Hitler's Unlikely Soldiers: The Jews Who Had to Fight for the Third Reich

Aug 16, 2025 | During the rise of Nazi Germany, many people with even a trace of Jewish ancestry were categorized as "Mischlinge," or "half-breeds," by the Nuremberg Laws. Faced with persecution, some of these individuals made the complex decision to fight for the German military. For many, this was a desperate attempt to prove their loyalty and protect their families from the Nazi regime's growing threat. In this episode of Nazi Collaborators, historians investigate the dark reality of these men who served a nation that sought their destruction, detailing their stories of bravery, deception, and collaboration in an impossible situation. Ultimately, their survival became a small, personal victory against the very system they were forced to fight for.