Although over a million Jews were estimated to be fighting for the Allies by the middle of World War II, the British government (which controlled Palestine) refused to allow the formation of an independent Jewish unit. Finally, in the face of public pressure and horrific reports of the Holocaust, the Jewish Brigade was created in 1944. The Brigade fought against the Germans in Italy during the last year of the war, distinguishing itself in action, and gave Jews across the world pride at seeing, for the first time, soldiers fighting under the flag of the Star of David.