From Dachau to D-Day
By Helen Fry
The remarkable true story of the Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany and enlisted in the British Army.
‘Fascinating.’ The Jewish News
‘Excellent biography.’ The Oldie
‘For all the risks, I never once regretted being part of the biggest invasion force ever to land on the Normandy beaches in June 1944.’
Willy Field was born Willy Hirschfeld in Bonn, Germany. The morning after Kristallnacht in November 1938, he was arrested by the Gestapo and transported to Dachau concentration camp.
Detailing his horrific experience as a German Jew in Dachau, he escaped to England as a refugee. However, as a German living in Britain, he was held under suspicion. Here Field tells the story of his mistreatment as an ‘enemy alien’ and subsequent deplorable internment in Australia at the beginning of the war.
When he finally returned to England in 1941, Field willingly volunteered for the British Army, becoming a tank driver in the Royal Armoured Corps. He fought for 11 months on the perilous frontlines in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, where the average life expectancy for a tank driver was mere weeks.
Ultimately he returned to Germany to face his Nazi captors – this time in a British tank.
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