German Schoolboy, British Commando
Helen Fry

German Schoolboy, British Commando

Claus Ascher’s father, a German Jew, was one of Hitler’s political opponents during the 1930s. He was denounced to the Gestapo which led to his arrest, imprisonment and murder in Dachau in 1937. After his father’s death, Claus too was at risk and managed to flee to Britain where he subsequently joined the British Army and changed his name to Colin Anson. During the Second World War he was one of around a hundred German refugees to be trained in the British Commando unit was known as 3 Troop or X-Troop. Attached to the Royal Marine Commandos, Colin took part in the invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943 where his ship received a direct hit from a German plane. Surviving a life-threatening head wound when shrapnel penetrated his skull, he underwent brain surgery in a field ambulance.

After nine months of recuperation and further brain operations, Colin was determined to fight again. He returned to his Commando unit to fight in the Yugoslav islands in protection of Tito and the partisans, Albania, and became the first Allied soldier to liberate Corfu. After the war he asked to be stationed in Frankfurt so he might find his mother, a German Protestant who had survived the war in Germany. In Frankfurt, he worked as part of Field Intelligence Agency Technical and translated documents for the Allies from Albert Speer’s Ministry of Defence. Colin was in a position to trace the man who had betrayed his father to the Nazis. Having discovered his name and whereabouts, he made a conscious decision not to take revenge. This is an extraordinary portrait of bravery and determination, continuing his father’s legacy as he fought to defeat the Nazis. Colin Anson is one of the last surviving Commando veterans of 3 Troop.

Book Details:

  • Author: Helen Fry
  • Published Year: 2010
  • Rights Sold
    • UK: History Press
Helen Fry

Helen Fry

Helen Fry was raised in North Devon and went on to graduate from the University of Exeter with a degree and Ph.D. She has written over 25 books on the Second World War with particular reference to the 10,000 Germans and Austrians who fought for Britain, and intelligence, espionage and prisoners of war. Her highly acclaimed book The Walls Have Ears: The Greatest Intelligence Operation of WWII was in the top 8 Daily Mail’s Books of the Year in War, and has been optioned for film. It has been the subject of numerous documentaries and continues to receive media attention.&n...
More about Helen Fry