Striking Back. A Jewish Commando's War Against the Nazis [Signed]

Masters, Peter

ISBN 10: 0891416293 / ISBN 13: 9780891416296

Published by Presidio Press, Novato, CA, 1997

About this Item

Octavo Size [approx 14x22cm]. Very Good condition in Very Good Dustjacket. DJ protected in our clear archival purpose-made plastic sleeve. A nice copy. Signed by the author. Illustrated with Black & White Photographs and Maps. Foreword by Stephen Ambrose. Robust, professional packaging and tracking provided for all parcels. 340 pages. In all probability, the Nazi's greatest enemies were Jews who gave up everything but their lives to flee the deadly persecution they were enduring in Germany, Austria, and Eastern Europe. Unknown to everyone except military personnel with a "need to know", eighty-seven of these escapees were recruited into a commando unit in the British Army unlike any other - comprised almost entirely of Jewish refugees. The author, Austrian born Peter Arany, was a member of 3 troop, 10 Commando of the British Army.

Seller Inventory # 325808

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Striking Back. A Jewish Commando's War Against the Nazis [Signed]
• Publisher: Presidio Press, Novato, CA
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0891416293
• ISBN 13: 9780891416296
• Binding: Hardback
• Edition: 1st US Edition.
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Military-WW2

About this title

Synopsis

An Austrian Jew by birth, the author recounts how, following Hitler's takeover of his homeland, he fled to England, where he was recruited into a secret, elite commando unit made up of Jewish refugees and given an elaborate false identity.

Reviews

Masters, an Austrian-born Jew originally named Peter Arany, has an unusual war story to tell, one that has not been told before. Masters was one of 87 Jewish refugees from Hitler who volunteered for military service in Troop 3, No. 10 Commando, an elite unit of the British army. Troop 3 was unusual in that almost all of its members were Austrian and German Jews, men who spoke German fluently and who would be trained in the ways and means of the German army (to the extent that, Masters notes wryly, they probably knew more about German weaponry and organization than most German soldiers). For these men, some of them concentration camp survivors, this assignment represented a unique opportunity to fight back against the Nazis. Ironically, nearly all of them had previously been interned by the British as ``friendly enemy aliens'' when the war broke out. When they were recruited for ``special and hazardous duty,'' they were required to assume new identities, with elaborate cover stories to explain their oddly accented English. Thus, Arany became Masters, Geiser became Gordon, Abramowitz Arlen, and so on. Masters recounts their grueling training with wit and gusto, leaving readers with little doubt that these men were ready for combat. And with the Normandy invasion, they saw plenty of it. Masters and other members of Troop 3 fought in Normandy for three long months; he would return to action in the Netherlands and participate in the final invasion of Germany. His narration of his combat experiences is vivid yet low-key. He never sugarcoats the reality of the violence he witnessed, but the book is leavened by a goodly mix of humor and a warm feeling for his compatriots. An admirable war memoir from a man who was neither a professional soldier nor a professional writer but who has acquitted himself nicely in both roles. There is a foreword by noted historian Stephen E. Ambrose. (32 b&w photos) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.