In the last days of the war, Himmler told Höss to disguise himself among German Navy sailors. Höss avoided arrest for nearly a year. When he was captured by British soldiers on 11 March 1946 in Gottrupel, he was disguised as a gardener and called himself Franz Lang. His wife, who feared that her son, Klaus, would be shipped off to the Soviet Union to be imprisoned or tortured, had told the British where Höss was. The British soldiers that captured Höss were led by Hanns Alexander, a young Jewish man from Berlin who was forced to flee to England with his entire family during the rise of Nazi Germany. Höss initially denied who he was, until Alexander noticed his wedding ring and demanded to see it. Höss refused to remove it, saying it was stuck on his finger. But when Alexander threatened to cut his finger off, Höss removed the ring. It had the names "Rudolf" and "Hedwig" engraved inside. After being questioned and beaten with axe handles by the British soldiers, Höss admitted who he really was.