Soldiers for freedom

"I wanted to face the enemy's eye"“ (Alfred Ratcliff, née Rosenstingl)

Some of St. Pölten's Jews, including Arthur Allina, Viktor Hahn and Hermann Weinstein, voluntarily volunteered for the British Army in their exile of Great Britain or Palestine and fought for liberation from Nazi rule.

Because of his bilingualism, Alfred Ratcliffe came to the Intelligence Section, the front reconnaissance division. He was responsible for encrypting and decrypting messages. In June 1944, his unit from Newhaven embarked on his journey to France. On 6 February 1945 he entered Germany, „But this time with a gun in my hands and in English uniform.“

Josef Frank from Viehofen had reported to the British Army in Palestine. His company landed in Greece in April 1941. Surprised by the German troops and because of the later Italian occupation, she could not leave the country any more. He and his companion tore their papers and hid themselves in civilian clothes with a widow in the mountains. After eight months they were betrayed, their helper was shot in the market square, and he and other comrades were taken to a prisoner of war camp in Italy. Until the end of the war, Josef Frank stayed in a working camp in Halle an der Saale and then returned to Palestine.