Nahum Golan

Nahum Golan was born in 1915 in Gera

Nahum Golan was born Nahum Spiegel in the city of Gera in Germany. He grew up in a traditional home and was active in Zionist youth movements. In 1935 he moved to the Land of Israel and joined a Kibbutz Meuhad group in Gedera, later Kibbutz Kfar Szold.

When the 1936 riots began he joined the Notrim and took British military courses. In World War II he joined the British army, served in the Jewish Brigade and was commended twice. He spent 5 years in Europe and then returned to Kfar Szold.

In 1948 he joined the new Golani Brigade and changed his surname to Golan. He served as its operations officer and then as its commander until March 1950. In March 1949, during Operation Uvda, his forces reached Umm Rashrash.

He then headed the IDF Operations Directorate and later retired, despite requests from David Ben-Gurion and others that he stay. He held a senior reserve post and roles in the Kibbutz Meuhad movement, serving as its secretary in the late 1950s. From 1969 to 1972 he was chief immigration emissary in the United States. He died in 1991 and was buried in Kfar Szold.