It is not very well known that William Cooper was not alone in his protests against the Nazi persecution of Jews in Europe. In Sydney, the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) was led by John Thomas (Jack) Patten, whose aims aligned with Cooper’s. The two men coordinated to stage simultaneous protests at the German Consulates in both cities. An internal political struggle between Patten and APA co-founder William Ferguson led to negative media that overshadowed Patten’s heroic action. During 1940 Jack Patten also campaigned for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be able to join Australia’s fight against Nazi Germany without having to pretend they belonged to another ethnicity to enlist. When the rules relaxed, partly in response to this campaign, Patten and his brother George enlisted and served in the Middle East as part of the 2/1 Battalion of the AIF. Patten served in the historic homeland of the Jewish people he had spoken up for until his discharge in 1941 as the result of a shrapnel injury.