Being Jewish in WW2 was hard enough. If you were mere infantry and the Axis had any inkling
that you were of Jewish descendancy, you could kiss your chances of a normal POW life goodbye,
as they would be sending you the nearest concentration camp for processing.
But imagine being a Jewish-Commando fighting against the Germans in Espionage missions,
and getting captured. This was the life of Hungarian born Lanyi Dyuri,
later known as George Lane, who despite being a Jewish commando for the british army and
getting captured, somehow survived against all odds; this is his story.
Just before we get into the nitty gritty of the video, It’s worth noting that in addition to being
a jew, being a commando was also despised and almost certain to be shot if found out. This was
due to the German order mandating all commando’s, no matter what race, were to be shot without trial
in an attempt to deter the devastating guerilla attacks they wreaked on German positions.
Born on January 18th 1915 in Hungary, Dyuri moved to London in 1935 to study when the
second world war broke out. He decided to join the famed British special operations Executive,
where he quickly became adept at unarmed combat, weapons and explosives as well as parachuting
and small boat handling, all of which would serve him well as a commando. Dyuri, now known as Lane,
was drafted in commando troop no. 3 also known as the X troop, where most of its members were
Jews from different European countries who spoke perfect German. These men, like most commandos,
were also required adopted false british personnel history to help them in the event of capture.
In preparation for the allied D-day, Lane and some of his troop were sent to scout German mines aimed
to destroy masses of landing craft. After what seemed to be quite a routine mission on May 17th
of 1944, Lane reported his findings back to HQ, where he stated the mines were not waterproofed
and were very old a corroded, making them less effective. His reports were not believed and
his was sent in the next night, and then the next to gather more intelligence for the British Army.
On his third night however, his luck had evidently ran out, and Germans patrol
boats spotted the commandos, managing to cut off Lane and another man from the rest of the group.
Although the rest of the group made their getaway,
Lane and his fellow commando Roy Wooldridge were forced to abandon all their photographic
equipment and then surrender to the incoming German patrol boats that had circled in on them.
Feigning ignorance from the beginning, the commando’s pretended to not know a word of German,
all whilst listening to their captors talk about possible execution for these suspected commandos.
Lane was then the next day put blindfolded into a car
where he thought he would meet his end on the French country-side.
This however was far from the case, and lane was rather requested by Erwin Rommel himself for tea.
Initially, the men went back and forth in a polite cadence, with Lane pretending not
to know a word of German and putting on a Welsh accent to disguise his Hungarian one.
After a back and forth and Rommel hinting toward his suspicion of Lane being a commando,
the two men moved off the subject and had a long conversation. Lane was obviously bewildered,
but somehow he avoided the fate of a commando, and through his ingenious Welsh disguise, escaped
suspicion as a jew as well, not that Rommel necessarily cared for Hitler’s anti-semitism.
Although the Gestapo transferred Lane and his friend to Fresnes prison is Paris and stated they
were to be shot or hanged, they were mysteriously transferred away from the Gestapo torture chamber
2 days later and moved to a castle prison filled with 300 british officers. They had somehow been
spared. It is unknown why or how, but some think it is to do with the mysterious tea lunch Lane
had with Rommel. Perhaps Rommel liked the man so much that he dismissed his officers opinions
and ordered him and his friend to be treated as officer POW’s. We’ll never really know.
Regardless, Lane survived the rest of the war,
eventually escaping his captors when they evacuated the castle under guard due to the
approaching American forces. Lane made it back to allied lines and then got a ride into Paris where
he stayed with his brother in law and learned to enjoy all the simple pleasures of life again.
Up until his death in 2010 at the ripe old age of 95, Lane always thought back to that invitation
from Rommel and the delightful conversation the men had together. He firmly believed that it was
Rommel who saved him and his fellow soldiers life, and looked back fondly on the German general.
I personally believe Rommel was one of the smartest and most innovative German
generals of the war. I don’t believe it was really any sort of luck that saved Lane,
rather in my opinion, I think Rommel knew Nazi high command were idiots and this was
his way at striking back, by using his position to allow for random acts of
compassion. It seems he also enjoyed his conversation with the intelligent Lane,
which would have likely further influenced Rommel to order against his execution.
But as always guys, let me know
your thoughts on this intriguing case in the comment section below.