WALL STREET JOURNAL BOOK OF THE MONTH
""This is the incredible World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britainâs most secretive special-forces unitâbut whose story has gone untold until now."" âWall Street Journal
âBrilliantly researched, utterly gripping history: the first full account of a remarkable group of Jewish refugeesâa top-secret band of brothersâwho waged war on Hitler.ââAlex Kershaw, New York Times best-selling author of The Longest Winter and The Liberator
The incredible World War II saga of the German-Jewish commandos who fought in Britainâs most secretive special-forces unitâbut whose story has gone untold until now
June 1942. The shadow of the Third Reich has fallen across the European continent. In desperation, Winston Churchill and his chief of staff form an unusual plan: a new commando unit made up of Jewish refugees who have escaped to Britain. The resulting volunteers are a motley group of intellectuals, artists, and athletes, most from Germany and Austria. Many have been interned as enemy aliens, and have lost their families, their homesâtheir whole worlds. They will stop at nothing to defeat the Nazis. Trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat, this top secret unit becomes known as X Troop. Some simply call them a suicide squad.
Drawing on extensive original research, including interviews with the last surviving members, Leah Garrett follows this unique band of brothers from Germany to England and back again, with stops at British internment camps, the beaches of Normandy, the battlefields of Italy and Holland, and the hellscape of Terezin concentration campâthe scene of one of the most dramatic, untold rescues of the war. For the first time, X Troop tells the astonishing story of these secret shock troops and their devastating blows against the Nazis.
âGarrettâs detective work is stunning, and her storytelling is masterful. This is an original account of Jewish rescue, resistance, and revenge.ââWendy Lower, author of The Ravine and National Book Award finalist Hitlerâs Furies