On Sunday the annual Ajex parade commemorates the contribution of our community to the armed forces. Among the many Jews who fought for the Allies in the Second World War were servicemen whose stories have emerged for the first time
November 13, 2014 11:12
A German-Jewish Second World War soldier has been hailed for displaying "the most astonishing courage" in fighting for Britain against the Axis powers.
Sergeant Rudolf Friedlander fled Germany in 1933, eventually arriving in Britain three years later.
Motivated by a desire to destroy the evil of Nazism, he enlisted with the Royal Ordnance Corps but was soon posted for special duty as a commando with an elite SAS unit.
His missions included raids behind enemy lines in north Africa and Italy, during which he showed notable heroism. He was captured in Italy but escaped after five months as a prisoner of war, returning to Britain to resume his duties as a commando.
He was killed in August 1944 during a sortie in France when, surrounded by Nazi soldiers, he single-handedly held them at bay enabling his comrades to escape. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal posthumously.
If survivors learn from them our sacrifices will not be futile
In a letter to his father days before that final assignment, Sergeant Friedlander wrote:
"I am happy to be able to fight for my principles and for Britain, the nation which now champions these principles and has become a second home to me.
"If I survive, there will be only one ambition left: to be able to continue the fight for freedom and peace as a British citizen."
His story features in Special Ops Heroes, a new book by Lord Ashcroft about stories of exceptional valour.
The peer said Sergeant Friedlander, who was given the pseudonym Robert Lodge to protect his Jewish identity in the event of capture, fought "for a cause - to halt the tyranny of Nazi Germany."
He said: "Once he served with the SAS, Friedlander displayed the most astonishing courage, risking and eventually losing, his life for his beliefs.
"The story of Rudolf Friedlander is undoubtedly one of the best write-ups in the book because it tells a story of amazing gallantry displayed by a quite remarkable character."
This character was on show in the Sergeant Friedlander's final mission. Parachuted into northern France to support locally based American troops after the D-Day landings, he and his men were surrounded by German forces.
Lord Ashcroft describes how "in the face of intense… fire, he stood up and emptied a Bren magazine into the enemy at a range of about 30 yards. This allowed the rest of the detachment to escape to temporary safety".
He then repeated his heroic actions later in the day when his troops were once again surrounded, allowing them to escape. However, the sergeant then became separated, and was later found to have been murdered by German forces.
The peer said: "There is overwhelming evidence that Rudolf Friedlander was motivated by a sense of injustice for those Jews, including his own family, who had to flee their homeland and also those Jews who were left behind."
On his gravestone in France is inscribed an extract from the letter that he sent his father before embarking on his last mission:
"Our sacrifices will not be futile if the survivors have learned the lessons of this disastrous war."
'Special Ops Heroes' by Michael Ashcroft is published by Headline. www.specialopsheroes.com. The Ajex parade takes place on Sunday at the Cenotaph in Whitehall from 1.30pm
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.