National Geographic Channel
The Allied victory in World War Two was helped by a group of soldiers who were committed to the defeat of the Nazis more than any others. Now, after seventy years of silence, a handful of the 10,000 German and Austrian men and women who volunteered to fight for the British forces have decided to tell their story. It is the story Churchill’s German Army - the Germans who fought for Britain.
They were described as ‘suicide soldiers’ because their German nationality and the fact that many were from Jewish ancestry meant if captured, they faced agonising torture and certain execution. Yet every one of them were volunteers – not conscripts like the vast majority of the British forces.
Churchill’s German Army features a range of personal testimonies from individuals who fought in every branch of the British Forces - on land, in the air and at sea.
From Intelligence Officer Geoffrey Perry (born Horst Pinschewer) who captured Britain’s most wanted traitor, William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) to Sir Ken Adam (born Klaus Hugo Adam) the only German born RAF fighter pilot who would go on to become an Oscar winning Hollywood production designer, Churchill’s German Army tells the stories of the those who played a pivotal role in the Allied victory over Hitler.
These ‘Enemy Aliens’ fought on all fronts and included Navy Intelligence Officer Bill Howard (born Horst Adolf Herzberg) who witnessed the bloodiest D-Day landing at Omaha Beach and the story of tank driver Willy Field (Willy Hirschfield) who would experience the hell of Dachau concentration camp, the horror of the prison ship Dunera and the death of his entire crew in a single day before eventually liberating Hamburg and taking part in the VE victory parade in the centre of Berlin.
Some, were broken by their experiences including sign writer Harry Rossney (Helmuth Rosettenstein) who had taken part in the Normandy landing before going onto organise the hand-written temporary graves of the thousands of fallen Allied soldiers in Northern France. Others suffered terrible injuries including Commando Colin Anson (Claus Leopold Octavio Ascher) who, during his part in the invasion of Sicily, was left with part of his brain exposed after his assault ship was attacked by German dive bombers.
They would give up their family names and fight the Nazis on the soil that was once their home against the people who were once their neighbours. These are exceptional stories of bravery and sacrifice in some of the most infamous and bloody operations across Europe and beyond. Despite being mistrusted by the entire nation these individuals swore allegiance to the King and wore their British uniforms with pride.