X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos who Helped Defeat the Nazis

Part of the series JTS Alumni in the World: Scholarship and Impact 

With Dr. Leah Garrett (Kekst Graduate School ’99), Larry A. and Klara Silverstein Chair in Jewish Studies and Director of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Hunter College, City University of New York 

In June 1942, Winston Churchill and his chief of staff form a new commando unit made of Jewish refugees who have escaped to Britain. This top-secret unit, trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat, will stop at nothing to defeat the Nazis.  

Dr. Leah Garrett discussed X Troop, which draws on extensive original research, including interviews with the last surviving members, to tell the story of these secret shock troops and their devastating blows against the Nazis. Her talk described the X Troopers who emigrated to the United States and will discuss how their postwar lives in America differed from those who remained in the United Kingdom. 

Dr. Leah Garrett is the Larry A. and Klara Silverstein Chair and Director of Jewish Studies at Hunter College, CUNY. She received her PhD with Distinction from JTS in 1999. Leah has published five books including her most recent, X-Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War Two (HarperCollins, US, and Penguin, UK), which was a bestseller in the UK and was translated into multiple languages. 

ABOUT THE SERIES

Join esteemed JTS alumni to hear about the important contributions they are making through their work as scholars and thought leaders in their fields. Through their engagement with Jewish text, history, and thought, they are enhancing the spiritual and personal lives of individuals, building more inclusive communities, and preparing the leaders of tomorrow, ensuring a stronger Jewish future.