Jewish American Soldiers playedan important role in liberating Nazi concentration camps during World War II.Beginning in the spring of 1945, the U.S. Army began uncovering these camps,revealing the horrific realities of the Holocaust. Jewish soldiers, many ofwhom were fluent in Yiddish, were not only witnesses to the atrocities but alsothe first to offer solace and a sense of community to the survivors. Thepresentation will highlight their unique position as liberators that weresimultaneously U.S. Army soldiers and members of the Jewish community,emphasizing their ability to communicate with survivors and provide immediatesupport and understanding amidst the chaos and devastation.

Michael Rugel is the Director ofPrograms and Content at the National Museum of American Jewish MilitaryHistory. Prior to that he served on the museum's collections managementstaff.  

Rugel has frequently writtenabout Jews in the American military. He regularly speaks about the history ofJews in the American Military at museum programs as well as to local schools,synagogues, community centers and veterans groups. He has given Jews in themilitary and Holocaust Remembrance talks to groups and organizations includingat the Pentagon, Walter Reed Army Medical Research Center and Naval MedicalResearch Center. Rugel has produced a series of videos featuring AmericanJewish liberators of concentration camps describing their World War IIexperiences. 

Upcoming publications include“The American Serviceman Finding and (Re)creating Jewish Community during WorldWar II” in Michael: On the History of the Jews in the Diaspora publishedby The Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center at Tel Aviv University. Hiswriting regularly appears in the Jewish Veteran magazine, Jewsin Green website, and National Museum of American Jewish MilitaryHistory website. 

Rugel has appeared in multipledocumentary films including GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World WarII on PBS and Stabbed in the Back: the story of the500,000 Jewish soldiers who served in the Central Powers (Germany,Austria-Hungary) armies during The Great War.

He was raised in Reston,Virginia. He received a Bachelor's degree in history from the College ofWilliam and Mary and a Master's Degree in Museum Studies from George WashingtonUniversity. He lives in Dunn Loring, Virginia with his wife Judy and daughter Hadley.