Return To The Reich

A Holocaust Refugee's Secret Mission to Defeat the Nazis

By: Eric Lichtblau

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

The remarkable story of Fred Mayer, a German-born Jew who escaped Nazi Germany only to return as an American commando on a secret mission behind enemy lines.

Growing up in Germany, Freddy Mayer witnessed the Nazis' rise to power. When he was sixteen, his family made the decision to flee to the United States—they were among the last German Jews to escape, in 1938.

In America, Freddy tried enlisting the day after Pearl Harbor, only to be rejected as an “enemy alien” because he was German. He was soon recruited to the OSS, the country’s first spy outfit before the CIA. Freddy, joined by Dutch Jewish refugee Hans Wynberg and Nazi defector Franz Weber, parachuted into Austria as the leader of Operation Greenup, meant to deter Hitler’s last stand. He posed as a Nazi officer and a French POW for months, dispatching reports to the OSS via Hans, holed up with a radio in a nearby attic. The reports contained a goldmine of information, provided key intelligence about the Battle of the Bulge, and allowed the Allies to bomb twenty Nazi trains. On the verge of the Allied victory, Freddy was captured by the Gestapo and tortured and waterboarded for days. Remarkably, he persuaded the Nazi commander for the region to surrender, completing one of the most successful OSS missions of the war.

Based on years of research and interviews with Mayer himself, whom the author was able to meet only months before his death at the age of ninety-four, Return to the Reich is an eye-opening, unforgettable narrative of World War II heroism.

An exciting and incredible story

This must be one of the most incredible stories from WW2 and I’ve read a lot of them. It’s just one thing after another as three Europeans (two German Americans and a Dutch deserter from the German army) go deep behind German lines to gather important details about enemy plans. This story is well written and easy to read. What’s not to like?

Must read! Inspiring real story of bravery.

Think often of this book months after reading it. Wish I could meet Freddie- love his smile, persistence & moxy.
Fascinating war tale. Loved that it's in Innsbruck too.

Short, Non Fiction, Enjoyable

I am stuck on WW2 and the Holocaust lately. I enjoyed this non fiction title about one of the most effective US spies during WW2 in Europe. Recommended!

so good and exciting

very exciting and neat
edge of seat listening. hard to stop listening. I would recommend.

Wonderful

Fantastic history. Wonderful story. We need more
Heroes like this. I wish I could have met Fred