ABSTRACT
A great many activists, including founders of the movement and leaders of both the older and the “middle” generation, perished along with their families. The Holocaust put a halt to the rapid spread of the Revisionist movement in Europe. In the absence of any overall authority, the movement's center of gravity shifted to the Holy Land, where the younger generation was waging a determined struggle against the Arab Revolt and would be fighting against the British, who, at the most critical hour of need, closed the ports to Holocaust refugees. The Revolt waged by Lehi, later joined by the Irgun, was a revolt of the few against the many. It was the struggle of a small band against a mighty external Power, as well as a hostile, oppressive Jewish leadership. The experiences of the fighters during the years of the Revolt bound them with cords of pain, bereavement, fury, hatred, and a sense of betrayal.
