew. While searching for a friend named Moshe, Szapszewicz encountered him crossing a valley. He shouted in Hebrew.[8]
… I saw [a shadow] — because he was a night man too — and he could walk quietly. [When I saw him,] I said, "That must be Moshe," and I started yelling … I was scared to yell Yiddish or Polish. I yelled, "Amcho!" Amcho in Hebrew [was like saying] "Jew." We used to communicate in this way, and nobody could know what amcho [meant]. I yelled, "Amcho, amcho!" He didn’t stop. So, I ran after him and he ran too and I felt he was scared of me, sure. He didn’t know who [I was]. I felt that I'm not going to catch him and I started yelling, "Moshe, Moshe!" and he stopped.
In 1944, Shayke Avni, a Jewish soldier in the Red Army during World War II, recalled using the term to identify a fellow Jewish officer. By asking, he confirmed the officer's Jewish identity and facilitated a warm encounter.[9]
… An officer with the rank of lieutenant, accompanied by about twenty privates, approached my tank. The men were muddy, wet, dirty, and frozen. I don't know how this occurred to me, but I believed that I was seeing a Jewish officer. In those days, I knew already the code accepted among Jews, my word was: Amkho?, and the reply was "Kmokho – amkho." I resorted to this code and, thus, I learned that the officer was indeed Jewish, and that he had been drafted into the Red Army in 1940... Kaplan, that Jewish officer who rode on my tank in 1944, [later] also moved to Israel and, in the late 1960s, we met when both of us were officers of the Israeli Defense Forces. …
See also
References
- ^ a b "Amcha". Jewish Languages. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
- ^ a b "Amkho?": The Secret Code of Jewish Refugees. Retrieved 2024-04-24 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Witnesses to the Holocaust: Stories of Minnesota Holocaust Survivors and Liberators (PDF). Retrieved 2024-04-23.
- ^ "Jacob Szapszewicz". St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum.
- ^ Slucki, David; Patt, Avinoam; Finder, Gabriel N. (2020-04-07). Laughter After: Humor and the Holocaust. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-4479-8.
- ^ "Is it true that during WW2, Jewish people had a secret code word called "amcho" that let other Jewish people know they were Jews?". Quora. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "מה זה עמכו - מילון עברי עברי - מילוג". milog.co.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ "Oral History - Jacob Szapszewicz". St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
- ^ "Jews in the Red Army, 1941–1945 - Shayke (Yeshayahu) Avni". Yad Vashem. Retrieved 2024-04-23.