Moritz (Moshe) Reingewurtz, the son of Asher and Betty, was born in Breslau in Germany on 8th August 1925.
When he was a youngster, his prosperous parents sent him to a village in England. He fell in love with the Zionist ideal and when he grew up, he moved to London and worked there as an electrician. He joined the Haganah whilst still in England
His parents and two sisters perished in a German concentration camp. A brother, Guenther, also succeeded in getting to England, and later served as a Machal volunteer in Palmach Hanegev.
Moritz left England for France and spent three months there before being sent to Israel. He arrived on 17th May 1948 as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces
He served as a machine gunner in one of the battalions of the Oded Brigade. Later he transferred to the Alexandroni Brigade as an infantryman. There he volunteered to serve in its attack force, believing that he could contribute even more there. He served as a machine gunner on an armored vehicle, and later in the Jeep Commandos until he was wounded.
He took part in battles at Mahanayim in the Galilee, Migdal Zedek, Kfar Kula and Rosh Ha’ayin. He served at Tel Nof, and then fought at Faluja and Iraq el-Manshiya. He was swarthy and broad-shouldered, kind-hearted and energetic, and loved his comrades, commanders and all those close to him. Loyal to his nation and country, he was always amongst the first to volunteer for actions and attack missions. He intended to remain in Israel after the war, even if it involved hard physical work, and he quickly mastered the Hebrew language.
He was hit in the head by an enemy bullet while trying to extricate his jeep from a patch of heavy mud. Unconscious, he was taken to a Jerusalem hospital and died of the wounds on 29th December 1948.
He was buried at Sheik Badar “B,”and re-interred on 21st June 1951 in the Mount Herzl military cemetery.
Source: Translated from the Yizkor website by Joe Woolf
Source: Translated from the Yizkor website by Joe Woolf