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A review by yrc
X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II by Leah Garrett
4.0
I audiobooked this and it was really interesting!
We live in an era where there are so many historical fiction and non fiction books about WW2. This can lead many readers to think that everything already known.
However, this book depicts the lives before, during and after the war of German and Austrian Jewish refugees who barely escaped Hitler.
They were able to reach England after their families were mostly murdered.
There they were offered a once in a lifetime opportunity- to train and fight against the nazis assuming totally new and fake British identities. All of these soldiers played a significant role in fighting the nazis and denatzifying Europe.
I especially enjoyed hearing about the companionship between the men, and how while some situations required blunt force, other times they took hundreds of germans captive by persuasion. I also was horrified to learn about the camps these soldiers were sent to in Canada and Australia, as well as the treatment of them on British ships.
My main issue with the book was that the author portrayed the story of multiple commandos and assorted units they were connected with over the years and fronts across 2 continents.
In my opinion, it would have been clearer and easier to follow the book if she had focused on 3-4 soldiers stories.
That way it also would have been even more impactful. That being said, it's very evident that the author did tons of research and made a big effort to uncover and respect these soldiers and their remarkable story.
Now that this previously untold story is out, I hope that more documents will be available so we can know even more about this unit. Overall highly recommended!
We live in an era where there are so many historical fiction and non fiction books about WW2. This can lead many readers to think that everything already known.
However, this book depicts the lives before, during and after the war of German and Austrian Jewish refugees who barely escaped Hitler.
They were able to reach England after their families were mostly murdered.
There they were offered a once in a lifetime opportunity- to train and fight against the nazis assuming totally new and fake British identities. All of these soldiers played a significant role in fighting the nazis and denatzifying Europe.
I especially enjoyed hearing about the companionship between the men, and how while some situations required blunt force, other times they took hundreds of germans captive by persuasion. I also was horrified to learn about the camps these soldiers were sent to in Canada and Australia, as well as the treatment of them on British ships.
My main issue with the book was that the author portrayed the story of multiple commandos and assorted units they were connected with over the years and fronts across 2 continents.
In my opinion, it would have been clearer and easier to follow the book if she had focused on 3-4 soldiers stories.
That way it also would have been even more impactful. That being said, it's very evident that the author did tons of research and made a big effort to uncover and respect these soldiers and their remarkable story.
Now that this previously untold story is out, I hope that more documents will be available so we can know even more about this unit. Overall highly recommended!