how many ritchie boys were there

That was the mantra. They did counterintelligence training. After the German army's surrender, Guy Stern and the other Ritchie Boys took on a new assignment: hunting down top Nazi officers responsible for the atrocities that killed so many, including many of their loved ones. WebThe surviving Ritchie Boys are in their eighties now. The Ritchie Boys earned a reputation for delivering important tactical information fast, making a major contribution to every battle on the Western Front. WebThe Ritchie Boys were the US special military intelligence officers and enlisted men of World War II who were trained at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. In 2011, the Holocaust Memorial Center, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, hosted an exhibit of the Ritchie Boys' exploits. David S. Frey,a history professor and director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide at the United States Military Academy,said that in the late 1930s, Gen. George Marshall, then the Army Chief of staff, realized that if the United States was going to war, it needed battlefield intelligence capabilitywhich its military lacked. Jon Wertheim: That's how you looked at it. For 99-year-old Guy Stern, a German Jew whose entire family was killed by the Nazis, the Allies' victory over Hitler was the culmination of a public crusade and a private one as well. With World War II, Camp Ritchie had a new, fascinating and mysterious mission. Facing significant intelligence deficiencies, in April 1942, the US Army activated a plan to convert Fort Ritchie, a Maryland National Guard Camp, into an intelligence training center. Nearly 2,000 German-born Jews were trained at Camp Ritchie to interrogate captured German soldiers. You know, I don't talk like an Alabama person or a Texan. Jon Wertheim: And you were able to confront the people that had caused this this trauma. And I made sure he knew that it was a Jew who controlled him. Jon Wertheim: I understand there are some Ritchie Boys [that] became fairly prominent figures. All students of World War II need to learn about the the Ritchie Boys. told the story of his fathers motivation and bravery in the book Unavoidable Hope. We believe it will also recognize the value of a group as large as 20,000. It was his service in the military during World War II. Jon Wertheim: What were you trained to do? Our country owes them an enormous debt of gratitude for their courage and sacrifices. David Frey: Right. Many of these soldiers landed at Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and others followed to perform their specialized tasks, which provided advanced intelligence to allied forces regarding German war plans and tactics. Beginning in September 1944, the United States military trained Japanese Americans at Camp Ritchie, and their language skills were also used in the war effort, this time against Japan. Established by Hitler and led by Heinrich Himmler, the SS was responsible for security and intelligence collection in Germany. Nina Wolff Feld told her fathers story in Someday You Will Understand: My Fathers Private World War 2. He is still haunted by what he experienced that day. Two Ritchie Boys were identified as German-language interrogators working for the Americans after they were captured in a Nazi counterattack; revealed to be Jewish, the men were summarily executed. Aren't we all sort of, tired of it?". Book Summary: The title of this book is Ritchie Boy Secrets and it was written by Eddy, Beverley Driver. Jon Wertheim: So there's all sorts of impact years and years and years after the war from this this camp in Maryland? This group became known as The Ritchie Boys, who were the basis of a documentary film of the same name. Investment banker David Rockefeller and civil rights activistWilliam Sloane Coffin were among the Ritchie Boys, who were assigned to every Army and Marines unitand to the Office of Strategic Services and the Counter Intelligence Corps. Max Lerner recalls being put in charge of one prominent captured German prisoner at a jail in Weisbaden, Germany: that was Julius Streicher the founder and editor of the Nazi paper "Der Stuermer" and one of the country's leading antisemites. Guy Stern returned to Normandy in 2016 to pay his respects to the more than 9,300 men buried in the American cemetery there, on the bluff overlooking the hallowed beach. There were Ritchie Boys who were in POW camps embedded and gathering information in the United States. Victor Brombert: Yes, well with a stick. The Ritchie Boys, a group of more than 19,000 refugees trained in Maryland to be U.S. intelligence specialists during World War II, are being honored in a By the summer of 1944, German troops in Normandy were outnumbered and overpowered. Other Ritchie Boys were able to express their motivation and accomplishments in memoirs with titles such as I Must Be a Part of This War and A Few Who Made a Difference. This particular edition is in a Hardcover format. Many of the German and Austrian Jewish refugees reported to Camp Ritchie while still designated as "enemy aliens." He still works six days a week. They all became American success stories, businessmen or academics. Photo credit DoD/Holocaust Memorial Center, | Surviving soldiers were among the attendees. Associate producer, Jennifer Dozor. Paul Fairbrook: Look I'm a German Jew. This was our kind of war. The U.S. War Department used this collection of German documents to study Germany's battles with the Soviets on the Eastern Front, in order to be better prepared for any future conflict with Russia. Now is it because they were afraid that the Nazis might come back, that it's not over? Jon Wertheim: I understand you you had sparring partners. We were delighted to get a chance to do something for the United States. Both refugees like Fairbrook and Stern, as well as a number of American-born recruits with requisite language skills - were drafted into the Army and sent to Camp Ritchie. Additional valuable information on the Ritchie Boys may be found in a forum-type Facebook page, Ritchie Boys of WWII, ably managed with considerable devotion by Bernie Lubran, son of Ritchie Boy Walter Lubran, and by Josh Freeling, whose great uncle was Ritchie Boy Kurt Kugelmann. Salinger, author of the classic book The Catcher in the Rye.. By 1937, violence against Jews was escalating. We were all on the same wavelength. Paul Fairbrook: Well, because it was an unusual part of the United States Army. When they landed on the beaches of Normandy, Wehrmacht troops were waiting for them well armed and well prepared. One or more of Hendersons Ritchie Boys was present at every major moment of the American war in Europe: landing on Omaha Beach, speeding with Pattons tanks, liberating concentration camps. The case of, stands out in my mind as the essence of the reason why the Ritchie Boys were able to use their intelligence (and motivation) to make an enormous difference. In addition to the Holocaust Museums award, the U.S. Senate passed a resolutionin 2021 honoring the bravery and dedication of the Ritchie Boys, and recognizing the importance of their contributions to the success of the Allied Forces during World War II.. I don't think we're heroes. 60-plus percent of the actionable intelligence gathered on the battlefield was gathered by Ritchie Boys. And arrived in the United States penniless. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! A contribution made by a single individual, especially if one or more lives are saved, is generally recognized as truly heroic. Jon Wertheim: I imagine all of a sudden no one wants to admit to being a Nazi. You really have to understand it helps to have been born in Germany in order to in order to do a good job. There were Ritchie Boys who were in virtually every battle that you can think of and some actually suffered the worst fate. Many Ritchie Boys took the precaution of anglicizing their names and altering their dog tags by replacing the H for Hebrewa guide to their burial service should the worst happenwith P for Protestant. Salinger, author of the classic book "The Catcher in the Rye.". Jon Wertheim: This was really a broad range of intelligence activities. ", Dr. Camp Ritchie served the Maryland National Guard until 1942. Victor Brombert, now 98 years old, is a former professor of romance languages and literature at Yale and then Princeton. Please enter valid email address to continue. In trying to assess the contribution of a single participant to an endeavor as gigantic as World War II, the question is often asked How much difference can one man make? Considering how remarkable Ritchie Boys were as individuals, does it make sense to try to find just one or perhaps two Ritchie Boys whose individual contributions stand out in terms of the difference it made? And that's what-- that's what it did for me. Did your dog tag identify you as Jewish? This is the good conduct medal which I'm not really entitled to (laugh) and this here is the European theatre of operations medal with five battles in which I participated. Some of them requested new dog tags with very good reason. I can look anybody straight in their eye and say I think I've earned the right to be an American. Jon Wertheim: 60% of the actionable intelligence? In trying to assess the contribution of a single participant to an endeavor as gigantic as World War II, the question is often asked How much difference can one man make? Considering how remarkable Ritchie Boys were as individuals, does it make sense to try to find just one or perhaps two Ritchie Boys whose individual contributions stand out in terms of the difference it made? Paul Fairbrook: (laugh) You bet your life I'm proud of the Ritchie Boys. But Hitler was determined to continue the war. Guy Stern: I was called to the company office and told you're shipping out. According to the Holocaust Museum, two Jewish In August 2021, the bipartisan US Senate Resolution 349 officially recognized the bravery of those troops. Jon Wertheim: Did you ever ask yourself why me? "I had no choice." Jon Wertheim: What is it like when you get together and reflect on this experience going on 80 years ago? David Frey: This is where the having an intelligence officer from Camp Ritchie was of critical importance. David Frey is a professor of history and director of the Center for Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. This little-known part of American history deserves national acknowledgement. Dabringhaus went on to write a book about the experience called Klaus Barbie: The Shocking Story of How the U.S. Used this Nazi War Criminal as an Intelligence Agent.. It was wonderful to see these people again. Guy Stern: And some we didn't break but 80% were so darned scared of the Russians and what they would do. When Hitler came to power, the Bromberts fled to France, and then to the U.S. The USO relies on your support to help service members and their families. A significant number of people, even those with some knowledge of Camp Ritchie, appear to visualize a graduate of the Armys Military Intelligence Training Center as follows: A physically-challenged man of the Jewish faith, who was born in Germany or Austria, joined the U. S. Army, and after being trained at Camp Ritchie served in the European Theater in World War II as an interrogator in relative safety behind the lines. Jon Wertheim: As a way to honor your family that perished. Through the power of Holocaust history, the Museum challenges leaders and individuals worldwide to think critically about their role in society and to confront antisemitism and other forms of hate, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Jon Wertheim: All in service of winning the war? They took their name from the place they trained - Camp Ritchie, Maryland a secret American military intelligence center during the war. They fought with the American military in the lands they had recently escaped, helping to turn the course of the war. You playacted. 5 likes. Jon Wertheim: Did you worry what might happen if you were captured? And there's nothing that forges unity better than having a common enemy.This is Guy Stern 80 years ago. One of the ways they identified subjects wanted for interrogation was by consulting a book - the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects which listed enemy nationals suspected of committing tens of thousands of war crimes in Europe everyone from low ranking members of the armed forces to top Nazi officials. Jon Wertheim: Give us a sense of the kinds of courses they took. The Ritchie Boys practiced street fighting in life-size replicas of German villages and questioned mock civilians in full scale German homes. The Ritchie Boys key asset was language skills, and the militarys hunger was for battlefield POW interrogators. At one point, Max Lerner disguised himself as a German officer and snuck behind enemy lines - leading a team of American soldiers into a German depot at night and destroying the equipment. Although Ritchie Boy Private Henry Kolm did not have the opportunity to serve overseas, he was able to make a significant contribution as an interrogator at Fort Hunt and as the principal facilitator in the integration of German Paperclip scientists and engineers such as Wernher von Braun into our society. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. It was Sunday, May 13, 1945, Henderson marvels. Recruits were chosen based on their knowledge of European language and culture, as well as their high IQs. Guy Stern: I was a soldier doing my job and that precluded any concern that I was going back to a country I once was very attached to. Because Eisenhower had signed it and the Germans had an incredibly nave approach to everything that was signed and sealed. David Frey: But they also did terrain analysis, they also did photo analysis, and aerial reconnaissance analysis. (See He grew up in a close-knit family in the town of Hildesheim, Germany. Some faced antisemitism from their fellow soldiers. Guy Stern: Defeating the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS and all the fancy troops they had was a satisfaction both as a team member and as a personal satisfaction. Some of the prisoners were actual German POWs brought to Camp Ritchie so the Ritchie Boys could practice their interrogation techniques. Jewish soldiers were in great danger if captured, and two were captured and executed due to being identified by their captors as German-born Jews. Jon Wertheim: This had a real material impact on World War II. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Stern, by then a college student, raced to enlist. And they were motivated like few other American soldiers. David Frey: They were incredibly effective. Of the approximately 19,000 Ritchie Boys who served during the war, about 200 are still living, ranging 95 107 years old. You want to convince them that you're trustworthy. On June 6, 1944, D-Day the Allies launched one of the most sweeping military operations in history. The soldiers were sent for training to Camp Ritchie, Md., beginning June 19, 1942, where they trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center thus their nickname, the Ritchie Boys. If a German POW wouldn't talk, he might face Guy Stern dressed up as a Russian officer. Max Lerner: It gave me a great deal of satisfaction. Actress. David Frey: The purpose of the facility was to train interrogators. One of these was Staff Sergeant Stephen (Moose) Mosbacher who was awarded a Silver Star medal posthumously for gallantry beyond the call of duty. They were asked, in some cases, to memorize battle books, which told soldiers about the enemys organization, structure, capacity, leadership and experience. Making such a distinction in this case is very difficult. We strive for accuracy and fairness. How German-Jewish refugees who fled the Nazis gathered military intelligence in Europe for the U.S. By Brian Bethune 202.437.1221 Some of them were trained as spies and some of them went on to careers as spies. After following in his familys footsteps and serving in the military, Air Force veteran Lyle Apo turned to USO Hawaii for the opportunity to volunteer and help current service members. You really know an awful lot of the subtleties when you're having a conversation with another German and we were able to find out things in their answers that enabled us to ask more questions. Jon Wertheim: So physical combat training as well as intelligence? Guy Stern speaks at the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Centers Ritchie Boys exhibit and reunion at Farmington Hills, Mich., July 24, 2011. Jon Wertheim: Do you remember saying goodbye to your family? I gave myself all the accouterments of looking like a fierce Russian commissar. As the world observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day, some may remember the so-called "Ritchie Boys," who greatly aided allied forces in their fight against Germany and other Axis nations in World War II. Jon Wertheim: Sixty percent of the actionable intelligence? We were briefed that the Germans were not going to welcome us greatly. Director, Communications Jon Wertheim: You work 6 days a week, you swim every morning, you lecture, any signs of slowing down? The Ritchie Boys: Americas Secret Weapon Against the Nazis | by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Memory & Action | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. These are people who made massive contributions. After the war, Frey says, a survey of battalion commanders concluded that intelligence gathered by graduates of Camp Ritchie was responsible for at least 60 percent of actionable intelligence for the Western Front Theater.. Ritchie Boys Image by Sons and Soldiers. | Naturally, I turned to Dan Gross, the unofficial archivist for the Ritchie Boys. Additional valuable information on the Ritchie Boys may be found in a forum-type Facebook page, , ably managed with considerable devotion by Bernie Lubran, son of Ritchie Boy, , and by Josh Freeling, whose great uncle was Ritchie Boy. You had people coming from all over uniting for a particular cause. The story of Camp Ritchie and the men (and women) who came there is a story that needs to be broadcast more widely. How The Ritchie Boys Helped Win World War II For America. Another was, , a member of the Mormon faith, who was awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions in the Battle of the Philippines. Since the story of the Ritchie Boys remained relatively unknown for a half-century or more, it was often left to their children and grandchildren to bring their accomplishments to light. Because they served in so many different capacities. Photo credit DoD/Holocaust Memorial Center, Why Marlene Dietrich Was One of the Most Patriotic Women in World War II, In World War I, African American 'Hellfighters from Harlem,' Fought Prejudice to Fight for Their Country, VE Day Marked End of Long Road for World War II Troops, Programs for Service Members and Their Families. First published on January 2, 2022 / 6:52 PM. What Henderson found when he looked into their history was that about 100 were still alive, half of them willing and able to talknot everyone has reliable 70-year-old memoriesabout an extraordinary corner of the Second World War. Guy Stern: None of my family survived. Broadcast associate, Elizabeth Germino. Contact. David Frey: If we take Camp Ritchie in microcosm, it was almost the ideal of an American melting pot. After Pearl Harbor brought America into the war, many of those sons were eager to return to Europe and find their families. For decades, they didn't discuss their work. The Ritchie Boys were one of World War IIs greatest secret weapons for US Army intelligence, said incoming Museum Chairman Stuart E. Eizenstat. He is among the last surviving Ritchie Boys - a group of young men many of them German Jews who played an outsized role in helping the Allies win World War II. The Ritchie Boys, some of whom landed on the beaches at Normandy, helped to interpret documents and gather intelligence, and conducted enemy warfare. Following the war, some of the Ritchie Boys were interrogators during the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals. Victor Brombert: Yes of course. They spoke the same German as the Wehrmacht soldiers they were up against, they shared experiences, education and culture with them, explains Henderson. Fort Ritchie, as it later became known, closed in 1998. And it was not until a few years ago that the son of Italian-Jewish Ritchie Boy Alessandro Sabbadini told the story of his fathers motivation and bravery in the book Unavoidable Hope. Starting in 1942, more than 11,000 soldiers went through the rigorous training at what was the army's first centralized school for intelligence and psychological warfare. The intent of this web page, in addition to providing demographics and statistics not available elsewhere, will be to highlight individual secret heroes whose contributions were also singularly significant. According to the kind of unit, according to the kind of person we were interrogating. You sort of swing it around the neck from behind and then pull. After the war, Guy Stern and the other Ritchie Boys were celebrated for their achievements. The largest set of graduates were 2,000 German-born Jews. The purpose of the tattoo was to identify a soldier's blood type in case a transfusion was needed or if his dog tags went missing. They became known as the Ritchie Boys. Their enormous contributions to defeating Nazismone Army study concluded they were responsible for obtaining nearly 60 percent of the actionable intelligence gathered in Europe during the warand their postwar justice efforts remain little known to Americans even today. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Victor Brombert: It was very, very hard, very difficult and very rare to have a German denounce another German at that point. Your average commander in the field might not. The knowledge that his adopted country would not let him fight their common enemy was bitterly frustrating. We now know that this perception needs to be broadened. There were two who were actually captured at But within a few months the government realized these so-called enemy aliens could be a valuable resource in the war. Guy Stern: Yes, that carried weight and the belief in the printed matter was very great. Andrew Hollinger Another unusual sight: towering over recruits, Frank Leavitt, a World War I veteran and pro wrestling star at the time, was among the instructors. Many of them about 14% were Jewish refugees like Kantor. very important because you save life if you know where the mine "where is the machine gun nest?" Look, I got a book here and it tells me that you were here and you went there and your boss was this." Guy Stern, a Bronze Star Medal recipient who attended, said: "It was an emotional reunion, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And they were impressed with that. Jon Wertheim: How did you find out you were going to go to Camp Ritchie? Paul Fairbrook: Oh that is a very good question. The evidence was before us. Engraved on the award are the words from Wiesels Nobel Prize acceptance speech, One person of integrity can make a difference., About the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The unit consisted mostly of young Germans, some of them of Jews, that had found a new homeland in America after their flight from the Nazis. There were two who were actually captured at the Battle of the Bulge. Jon Wertheim: Did you enjoy hunting Nazis? We hope you find the data, stories, and images here of interest. Immigrants like Guy Stern. He is a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, and has also written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Politico Magazine, and CNN.com. In the Ardennes region of Belgium, the Germans mounted a massive counteroffensive, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge. I don't know. Sensing danger, Stern's father tried to get the family out. Why do so few Americans know about this? Its not just a story about Jewish emigres, Frey says, its also a story of what I would call marginal soldiers and their defense of this country.. Jon Wertheim: You didn't want to be identified as Jewish going back to Western Europe. The U.S. Army had evidently decided that Martin Selling was a useful asset after all. Guy Stern: Yes and it's theatrics in a way yes. Frey noted similarities between the Jewish refugeeswho were considered enemy aliens until mid-1942 because they had come from countries the United States was at war withand Japanese Americans who had been interned. One can readily point to the case of Ritchie Boy William R. Perl who outwitted Adolf Eichmann and saved an estimated 40,000 lives. Not just any Nazi party member. Stern also said that its important for people everywhere to remember those who perished and those who survived the Holocaust and, in a world increasingly faced with sectarian strife and intolerance, to set forth the lessons of the Holocaust as a model for teaching ethical conduct and responsible decision-making. A website by Dan Gross and Ritchie History Museum. Even after the Pentagons change of heart about handing weapons to enemy aliens, suspicion of their bearing and accents remained widespread among regular American soldiers, sometimes reaching higher ranks. The soldiers were sent for training to Jon Wertheim: What do you remember from that? ahollinger@ushmm.org. An African-American Ritchie Boy William Warfield If you have ever heard a recording of William Warfield singing Ol Man River, from the musical Showboat by Jerome Kern, you will not have forgotten his deep, rich, bass-baritone voice. And I gave myself the name Commissar Krukov. Most of the guys in basic training were Southerners who hated the Jewish boys from New York and busted our chops most of the time, George Sakheim, who had fled to the United States by way of Palestine, told POLITICO Magazine. It turns out that author J.D. Guy Stern became a professor and taught for almost 50 years. Jon Wertheim: Do you consider yourself a hero? That was the biggest weakness that the army recognized that it had, which was battlefield intelligence and the interrogation needed to talk to sometimes civilians, most of the time prisoners of war, in order to glean information from them. Jon Wertheim: I see a tent in the background of that photo right in front of you. USO Tour Veteran. Wayne State University Professor Ehrhard Dabringhaus, another attendee, was ordered shortly after the war to become the American control officer to Klaus Barbie, the notorious war criminal. Guy Stern: I went to my father one day and I said, "classes are becoming a torture chamber". Max Lerner: You know how to tell an SS man? It was wonderful to see these people again. Amid the chaos of war, Guy Stern and the other Ritchie Boys had a job to do. Guy Stern: This one was our most effective leaflet and why was that? Guy Stern: Out of a plane. Many of the Ritchie Boys went on to have successful civilian careers, including J.D. It was also in Europe that some of them, like Guy Stern, learned what had happened to the families they left behind. The SS controlled the German police forces and concentration camps and directed the so-called "Final Solution" to kill all European Jews. They never met for reunions, they did not join veteran associations. Guy Stern: I preferred not having it. ", Jon Wertheim: Did you ever confront a Nazi who said "this was morally reprehensible? "How to kill a sentry from behind." He responded with just the information I needed. This books publish date is Sep 01, 2021. Striecher was later tried and convicted at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, where concentration camp survivors who bore witness to the mass murder faced down their Nazi tormentors. According to the Holocaust Museum, two Jewish soldiers were taken captive and executed after being identified as German-born Jews, and there were about 200 Ritchie Boys alive as of May 2022.

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