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{{DISPLAYTITLE:The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith}} | {{DISPLAYTITLE:The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith}} | ||
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|soldier=Smith, Karl G (32475883) | |||
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[[File:Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 1.png|frameless|320px|alt=Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 1.png]] | [[File:Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 1.png|frameless|center|320px|alt=Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 1.png]] | ||
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Karl Goldsmith was born Karl Goldschmidt in 1921 in the Hesse region of Germany in a town called Eschwege. After Kristallnacht, he immigrated to the United States in 1938 where he finished high school in Upstate New York. Upon graduation, he was accepted to Cornell University, where he studied agriculture until being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942. Goldsmith trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland as an interrogator of prisoners of war and landed in France with his small unit, 142 IPW, in September 1944. After VE Day, he was appointed military governor of his hometown of Eschwege. The photograph above (Goldsmith at left) is during his service in the American Military Government, Germany, 1946. | [[Smith, Karl G (32475883)|Karl Goldsmith]] was born Karl Goldschmidt in 1921 in the Hesse region of Germany in a town called Eschwege. After Kristallnacht, he immigrated to the United States in 1938 where he finished high school in Upstate New York. Upon graduation, he was accepted to Cornell University, where he studied agriculture until being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942. Goldsmith trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland as an interrogator of prisoners of war and landed in France with his small unit, 142 IPW, in September 1944. After VE Day, he was appointed military governor of his hometown of Eschwege. The photograph above (Goldsmith at left) is during his service in the American Military Government, Germany, 1946. | ||
To understand what went on in Germany in the 1930s, history books are of very little use somehow. They cannot grasp the reality of a single life or that of a family. William L. Shire’s book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, is about as accurate of a chronicle as I have read. However, to tell a personal story is different. Not as earth-shaking perhaps, but probably a bit sadder. In retrospect everyone’s vision is 20:20, but it seemed utter nonsense to my father to leave Germany in 1933-1938 – after all, we were all| Germans. He and my male relatives had served with distinction in the Germany Army in World War I. | To understand what went on in Germany in the 1930s, history books are of very little use somehow. They cannot grasp the reality of a single life or that of a family. William L. Shire’s book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, is about as accurate of a chronicle as I have read. However, to tell a personal story is different. Not as earth-shaking perhaps, but probably a bit sadder. In retrospect everyone’s vision is 20:20, but it seemed utter nonsense to my father to leave Germany in 1933-1938 – after all, we were all| Germans. He and my male relatives had served with distinction in the Germany Army in World War I. | ||
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I felt strange; I wanted to get into the real war and not just sit it out in the Yukon directing traffic, patrolling highways and Streets, and guarding gasoline dumps, no matter how essential they were. One day, I saw on the company bulletin board that anyone having foreign language skills could apply directly without going through channels to the War Department in Washington, D.C. Needless to say, I saw a way to get out of there and wrote immediately. | I felt strange; I wanted to get into the real war and not just sit it out in the Yukon directing traffic, patrolling highways and Streets, and guarding gasoline dumps, no matter how essential they were. One day, I saw on the company bulletin board that anyone having foreign language skills could apply directly without going through channels to the War Department in Washington, D.C. Needless to say, I saw a way to get out of there and wrote immediately. | ||
Soon, I was sent to Military Government School at Fort Custer, Michigan. This was a great experience. Many of the nation’s finest historians and international law experts taught us what to expect in occupied territories. I was then told to report to Camp Ritchie, Maryland, to train as an interrogator of prisoners of war. At Camp Ritchie, the washout rate was very high, but I made it and with luck I met John Slade. He was born Hans Schlessinger in Frankfurt and was thirteen years my senior—highly intelligent, honest, and decent, and as good of a man as one could wish to be with. When he arrived in New York, he started out as a foot messenger for a very small investment banking firm called Bear Stearns, and he made such an impression on the head of the firm, Joseph Bear, that he kept getting promoted. | Soon, I was sent to Military Government School at Fort Custer, Michigan. This was a great experience. Many of the nation’s finest historians and international law experts taught us what to expect in occupied territories. I was then told to report to Camp Ritchie, Maryland, to train as an interrogator of prisoners of war. At Camp Ritchie, the washout rate was very high, but I made it and with luck I met [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]]. He was born Hans Schlessinger in Frankfurt and was thirteen years my senior—highly intelligent, honest, and decent, and as good of a man as one could wish to be with. When he arrived in New York, he started out as a foot messenger for a very small investment banking firm called Bear Stearns, and he made such an impression on the head of the firm, Joseph Bear, that he kept getting promoted. | ||
After he made enough money, John was able bring his entire family over to the States. When the war started, John, who was already thirty-four at the time, really wanted to serve in the army, but since he was the sole provider for his parents he wasn’t sure whether he should go. Joseph Bear, who absolutely loved John, told him, “You go into the army; I will take care of your parents, and when you come back your job will be waiting for you.” What employer would do that today? Anyway, John Slade was probably the finest interrogator in the European Theater of Operations. I held the rank of staff sergeant and John was a technician third grade, which was just half a grade below mine. We were a successful team. | After he made enough money, John was able bring his entire family over to the States. When the war started, John, who was already thirty-four at the time, really wanted to serve in the army, but since he was the sole provider for his parents he wasn’t sure whether he should go. Joseph Bear, who absolutely loved John, told him, “You go into the army; I will take care of your parents, and when you come back your job will be waiting for you.” What employer would do that today? Anyway, [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]] was probably the finest interrogator in the European Theater of Operations. I held the rank of staff sergeant and John was a technician third grade, which was just half a grade below mine. We were a successful team. | ||
We left Camp Ritchie and were in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, awaiting our ship. We soon boarded our transport in New York and started our convoy trip to Europe. The quarters were cramped, the food was so-so, but what the heck, we were in good spirits. By the third day out, I had lost all my money playing poker—I have stayed away from gambling ever since that sobering occasion. Basically, the trip went smoothly; there were some U-boat alerts but no attacks, and we landed in a “camp,” which was actually a group of row houses evacuated for our use, near Manchester. There I was exposed to true hunger. We Americans had plenty of food, which was dispensed to us in large containers directly in our mess kit. When we finished, we put the scraps in a refuse barrel. There were always children, English kids, with buckets asking for our scraps. No scraps ever went in the scrap barrel. This was a sad sight. John, nicknamed “Pop” because his being older than all of us, and I decided to go out on the town and eat in a good restaurant, What followed us was almost like a scene from the Marx Brothers. The waiters brought a beautiful silver-topped cart, ceremoniously lifted the cover, and, lo and behold, there appeared the tiniest morsel of meat, looking totally lost on this silver serving tray. It was comical. | We left Camp Ritchie and were in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, awaiting our ship. We soon boarded our transport in New York and started our convoy trip to Europe. The quarters were cramped, the food was so-so, but what the heck, we were in good spirits. By the third day out, I had lost all my money playing poker—I have stayed away from gambling ever since that sobering occasion. Basically, the trip went smoothly; there were some U-boat alerts but no attacks, and we landed in a “camp,” which was actually a group of row houses evacuated for our use, near Manchester. There I was exposed to true hunger. We Americans had plenty of food, which was dispensed to us in large containers directly in our mess kit. When we finished, we put the scraps in a refuse barrel. There were always children, English kids, with buckets asking for our scraps. No scraps ever went in the scrap barrel. This was a sad sight. John, nicknamed “Pop” because his being older than all of us, and I decided to go out on the town and eat in a good restaurant, What followed us was almost like a scene from the Marx Brothers. The waiters brought a beautiful silver-topped cart, ceremoniously lifted the cover, and, lo and behold, there appeared the tiniest morsel of meat, looking totally lost on this silver serving tray. It was comical. | ||
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Soon our orders came to go. I couldn’t begin to tell you how excited| I was. I was a very proud American by that time, and I was doing something that it was high time we were all doing it together. I was surrounded by people with whom I already had a lot of experiences, and this camaraderie that we had, I guess it’s what only happens in wartime. I felt that I was going to show those German sons of bitches what we could do—we, that motley crew from America, that nobody believed could do a damn thing except build automobiles. I wanted to stand on top of my jeep and shout, “Hooray!” | Soon our orders came to go. I couldn’t begin to tell you how excited| I was. I was a very proud American by that time, and I was doing something that it was high time we were all doing it together. I was surrounded by people with whom I already had a lot of experiences, and this camaraderie that we had, I guess it’s what only happens in wartime. I felt that I was going to show those German sons of bitches what we could do—we, that motley crew from America, that nobody believed could do a damn thing except build automobiles. I wanted to stand on top of my jeep and shout, “Hooray!” | ||
Somehow I was the driver of our jeep. Our team consisted of two complete units made up of six people: Ist Lt. Rudy Freier, 2nd Lt. Michaels, Sgt. Karl Smith (AKA Karl Goldschmidt), Tech. Sgt. John Slade, Sgt. Wilder, and Cpl. Jancowitz. Freier, Slade, and I were always teamed together. The jeep had a trailer that held all our work material including desk, typewriter, etc. Our weapons consisted of one Thompson submachine gun for each jeep, and each of us carried a Smith and Wesson .45-caliber automatic pistol. With these, we drove onto an LST to go to France. | Somehow I was the driver of our jeep. Our team consisted of two complete units made up of six people: [[Freier, Rudolf C. (01581135)|Ist Lt. Rudy Freier]], 2nd Lt. Michaels, [[Smith, Karl G (32475883)|Sgt. Karl Smith]] (AKA Karl Goldschmidt), Tech. Sgt. [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]], Sgt. Wilder, and Cpl. Jancowitz. [[Freier, Rudolf C. (01581135)|Freier]], [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|Slade]], and I were always teamed together. The jeep had a trailer that held all our work material including desk, typewriter, etc. Our weapons consisted of one Thompson submachine gun for each jeep, and each of us carried a Smith and Wesson .45-caliber automatic pistol. With these, we drove onto an LST to go to France. | ||
On the first day out in the channel, it was Rosh Hashanah and I made up my mind that we were going to have Jewish services, We had our army- issued prayer books and the word spread. t was unbelievable. It seemed as if the whole LST became Jewish. I suppose when in danger, when we all pray to the same God, but I am sure half or three-quarters of my “congregation” were Christians. | On the first day out in the channel, it was Rosh Hashanah and I made up my mind that we were going to have Jewish services, We had our army- issued prayer books and the word spread. t was unbelievable. It seemed as if the whole LST became Jewish. I suppose when in danger, when we all pray to the same God, but I am sure half or three-quarters of my “congregation” were Christians. | ||
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For the most part, I was very gratified to see captured Germans. I’ve always said there is no one who rules as harshly and no one who crawls so low as the Germans in victory and defeat. But I didn’t have rage, I just felt that they had stolen my country away from me, they forced my father to go to some crazy place called Palestine, and I knew we couldn’t let these people run the world, that’s for damn sure. | For the most part, I was very gratified to see captured Germans. I’ve always said there is no one who rules as harshly and no one who crawls so low as the Germans in victory and defeat. But I didn’t have rage, I just felt that they had stolen my country away from me, they forced my father to go to some crazy place called Palestine, and I knew we couldn’t let these people run the world, that’s for damn sure. | ||
One day Freier and I were going in the jeep through an area that had been infiltrated at night by Germans and bang—a bazooka shell whizzed by us and hit an embankment we were passing. It was luck. Freier couldn’t hear out of his right ear after that, and to this day he collects disability from Uncle Sam for this souvenir. Only one of us became a causality. One day, Jancowitz drove his jeep over a mine and it killed him. He had just gotten married before we went overseas. | One day [[Freier, Rudolf C. (01581135)|Freier]] and I were going in the jeep through an area that had been infiltrated at night by Germans and bang—a bazooka shell whizzed by us and hit an embankment we were passing. It was luck. [[Freier, Rudolf C. (01581135)|Freier]] couldn’t hear out of his right ear after that, and to this day he collects disability from Uncle Sam for this souvenir. Only one of us became a causality. One day, Jancowitz drove his jeep over a mine and it killed him. He had just gotten married before we went overseas. | ||
As the war came to a close, we were in Tann, Germany, near the Alpine region where Hitler’s troops were supposedly making their last desperate stand. When we were advancing, the front lines were rather fluid and I was bored and wanted some excitement. Freier and I went south and saw a German soldier with a pistol. I stopped the jeep, disarmed him, and asked him where the American tanks were. He said we were the first Ammies he had seen. The next town was Landshut, so I asked him if Landshut was in a defensive position. He said there were no troops there. So I said, “The hell with it, let’s capture a town.” After all, we had a submachine gun and two 45s. Freier thought I was nuts, and was probably thinking of his wife. But I prevailed—maybe he had a little spirit in him after all—and we took off. | As the war came to a close, we were in Tann, Germany, near the Alpine region where Hitler’s troops were supposedly making their last desperate stand. When we were advancing, the front lines were rather fluid and I was bored and wanted some excitement. [[Freier, Rudolf C. (01581135)|Freier]] and I went south and saw a German soldier with a pistol. I stopped the jeep, disarmed him, and asked him where the American tanks were. He said we were the first Ammies he had seen. The next town was Landshut, so I asked him if Landshut was in a defensive position. He said there were no troops there. So I said, “The hell with it, let’s capture a town.” After all, we had a submachine gun and two 45s. [[Freier, Rudolf C. (01581135)|Freier]] thought I was nuts, and was probably thinking of his wife. But I prevailed—maybe he had a little spirit in him after all—and we took off. | ||
At the beginning of town, we stopped some rather frightened Germans, who told us that there were no German troops in town. So we sped to the town square for reassurance; I held the submachine gun—not much help against a good sniper. Out of the bakery came a bunch of French slave laborers. We were their first liberators. Our fun seemed short-lived, though. From the other side of the square appeared four German soldiers with rain ponchos over their shoulders. I could not see their hands, so I took out my automatic. | At the beginning of town, we stopped some rather frightened Germans, who told us that there were no German troops in town. So we sped to the town square for reassurance; I held the submachine gun—not much help against a good sniper. Out of the bakery came a bunch of French slave laborers. We were their first liberators. Our fun seemed short-lived, though. From the other side of the square appeared four German soldiers with rain ponchos over their shoulders. I could not see their hands, so I took out my automatic. | ||
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Our liberated Frenchmen scattered, but our luck held. Up went the four Krauts’ hands. I relieved their sergeant of his Lugar. (I gave it to my son later on.) As we left town, we had one Kraut on each fender and one in the rear, to discourage snipers. The streets and windows were festooned with white flags made of bed sheets. Landshut had surrendered to the U.S. Army. When we got back to intelligence HQ, I looked at the map and told them they could move the pins twelve miles farther south to Landshut. | Our liberated Frenchmen scattered, but our luck held. Up went the four Krauts’ hands. I relieved their sergeant of his Lugar. (I gave it to my son later on.) As we left town, we had one Kraut on each fender and one in the rear, to discourage snipers. The streets and windows were festooned with white flags made of bed sheets. Landshut had surrendered to the U.S. Army. When we got back to intelligence HQ, I looked at the map and told them they could move the pins twelve miles farther south to Landshut. | ||
This episode is not glorious, but like many things war is no fun, and when I hear about “atrocities,” we committed our share. Those who condemn others, just remember that no matter for what reason, man’s inhumanity to man is never justified. Half of our | This episode is not glorious, but like many things war is no fun, and when I hear about “atrocities,” we committed our share. Those who condemn others, just remember that no matter for what reason, man’s inhumanity to man is never justified. Half of our team—[[Freier, Rudolf C. (01581135)|Freier]], [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|Slade]], and I—was running a POW camp of thirteen thousand for which we had the responsibility to weed out SS and other criminal types, and then send the regular POWs to their home as expeditiously as possible. Usually this was by army truck to about thirty or fifty miles from their home, at which point they had to walk or hitchhike the rest of the way, since there were no trains yet and there was no gas for civilian vehicles like buses or cars. | ||
The other half of our team—Michaels, Jancowitz, and Wilder—was in charge of a collection place about thirty miles farther south. They were to send any POWs as quickly as possible by truck for processing. The reason for all the rush was simple: food. The U.S. Army never realized that within a few short weeks, hundreds of thousands of Germans would give up. Obviously, they had to be fed prior to processing. We, in our camp, had a simple solution: one to three horses had to be delivered daily to the camp to be butchered. Obviously that, in combination with whatever flour and vegetables could be acquired, was the POW diet. So, unless we wanted a bunch of wild POWs, we had to process quickly. It all went well, and everyone was moderately content. One day, a fairly high-ranking Nazi was brought to me. After asking him a couple of questions, all of the sudden he popped something in his mouth, fell to the ground, and in an incredibly short time—probably less than a minute— was dead. He had a cyanide capsule, which many of these people were provided, just like Goering who took the same route. | The other half of our team—Michaels, Jancowitz, and Wilder—was in charge of a collection place about thirty miles farther south. They were to send any POWs as quickly as possible by truck for processing. The reason for all the rush was simple: food. The U.S. Army never realized that within a few short weeks, hundreds of thousands of Germans would give up. Obviously, they had to be fed prior to processing. We, in our camp, had a simple solution: one to three horses had to be delivered daily to the camp to be butchered. Obviously that, in combination with whatever flour and vegetables could be acquired, was the POW diet. So, unless we wanted a bunch of wild POWs, we had to process quickly. It all went well, and everyone was moderately content. One day, a fairly high-ranking Nazi was brought to me. After asking him a couple of questions, all of the sudden he popped something in his mouth, fell to the ground, and in an incredibly short time—probably less than a minute— was dead. He had a cyanide capsule, which many of these people were provided, just like Goering who took the same route. | ||
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I really think I tried very hard to do what I consider as fulfilling the debt. I think I paid back a little bit to the good old country, and what I was given was a new life and future. My reward for going to war was a free country. | I really think I tried very hard to do what I consider as fulfilling the debt. I think I paid back a little bit to the good old country, and what I was given was a new life and future. My reward for going to war was a free country. | ||
Karl Goldsmith entered the insurance industry in 1957 and worked until his death in February 2002. There is a bench named for him in the Cornell Plantations botanical gardens at Cornell University, from which he graduated. | [[Smith, Karl G (32475883)|Karl Goldsmith]] entered the insurance industry in 1957 and worked until his death in February 2002. There is a bench named for him in the Cornell Plantations botanical gardens at Cornell University, from which he graduated. | ||
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[[File:Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 2.png|frameless|220px|alt=Karl Goldsmith’s German passport, stamped with a red J for Juden. Karl Goldsmith]] | [[File:Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 2.png|frameless|center|220px|alt=Karl Goldsmith’s German passport, stamped with a red J for Juden. Karl Goldsmith]] | ||
<div class="story-caption">''Karl Goldsmith’s German passport, stamped with a red J for Juden. Karl Goldsmith''</div> | <div class="story-caption">''Karl Goldsmith’s German passport, stamped with a red J for Juden. Karl Goldsmith''</div> | ||
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[[File:Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 3.png|frameless|220px|alt=Karl Goldsmith’s German passport, stamped with a red J for Juden. Karl Goldsmith]] | [[File:Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 3.png|frameless|center|220px|alt=Karl Goldsmith’s German passport, stamped with a red J for Juden. Karl Goldsmith]] | ||
<div class="story-caption">''Karl Goldsmith’s German passport, stamped with a red J for Juden. Karl Goldsmith''</div> | <div class="story-caption">''Karl Goldsmith’s German passport, stamped with a red J for Juden. Karl Goldsmith''</div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
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[[File:Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 4.png|frameless|220px|alt=Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 4.png]] | [[File:Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 4.png|frameless|center|220px|alt=Enemy I Knew Karl Goldsmith 4.png]] | ||
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Karl Goldsmith (top row, middle) with an interrogator prisoner of war (IPW) team; John Slade (Hans Schlessinger) first row far left | [[Smith, Karl G (32475883)|Karl Goldsmith]] (top row, middle) with an interrogator prisoner of war (IPW) team; [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]] (Hans Schlessinger) first row far left. | ||
'''The above content is from ''The Enemy I Knew: German Jews in the Allied Military in World War II'' by Steven Karras. Steven has given us permission to reproduce the chapters in their entirety. All content is copyright Steven Karras and Zenith Press. No reproduction without permission.''' | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
* [[Smith, Karl G (32475883)|Karl Goldsmith]] (soldier page) | |||
* [[Ritchie Boy Interviews]] (Karl Goldsmith interview) | |||
* [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew|The Enemy I Knew]] | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew|The Enemy I Knew]] | ||
* [[The Stories]] | * [[The Stories]] | ||
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* [[Introduction]] | * [[Introduction]] | ||
* [[Contents]] | * [[Contents]] | ||
* [[Freier, Rudolf C. (01581135)|Rudolf Freier]] (soldier page) | |||
* [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]] (soldier page) | |||
[[Category:Ritchie Boys Wiki]] | [[Category:Ritchie Boys Wiki]] | ||
[[Category:The Stories]] | [[Category:The Stories]] | ||