I just picked up the book X Troop, by Leah Garrett. Despite what you may think, it is not about another group in the same army as Cpl Agarn, Rather, it is about No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Command, 3 Troop, better known as X Troop. These men were specifically German speaking Jewish refugees, recruited for their language skills and desire to fight the Nazis. They were heavily involved in prisoner snatches, interrogations, intelligence gather and denazification activities, as well as gathering evidence for the Nuremburg Trials. One of the men, Manfred Gans, aka Fred Gray, was a German Jew, from Borken, near the border with the Netherlands. He grew up in a 3-story house and his father was a wealthy merchant, who had lost a leg in the first World War, serving in the Imperial German Army. At his bar mitzvah, Manfred, in his speech, spoke of how wrong the Nazi stereotypes of Jews were, as conniving swindlers, saying the teachings of the Torah require them to be forthright and ethical. He parents were uncomfortable and there was silence, but no one spoke a word. As the repression of Jews increased, Manfred's father was dismissed from his post as the president of the League of War Injured, War Orphans and War Widows, to be replaced by a Nazi Party member. His brother emigrated to Palestine and, eventually, Manfred and his father left for the Netherlands and then Manfred went on to England, to study. His parents were later caught in the Netherlands and shipped off to Theresienstadt, in Czechoslovakia. Gans was recruited into X Troop, landed with No. 41 (RM) Commando, at Normandy, and fought through France and The Netherlands. He received word that his parents were in Theresienstadt, at the end of the fighting and secured orders allowing him to cross Allied lines and raced to Czechoslovakia, which was part of the Soviet Zone and was able to be reunited with his parents and bring them out. His parents were overjoyed and all the other former prisoners celebrated, as this was the first instance they had seen that some of their families and other Jews had survived...not only survived, but helped destroy the Nazis.

I've only just started reading, but it does a great job of bringing these men and their families to life, as they are introduced and we see them escape Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and other German-speaking areas. It has all the makings of a inspirational, epic story and one that would make for an exciting film, just from the story of Manfred Gans, alone. And he was just one of the extraordinary members.