During WWII there were highly motivated soldiers that wanted to fight Nazism. One such type of soldier fought for the British Expeditionary Forces: German refugees to England who signed up to fight Hitler. Most of these refugees were Jewish children who made their way to England on the Kindertransport or by other means making their escape before the Nazi noose tightened around them and when they came of age they volunteered or were solicited for top secret commando units to penetrate enemy German lines and gather information, fight as commandos or interrogate German prisoners. These commandos played an integral role in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy in 1944 and the eventual Allied victory.
The unique aspect of the these commandos was the requirement to sublimate their Jewish identities completely by taking on an original British name and identity. For Example Manfred Gans became Fred Gray; Peter Arany became Peter Masters, Claus Ascher became Colin Anson.
Some of the extraordinary exploits of these brave men are highlighted in this very readable history. Gans, for example was so fearless that when he heard that parents were still alive at Theresienstadt, he requested a jeep and driver and rode 0ver 300 miles in hostile territory to find his parents. Gans was one of the few who were Orthodox growing up and had to suppress such an identity, however to his credit after the war he uncovered his Jewish identity and even became his Synagogue president. Others on the other hand remained completely British forever burying there childhood identities out of complete gratitude to England for their salvation from Nazi Germany.
The men were secretly trained in Wales and only recently is a monument visible at the site of their training. Curiously, there is no mention of being Jewish refugees despite the fact that over 90 percent of the X troop were completely Jewish. Being Jewish made these commandos highly motivated in the fight against Hitler. Additionally curious is the delayed naturalization of these soldiers to becoming British subjects whose naturalization was swift. England was quick to exploit their motivations and language skills but not quick to admit them to post war Britain - perhaps a hint at lingering Anti Semitism.
The Nazis were shocked at how perfect was their interrogators' spoken German and in asking 'how do you know German so well?' The response was "I will ask the questions, you will just answer them!"
Read this book and be ready to be inspired!
