Soft launch: Soldier biographies and research notes vary in completeness. Prefer class-roster, NARA, newspapers, and other cited sources for contested facts — treat Research notes as leads, not settled history. Anyone can correct a page; contact us with questions.
Ritchie Boy Interviews: Difference between revisions
Add Hugo D. Weisgall Milken Archive oral history |
Alphabetical watch index; Fairbrook joint vs solo grouping |
||
| (8 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
== Watch by soldier == | == Watch by soldier == | ||
Soldiers with more than one video are grouped. Lerner | Soldiers with more than one video are grouped. Fairbrook and Lerner share one joint interview and each also has solo recordings. | ||
{| class="wikitable yt-watch-index" | {| class="wikitable yt-watch-index" | ||
| Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Fairbrook, Paul (32709209)|Paul Fairbrook]] | | [[Fairbrook, Paul (32709209)|Paul Fairbrook]] | ||
| | | 2 interviews: [[#Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner|Veterans Breakfast Club (with Maximilian Lerner)]] · [[#Paul Fairbrook (Zekelman Holocaust Center)|Zekelman Holocaust Center]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Fields, Fred D. (32878282)|Fred Fields]] | | [[Fields, Fred D. (32878282)|Fred Fields]] | ||
| Line 50: | Line 50: | ||
| [[Kaufmann, Ellen J. (A206769)|Ellen J. Kaufmann / Ellen Kaufmann Boucher]] | | [[Kaufmann, Ellen J. (A206769)|Ellen J. Kaufmann / Ellen Kaufmann Boucher]] | ||
| 1 interview: [[#Ellen Kaufmann Boucher|Canandaigua cable interview (1995)]] | | 1 interview: [[#Ellen Kaufmann Boucher|Canandaigua cable interview (1995)]] | ||
|- | |||
| [[Kosse, Gunter (32712417)|Gunter Kosse]] | |||
| 1 interview: [[#Gunter Kosse (Zekelman Holocaust Center)|Zekelman Holocaust Center]] | |||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Lerner, Maximilian (32908439)|Maximilian Lerner]] | | [[Lerner, Maximilian (32908439)|Maximilian Lerner]] | ||
| 4 interviews: [[#Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner|Veterans Breakfast Club]] · [[#Maximilian Lerner (American Veterans Center)|American Veterans Center]] · [[#Maximilian Lerner (David S. Frey)|Interview with David S. Frey]] · [[#Maximilian Lerner (Museum of Jewish Heritage)|Museum of Jewish Heritage]] | | 4 interviews: [[#Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner|Veterans Breakfast Club (with Paul Fairbrook)]] · [[#Maximilian Lerner (American Veterans Center)|American Veterans Center]] · [[#Maximilian Lerner (David S. Frey)|Interview with David S. Frey]] · [[#Maximilian Lerner (Museum of Jewish Heritage)|Museum of Jewish Heritage]] | ||
|- | |||
| [[Lieberman, Gerald (32861763)|Gerald Lieberman]] | |||
| 1 interview: [[#Gerald Lieberman (Zekelman Holocaust Center)|Zekelman Holocaust Center]] | |||
|- | |||
| [[Michel, Werner E. (01329861)|Werner E. Michel]] | |||
| 1 interview: [[#Werner E. Michel (Zekelman Holocaust Center)|Zekelman Holocaust Center]] | |||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Miller, Albert W. (35799290)|Albert Miller]] | | [[Miller, Albert W. (35799290)|Albert Miller]] | ||
| Line 59: | Line 68: | ||
| [[Musch, Warren R. (289011)|Warren Musch]] | | [[Musch, Warren R. (289011)|Warren Musch]] | ||
| 1 interview: [[#Warren Musch|EF Explore America]] | | 1 interview: [[#Warren Musch|EF Explore America]] | ||
|- | |||
| [[Norton, Henry (01183147)|Henry Norton]] | |||
| 1 interview: [[#Henry Norton (Zekelman Holocaust Center)|Zekelman Holocaust Center]] | |||
|- | |||
| [[Potash, Robert A. (31224431)|Robert A. Potash]] | |||
| 1 interview: [[#Robert A. Potash|Yiddish Book Center oral history]] | |||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Rosenthal, Fred J. (32860017)|Frederick John Rosenthal]] | | [[Rosenthal, Fred J. (32860017)|Frederick John Rosenthal]] | ||
| Line 65: | Line 80: | ||
| [[Schifter, Richard (32966898)|Richard Schifter]] | | [[Schifter, Richard (32966898)|Richard Schifter]] | ||
| 1 interview: [[#Richard Schifter|American Veterans Center]] | | 1 interview: [[#Richard Schifter|American Veterans Center]] | ||
|- | |||
| [[Schwarz, Walter (31189305)|Walter Schwarz]] | |||
| 1 interview: [[#Walter Schwarz (Zekelman Holocaust Center)|Zekelman Holocaust Center]] | |||
|- | |- | ||
| [[Shehab, Alfred H. M. (01012319)|Alfred Shehab]] | | [[Shehab, Alfred H. M. (01012319)|Alfred Shehab]] | ||
| 1 interview: [[#Alfred Shehab|American Veterans Center]] | | 1 interview: [[#Alfred Shehab|American Veterans Center]] | ||
|- | |||
| [[Stern, Guy (37413105)|Guy Stern]] | |||
| 1 interview (2 parts): [[#Guy Stern (Zekelman Holocaust Center)|Zekelman Holocaust Center]] | |||
|- | |||
| [[Wachtel, Ernest (32776330)|Ernest Wachtel]] | |||
| 1 interview: [[#Ernest Wachtel (Zekelman Holocaust Center)|Zekelman Holocaust Center]] | |||
|- | |||
| [[Weisgall, Hugo D. (13072714)|Hugo D. Weisgall]] | | [[Weisgall, Hugo D. (13072714)|Hugo D. Weisgall]] | ||
| 1 interview: [[#Hugo D. Weisgall|Milken Archive oral history | | 1 interview: [[#Hugo D. Weisgall|Milken Archive oral history]] | ||
|} | |} | ||
| Line 173: | Line 197: | ||
=== Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner === | === Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner === | ||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-G9hoHqwaD5g" data-youtube-id="G9hoHqwaD5g" data-heading="Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner" data-short="Veterans Breakfast Club" data-soldiers="Fairbrook, Paul (32709209); Lerner, Maximilian (32908439)"> | <div class="yt-interview" id="yt-G9hoHqwaD5g" data-youtube-id="G9hoHqwaD5g" data-heading="Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner" data-short="Veterans Breakfast Club (joint)" data-soldiers="Fairbrook, Paul (32709209); Lerner, Maximilian (32908439)"> | ||
We welcome two Ritchie Boys to the Veterans Breakfast Club: [[Fairbrook, Paul (32709209)|Paul Fairbrook]] and [[Lerner, Maximilian (32908439)|Maximilian Lerner]]. We’re also joined by Beverley Eddy, author of ''Ritchie Boy Secrets'', which tells the story of this now declassified program. Maximilian Lerner immigrated from Vienna to New York in 1941, then enlisted in the US Army and went back to Europe as an American soldier in 1944. He was recruited into the Office of Strategic Services as a special agent for secret missions in Germany. Paul Fairbrook used a valuable stamp collection to make it to the US from Berlin in the late 1930s before being drafted into the Army and trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. He also served in Europe overseeing interrogations and review of captured German documents. Beverley Eddy is a historian and author of ''Ritchie Boy Secrets: How a Force of Immigrants and Refugees Helped Win World War II.'' She will guide the conversation with our veterans about this fascinating story. | We welcome two Ritchie Boys to the Veterans Breakfast Club: [[Fairbrook, Paul (32709209)|Paul Fairbrook]] and [[Lerner, Maximilian (32908439)|Maximilian Lerner]]. We’re also joined by Beverley Eddy, author of ''Ritchie Boy Secrets'', which tells the story of this now declassified program. Maximilian Lerner immigrated from Vienna to New York in 1941, then enlisted in the US Army and went back to Europe as an American soldier in 1944. He was recruited into the Office of Strategic Services as a special agent for secret missions in Germany. Paul Fairbrook used a valuable stamp collection to make it to the US from Berlin in the late 1930s before being drafted into the Army and trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. He also served in Europe overseeing interrogations and review of captured German documents. Beverley Eddy is a historian and author of ''Ritchie Boy Secrets: How a Force of Immigrants and Refugees Helped Win World War II.'' She will guide the conversation with our veterans about this fascinating story. | ||
| Line 184: | Line 208: | ||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9hoHqwaD5g Open on YouTube] | * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9hoHqwaD5g Open on YouTube] | ||
* ''Video by Veterans Breakfast Club / Paul Fairbrook, Maximilian Lerner & Dr. Beverley Eddy'' | * ''Video by Veterans Breakfast Club / Paul Fairbrook, Maximilian Lerner & Dr. Beverley Eddy'' | ||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Paul Fairbrook (Zekelman Holocaust Center) === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-nwstO3ARxUI" data-youtube-id="nwstO3ARxUI" data-heading="Paul Fairbrook (Zekelman Holocaust Center)" data-short="Zekelman Holocaust Center" data-soldiers="Fairbrook, Paul (32709209)"> | |||
[[Fairbrook, Paul (32709209)|Paul Fairbrook]] was born Paul Schoenbach in Berlin in 1923. His family left Germany for Palestine in 1933 and reached the United States after a 1937 transit through Amsterdam secured with a stamp collection. Drafted in January 1943, he trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] in [[Class 7]] and worked at Fort Hunt’s P.O. Box 1142 documenting the German Army order of battle. After the war he led food-service programs at the Culinary Institute of America and several universities. | |||
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his emigration, Camp Ritchie training, Fort Hunt document work, and postwar career. | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Fairbrook, Paul (32709209)|Paul Fairbrook]] | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="nwstO3ARxUI" data-title="Paul Fairbrook (Zekelman Holocaust Center)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwstO3ARxUI Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwstO3ARxUI Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://5152.sydneyplus.com/argus/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AAFG&record=9cdd6950-1786-4b9e-b3b0-d2b85025df94 Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 419)] | |||
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] | |||
* ''Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Paul Fairbrook (OHV 419, July 22, 2011)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | <div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 270: | Line 313: | ||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | <div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
=== Ellen Kaufmann Boucher === | === Ellen Kaufmann Boucher === | ||
| Line 365: | Line 409: | ||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_O-TNn0w74 Open on YouTube] | * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_O-TNn0w74 Open on YouTube] | ||
* ''Video by EF Explore America / Warren Musch'' | * ''Video by EF Explore America / Warren Musch'' | ||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Robert A. Potash === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="potash-yiddish-2012" data-heading="Robert A. Potash" data-short="Yiddish Book Center oral history" data-soldiers="Potash, Robert A. (31224431)"> | |||
[[Potash, Robert A. (31224431)|Robert A. Potash]] was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1921. He studied history at Harvard, trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 19), and served overseas as a technician fourth grade. After the war he became a historian of Argentine politics and military affairs; his memoir ''Looking Back at My First Eighty Years'' appeared in 2008. He died in 2016. | |||
Interviewed by Allie Brudney on 13 January 2012 at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts, this oral history covers family life, Jewish identity and Yiddish education, Harvard years, and related themes (English-language recording with video highlight clips on the Center site). | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Potash, Robert A. (31224431)|Robert A. Potash]] | |||
<div class="ia-embed" data-archive-id="RobertA.Potash13january2012YiddishBookCenter" data-title="Robert A. Potash oral history" data-play-label="Play interview"> | |||
<p class="ia-embed-fallback">[https://archive.org/details/RobertA.Potash13january2012YiddishBookCenter Listen on Internet Archive]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/oral-histories/interviews/woh-fi-0000241/robert-a-potash-2012 Open on Yiddish Book Center] | |||
* [https://archive.org/details/RobertA.Potash13january2012YiddishBookCenter Open on Internet Archive] | |||
* [https://archive.org/download/RobertA.Potash13january2012YiddishBookCenter/Au241-robertPotash-FullInterviewAudioOnly.mp3 Download MP3 (Internet Archive)] | |||
* ''Oral history by Yiddish Book Center / Robert A. Potash (13 January 2012; interviewer Allie Brudney)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | <div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| Line 417: | Line 480: | ||
=== Hugo D. Weisgall === | === Hugo D. Weisgall === | ||
<div class="yt-interview" id="weisgall-milken-1995" data-heading="Hugo D. Weisgall" data-short="Milken Archive oral history | <div class="yt-interview" id="weisgall-milken-1995" data-heading="Hugo D. Weisgall" data-short="Milken Archive oral history" data-soldiers="Weisgall, Hugo D. (13072714)"> | ||
[[Weisgall, Hugo D. (13072714)|Hugo David Weisgall]] was born on 13 October 1912 in Ivančice, Moravia, emigrated to Baltimore as a child, and trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 2). A composer and conductor, he later taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Juilliard, and Queens College. | [[Weisgall, Hugo D. (13072714)|Hugo David Weisgall]] was born on 13 October 1912 in Ivančice, Moravia, emigrated to Baltimore as a child, and trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 2). A composer and conductor, he later taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Juilliard, and Queens College. | ||
This 31 May 1995 Milken Archive oral history covers his family and early life, immigration, World War II service, Jewish identity, musical training, and operatic career. | This 31 May 1995 Milken Archive oral history covers his family and early life, immigration, World War II service, Jewish identity, musical training, and operatic career. Video hosted on Aviary by the Lowell Milken Center. | ||
'''Appears:''' [[Weisgall, Hugo D. (13072714)|Hugo D. Weisgall]] | '''Appears:''' [[Weisgall, Hugo D. (13072714)|Hugo D. Weisgall]] | ||
<div class="aviary-embed" data-aviary-media="116737" data-title="Hugo Weisgall oral history" data-play-label="Play video"> | |||
<p class="aviary-embed-fallback">[https://milken.aviaryplatform.com/embed/media/116737?embed=true&media_player=true Watch on Aviary]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.milkenarchive.org/oral-history/view/weisgall-hugo Open on Milken Archive] | * [https://www.milkenarchive.org/oral-history/view/weisgall-hugo Open on Milken Archive] | ||
* [https://milken.aviaryplatform.com/r/n872v2d384 | * [https://milken.aviaryplatform.com/r/n872v2d384 Open on Milken Archive Aviary] | ||
* ''Oral history by Milken Archive of Jewish Music / Hugo Weisgall (31 May 1995)'' | * ''Oral history by Milken Archive of Jewish Music / Hugo Weisgall (31 May 1995)'' | ||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Gunter Kosse (Zekelman Holocaust Center) === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-c1Ba0buAA0c" data-youtube-id="c1Ba0buAA0c" data-heading="Gunter Kosse (Zekelman Holocaust Center)" data-short="Zekelman Holocaust Center" data-soldiers="Kosse, Gunter (32712417)"> | |||
[[Kosse, Gunter (32712417)|Gunter Kosse]] was born in Berlin in 1922. After Kristallnacht his father fled to Cuba; Gunter and his mother followed in 1939, then the family reached New York in 1940. Drafted in 1943, he trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] ([[Class 9]]) and later served with IPW Team 4 of the 8th Infantry Division. Near war’s end he interpreted at Nuremberg discovery interrogations of Kaltenbrunner, Sauckel, and Frick. | |||
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his escape route, Ritchie training, combat interrogations, Nuremberg work, and long Defense Department career. | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Kosse, Gunter (32712417)|Gunter Kosse]] | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="c1Ba0buAA0c" data-title="Gunter Kosse (Zekelman Holocaust Center)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Ba0buAA0c Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Ba0buAA0c Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://5152.sydneyplus.com/argus/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AAFG&record=0d063378-8950-42c1-9c21-4e80d4ba830f Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 416)] | |||
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] | |||
* ''Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Gunter Kosse (OHV 416, July 22, 2011)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Gerald Lieberman (Zekelman Holocaust Center) === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-aTIcyZZIBXQ" data-youtube-id="aTIcyZZIBXQ" data-heading="Gerald Lieberman (Zekelman Holocaust Center)" data-short="Zekelman Holocaust Center" data-soldiers="Lieberman, Gerald (32861763)"> | |||
[[Lieberman, Gerald (32861763)|Gerald “Jerry” Lieberman]] (born Gerhard) left Munich after Kristallnacht, when his father Leo was briefly held at Dachau. The family reached the United States via the Dominican Republic. A [[Class 10]] Ritchie Boy, he interrogated with the 3rd Infantry Division from Anzio into southern France, earned a Purple Heart, and later served with the 10th Mountain Division. | |||
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his Munich youth, Camp Ritchie training, Mediterranean and European interrogations, and postwar business life. | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Lieberman, Gerald (32861763)|Gerald Lieberman]] | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="aTIcyZZIBXQ" data-title="Gerald Lieberman (Zekelman Holocaust Center)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTIcyZZIBXQ Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTIcyZZIBXQ Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://5152.sydneyplus.com/argus/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AAFG&record=0b0e7c90-a9e7-4767-b507-cf4e968ddbb9 Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 415)] | |||
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] | |||
* ''Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Gerald Lieberman (OHV 415, July 24, 2011)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Werner E. Michel (Zekelman Holocaust Center) === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-WtfVEo05stI" data-youtube-id="WtfVEo05stI" data-heading="Werner E. Michel (Zekelman Holocaust Center)" data-short="Zekelman Holocaust Center" data-soldiers="Michel, Werner E. (01329861)"> | |||
[[Michel, Werner E. (01329861)|Werner E. Michel]] left Landau for St. Louis in 1936 at age twelve; his father later perished at Auschwitz. After Fort Knox and Fort Benning OCS he trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] and commanded IPW Team 270 with the 9th Infantry Division, including Malmedy-related interrogations and undercover CIC work in Bavaria. He later rose to colonel and Defense Intelligence Inspector General. | |||
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his immigration, Ritchie training, occupation interrogations, and postwar intelligence career. | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Michel, Werner E. (01329861)|Werner E. Michel]] | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="WtfVEo05stI" data-title="Werner E. Michel (Zekelman Holocaust Center)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtfVEo05stI Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtfVEo05stI Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://5152.sydneyplus.com/argus/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AAFG&record=651c5835-f6b1-4e81-8dac-d73dd7bac3af Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 414)] | |||
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] | |||
* ''Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Werner E. Michel (OHV 414, July 25, 2011)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Henry Norton (Zekelman Holocaust Center) === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-SQT8VUiQwwM" data-youtube-id="SQT8VUiQwwM" data-heading="Henry Norton (Zekelman Holocaust Center)" data-short="Zekelman Holocaust Center" data-soldiers="Norton, Henry (01183147)"> | |||
[[Norton, Henry (01183147)|Henry Norton]] (born Heinrich Julius Nussenbaum in Bautzen) came alone to Rochester, New York, in 1937. An artillery officer before [[Camp Ritchie]], he interrogated with the 88th Infantry Division in Italy, later served in Fifth and Seventh Army G-2, and helped contact German rocket scientists near war’s end. He received the Bronze Star and afterward practiced law in Miami. | |||
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his family’s fate, combat interrogations in Italy and France, and postwar life. | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Norton, Henry (01183147)|Henry Norton]] | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="SQT8VUiQwwM" data-title="Henry Norton (Zekelman Holocaust Center)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQT8VUiQwwM Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQT8VUiQwwM Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://5152.sydneyplus.com/argus/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AAFG&record=7b31595b-8ddf-4c7e-9a5e-85122623caa2 Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 417)] | |||
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] | |||
* ''Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Henry Norton (OHV 417, July 25, 2011)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Walter Schwarz (Zekelman Holocaust Center) === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-97EFKeyfgJU" data-youtube-id="97EFKeyfgJU" data-heading="Walter Schwarz (Zekelman Holocaust Center)" data-short="Zekelman Holocaust Center" data-soldiers="Schwarz, Walter (31189305)"> | |||
[[Schwarz, Walter (31189305)|Walter Schwarz]] was born in Timișoara, Romania, in 1921 and reached the United States in March 1940. After long training at [[Camp Ritchie]] ([[Class 20]]) he served as a technical sergeant interrogator with Third Army through the Saar, the Battle of the Bulge, and into Czechoslovakia. | |||
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his Romanian youth, Ritchie training, European interrogations, and postwar textile career. | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Schwarz, Walter (31189305)|Walter Schwarz]] | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="97EFKeyfgJU" data-title="Walter Schwarz (Zekelman Holocaust Center)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97EFKeyfgJU Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97EFKeyfgJU Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://5152.sydneyplus.com/argus/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AAFG&record=c9b7dbbb-8dd7-466f-9403-c8fe6399b41e Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 413)] | |||
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] | |||
* ''Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Walter Schwarz (OHV 413, July 24, 2011)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Guy Stern (Zekelman Holocaust Center) === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-gN0Dl4T3RJM" data-youtube-id="gN0Dl4T3RJM" data-heading="Guy Stern (Zekelman Holocaust Center)" data-short="Zekelman Holocaust Center" data-soldiers="Stern, Guy (37413105)"> | |||
[[Stern, Guy (37413105)|Guy Stern]] (born Günther Stern in Hildesheim) reached St. Louis in 1937; his parents and siblings were later murdered in the Holocaust. A [[Class 8]] Ritchie Boy and master sergeant, he interrogated from Normandy through the Bulge, earned the Bronze Star, and afterward became a German-literature scholar and Holocaust Center leader in Michigan. | |||
This November 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history (two parts) covers his Hildesheim youth, immigration, wartime intelligence service, and academic career. | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Stern, Guy (37413105)|Guy Stern]] | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="gN0Dl4T3RJM" data-title="Guy Stern (Zekelman Holocaust Center) (part 1)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN0Dl4T3RJM Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="X1P87ezHg_0" data-title="Guy Stern (Zekelman Holocaust Center) (part 2)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1P87ezHg_0 Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN0Dl4T3RJM Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1P87ezHg_0 Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://5152.sydneyplus.com/argus/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AAFG&record=42e71bd5-27f8-4aaf-b402-d0e47d079916 Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 402)] | |||
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] | |||
* ''Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Guy Stern (OHV 402, November 16, 2011)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | |||
</div> | |||
=== Ernest Wachtel (Zekelman Holocaust Center) === | |||
<div class="yt-interview" id="yt-Gb9dKXmmJiM" data-youtube-id="Gb9dKXmmJiM" data-heading="Ernest Wachtel (Zekelman Holocaust Center)" data-short="Zekelman Holocaust Center" data-soldiers="Wachtel, Ernest (32776330)"> | |||
[[Wachtel, Ernest (32776330)|Ernest Wachtel]] left Vienna for France in 1938 and reached New York alone in July 1938; his parents followed to a New Jersey chicken farm beside Camp Kilmer. After University of Kentucky topography training he went to [[Camp Ritchie]] and served with IPW Team 62 of Patton’s Third Army from Omaha Beach into Germany, including aid to Dachau survivors after liberation. | |||
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his Vienna escape, Ritchie service, Third Army interrogations, and postwar life. | |||
'''Appears:''' [[Wachtel, Ernest (32776330)|Ernest Wachtel]] | |||
<div class="yt-embed" data-youtube-id="Gb9dKXmmJiM" data-title="Ernest Wachtel (Zekelman Holocaust Center)"> | |||
<p class="yt-embed-fallback">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb9dKXmmJiM Watch on YouTube]</p> | |||
</div> | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb9dKXmmJiM Open on YouTube] | |||
* [https://5152.sydneyplus.com/argus/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AAFG&record=370e404e-16b9-469f-bff7-559f799e945f Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 418)] | |||
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] | |||
* ''Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Ernest Wachtel (OHV 418, July 24, 2011)'' | |||
<div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | <div class="yt-interview-next"></div> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
Latest revision as of 02:21, 17 September 2026
Ritchie Boy Interviews/Testimonies is a watchlist of video and audio interviews and oral histories with Ritchie Boys. Play a recording on this page, or pick a soldier below to jump to their talk. Each entry includes a short biographical blurb before the player. More will be added as they are discovered. Please contact us if you think an interview should be added.
Feature-length films are on Documentaries/Movies (trailers here stay on that page; this list is interviews).
Watch by soldier[edit | edit source]
Soldiers with more than one video are grouped. Fairbrook and Lerner share one joint interview and each also has solo recordings.
Interviews[edit | edit source]
Nathan M. Berman[edit | edit source]
Natick Veterans Oral History Project interview with Nathan M. Berman, discussing Mr. Berman’s service during World War II, focusing particularly on his role in Military Intelligence, conducted on May 6, 1988 at the Morse Institute Library.
Appears: Nathan M. Berman
- Open on YouTube
- Video by Morse Institute Library / Nathan M. Berman
Victor Brombert[edit | edit source]
Victor Brombert was born in Berlin in 1923 into a well-to-do Russian-Jewish family that had previously escaped Russia at the outbreak of the revolution. As Hitler rose to power the Brombert family would once again find itself fleeing, this time to the United States. In 1943 Brombert was drafted into the U.S. Army. Due to his fluency in French, German, and Russian he was placed in a special unit that was trained in frontline military intelligence at Camp Ritchie. In 1944 Brombert took part in the Normandy landings with the 2nd Armored Division at Omaha Beach. He would later see action at the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge.
Appears: Victor Brombert
- Open on YouTube
- Video by American Veterans Center / Victor Brombert
Hans Curt Bubel[edit | edit source]
Hans Curt Bubel was born on 3 October 1925 in Mannheim, Germany, and immigrated to Salt Lake City in 1928. Drafted after high school, he trained in military intelligence at Camp Ritchie (Class 26). He arrived in Europe on VE-Day and searched for enemy documents for the Nuremberg trials. After the war he earned a Ph.D. at the University of Utah and taught medicine for more than thirty years in Cincinnati.
This Veterans History Project interview covers his wartime service and later life.
Appears: Hans Curt Bubel
- Open on YouTube
- Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library — Veterans History Project record
- Video by Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library / Veterans History Project
Henry Butler[edit | edit source]
Henry Butler was born Hans Buxbaum in August 1921. The Buxbaums, a tightknit German-Jewish family, fled the Nazi regime in the 1930s. Henry immigrated to New York, where he was drafted into the US Army in December 1942.
As a native German speaker, Henry was selected to train at the secret Fort Ritchie Military Intelligence Training Center in Maryland. He and thousands of others returned to their homeland to help defeat the murderous regime they had fled. Called “Ritchie Boys,” they used their German skills to interrogate prisoners on the front lines with the 3rd Army.
Henry was discharged from the Army in October 1945.
Appears: Henry Butler
- Open on YouTube
- Video by Holocaust Center for Humanity / Henry Butler
Stanley Carnarius[edit | edit source]
The Untold Stories of a Clandestine WWII Intelligence Unit: The Ritchie Boys. Ritchie Boy Stanley Carnarius was born in Illinois, but had a penchant for foreign languages. He spoke German, French, Spanish and Portuguese and was thus accepted into the Ritchie program. While at Camp Ritchie Carnarius would study photo interpretation and map-making and graduate from the 21st Class as an Order of Battle specialist.
Appears: Stanley Carnarius
- Open on YouTube
- Video by American Veterans Center / Stanley Carnarius
John Dolibois[edit | edit source]
A naturalized American, John Dolibois’ war experiences brought him full circle to his homeland. He emigrated to America from Luxembourg in 1931 as a 13-year-old, quickly learned English, and became an outstanding student in high school in Akron, Ohio, and at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Because he spoke fluent German, Dolibois was recruited for the Army intelligence unit; at war’s end he was driving around Europe, interviewing captured German officers. His postwar assignment brought him to "Ashcan," the code name for a luxury hotel in Mondorf, Luxembourg. There he joined a team of five interrogators who questioned every surviving Third Reich person of note, from Hermann Goering to Julius Streicher, in preparation for the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.
Appears: John Dolibois
- Open on YouTube
- Video by Public Library of Cincinnati / John Dolibois
Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner[edit | edit source]
We welcome two Ritchie Boys to the Veterans Breakfast Club: Paul Fairbrook and Maximilian Lerner. We’re also joined by Beverley Eddy, author of Ritchie Boy Secrets, which tells the story of this now declassified program. Maximilian Lerner immigrated from Vienna to New York in 1941, then enlisted in the US Army and went back to Europe as an American soldier in 1944. He was recruited into the Office of Strategic Services as a special agent for secret missions in Germany. Paul Fairbrook used a valuable stamp collection to make it to the US from Berlin in the late 1930s before being drafted into the Army and trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. He also served in Europe overseeing interrogations and review of captured German documents. Beverley Eddy is a historian and author of Ritchie Boy Secrets: How a Force of Immigrants and Refugees Helped Win World War II. She will guide the conversation with our veterans about this fascinating story.
Appears: Paul Fairbrook, Maximilian Lerner
- Open on YouTube
- Video by Veterans Breakfast Club / Paul Fairbrook, Maximilian Lerner & Dr. Beverley Eddy
Paul Fairbrook (Zekelman Holocaust Center)[edit | edit source]
Paul Fairbrook was born Paul Schoenbach in Berlin in 1923. His family left Germany for Palestine in 1933 and reached the United States after a 1937 transit through Amsterdam secured with a stamp collection. Drafted in January 1943, he trained at Camp Ritchie in Class 7 and worked at Fort Hunt’s P.O. Box 1142 documenting the German Army order of battle. After the war he led food-service programs at the Culinary Institute of America and several universities.
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his emigration, Camp Ritchie training, Fort Hunt document work, and postwar career.
Appears: Paul Fairbrook
- Open on YouTube
- Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 419)
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Paul Fairbrook (OHV 419, July 22, 2011)
Fred Fields[edit | edit source]
Fred Fields was born Siegfried Dingfelder and fled Germany with his family just after Kristallnacht. They arrived in the United States in 1940 and lived in Brooklyn, when Fields worked as a baker until getting drafted into the army. A graduate of Camp Ritchie, Maryland, he shipped out to the ETO as an interrogator and joined his unit 69th IPW in Metz.
Fred sat for this interview with the American Veterans Center shortly before he passed away in early March 2024. Fred, who was part of IPW Team 69, discusses in this interview growing up in Germany, his family, fleeing from Germany to England, and later coming to the USA. Later, he is drafted into the U.S. Army, and ends up on a train to Camp Ritchie. Fred finds himself sent to England, then points beyond. He discusses his military service and more in this interview. (See also The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Fred Fields.)
Appears: Fred Fields
- Open on YouTube
- Video by American Veterans Center / Fred Fields
Harold Franken / Hellmut Frankenberg[edit | edit source]
In 2009, Harold Franken sat down, beside his wife Harriet, to be interviewed by daughter and son-in-law Debbie and Scott Springgate. This is the third of three videos from that interview. Harriet Franken died later that year, and Harold Franken died two years later.
Hellmut Frankenberg (Hellmut J. Frankenberg) was a Ritchie Boy — a graduate of the Army’s elite military intelligence training program at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. Franken began to offer snippets of information about his wartime experiences only in the last few years before his death in 2011. After avoiding any discussion of his military service for decades, Franken did go into some detail when he and his wife were interviewed by their son-in-law on video in about 2009. Read more about Harold Franken (Altamont Enterprise).
Appears: Harold Franken / Hellmut Frankenberg
- Open on YouTube
- Family interview / Harold Franken (Hellmut Frankenberg)
Karl Goldsmith / Karl Goldschmidt[edit | edit source]
Karl Goldsmith (1921–2002), born Karl Goldschmidt and listed in Army records as Karl G. Smith, was born in Eschwege, Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1939. He served in Europe in the U.S. Army during World War II, first in the military police, and then as an interrogator and sergeant in charge of a military intelligence team. Immediately following the war, he was responsible for the de-Nazification of his hometown in Germany. Mr. Goldsmith was a 1947 graduate of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. He worked for Thomas Young Orchids in Middlesex before owning the "Flower House" floral shops in the Middlesex area. In 1957, he entered the life insurance business and was the owner of Karl K. Goldsmith, Inc. of Somerville. He remained active in his business until his death.
Interview conducted for the documentary About Face: Jewish Refugee Soldiers in the Allied Forces. Filmed in Bedminster, NJ, February 2001. (See also The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith.)
Appears: Karl Goldsmith / Karl Goldschmidt
- Open on YouTube
- Video by Steve Karras / Karl Goldsmith
Alfred Goodwin[edit | edit source]
Alfred Goodwin was born Alfred Gutmann on 4 August 1914 in Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1936, settling in Portland, Oregon, with the family firm Bissinger & Company. Drafted in 1942, he trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 4 / IPW Team 33), served as a POW interrogator in Europe—including Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge—with the 409th Infantry, and received the Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster. He was discharged as a master sergeant in 1945, later married Lottie Hirsch, and returned to the hide and wool business in Oregon and Utah. He died on 28 May 1993.
This 1986 oral history for the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education covers his family and life in Karlsruhe, immigration at age 21, Camp Ritchie training, and wartime service. Audio hosted on SoundCloud by OJMCHE.
Appears: Alfred Goodwin
- Open on OJMCHE
- Open OJMCHE on SoundCloud
- Audio by Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education / Alfred Goodwin
Werner Gumpertz[edit | edit source]
Werner Gumpertz was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States. He began his service in the U.S. Army after being drafted in 1943. He trained at the Engineering Replacement Training Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and continued his service in Pennsylvania and Camp Ritchie, Maryland, for intelligence training. He was deployed to England, and subsequently moved from the suburbs of Paris to Germany, where he joined the 7th Army as a translator, interrogating German prisoners. He later worked for the U.S. military government in Germany, where he was the agent in charge of publications. He was discharged in early 1946, and worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Frankfurt for a year before returning to the U.S. and studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Gumpertz talks about his intelligence training, Europe after the war, and describes a brief encounter with Hermann Goering.
Appears: Werner Gumpertz
- Open on YouTube
- Video by Newton Free Library / Werner Gumpertz
Ellen Kaufmann Boucher[edit | edit source]
Ellen J. Kaufmann (later Ellen Kaufmann Boucher) was born in 1920 in Mainz, Germany. After anti-Jewish measures closed her father’s shop and Jewish schools, she emigrated to the United States in 1937 with her grandmother. She later learned that her parents and sister Marianne had been deported. Kaufmann joined the Women’s Army Corps in 1943 and by early 1944 was a German interrogation instructor at Camp Ritchie (Technician Fourth Grade, ASN A-206769). She married Melville Boucher at Camp Ritchie in 1946 and died in 2014.
This 1995 cable-television interview in Canandaigua, New York (conducted by Angela Barrington in response to a Holocaust denier) covers her childhood in Mainz, Nazi restrictions, immigration, and the deportation and deaths of family members. A transcript is among the Ellen Kaufmann Boucher papers at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Accession 2018.38.2).
Appears: Ellen J. Kaufmann / Ellen Kaufmann Boucher
- Open on YouTube
- USHMM — Ellen Kaufmann Boucher papers
- Interview aired on cable television, Canandaigua, New York (1995) / Ellen Kaufmann Boucher
Maximilian Lerner (American Veterans Center)[edit | edit source]
Maximilian Lerner was born in 1924 in Vienna, Austria. Following the Anschluss, life in Vienna became increasingly difficult for Lerner’s family and forced them to flee to Paris. After three challenging years, they secured visas to the United States in April 1941. With a deep hatred for the Nazis, Lerner enlisted in the Army as soon as he turned 18.
Realizing the need for German-speaking soldiers, the Army assigned Lerner to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Maryland in 1943. It was there he trained in intelligence, interrogation, and the German order of battle.
Lerner would deploy to Europe and find himself working alongside the OSS and SHAEF in clandestine military operations. He would be one of the first Americans to enter Paris after its liberation where he interrogated Wehrmacht and SS officers. The war would become intensely personal for Lerner when he was assigned to serve as an interpreter at the recently liberated Dachau concentration camp. The memories of the camp remain with Lerner to this day.
Appears: Maximilian Lerner
- Open on YouTube
- Video by American Veterans Center / Maximilian Lerner
Maximilian Lerner (David S. Frey)[edit | edit source]
An Afternoon With Ritchie Boy, Maximilian Lerner. Maximilian Lerner was born in Vienna, Austria. His life from there followed a complex sequence of escape and resistance through World War II. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and — thanks to his fluency in three languages — was assigned to military intelligence. His destiny took him back to Europe where he served in the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the CIA, through the liberation of the continent and the end of the war. His government career terminated with his assignment as a Special Agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps. In addition to his autobiography, Flight and Return: A Memoir of World War II, Lerner has published two novels based on his experiences. On October 19, 2021, this interview with Maximilian Lerner was conducted on location in New York City by Dr. David S. Frey.
Appears: Maximilian Lerner
- Open on YouTube
- Video by Glenn Godart & Peter Brannigan / Maximilian Lerner
Maximilian Lerner (Museum of Jewish Heritage)[edit | edit source]
In commemoration of Victory in Europe Day, Maximilian Lerner shared his eyewitness account of military service in Europe during World War II. Lerner was born in 1924 in Vienna. After three years of challenges, he and his family immigrated to New York in April 1941. At 18, Lerner enlisted in the United States Army. Because of his language skills, he was assigned to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. He went back to Europe as an American soldier in March of 1944, was recruited into the Office of Strategic Services, and served as a Special Agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps while still engaging in secret missions for the OSS. After Germany’s surrender he was involved in the denazification effort.
Appears: Maximilian Lerner
- Open on YouTube
- Video by Museum of Jewish Heritage / Maximilian Lerner
Albert Miller[edit | edit source]
Landon Grove, former director of the Ritchie History Museum, had the pleasure of having a virtual conversation with Dr. Albert Miller, a Ritchie Boy who shares his story of hardships faced during the Holocaust, his immigration to the United States, time in the military, and life after. We thank Al for his time and his service to the Country!
Appears: Albert Miller
- Open on YouTube
- Interview by Landon Grove, Ritchie History Museum / Dr. Albert Miller
Warren Musch[edit | edit source]
World War II Marine Warren Musch is from Virginia, Illinois and enlisted while he was in college. After graduation he was sent to Camp Ritchie, Maryland for combat intel training. He was then assigned to the Third Battalion, 28th Marines, Fifth Marine Division at Camp Pendleton. He served as Combat Intelligence Officer during the invasion and 36-day securement of Iwo Jima and was hand-picked to help plan the invasion of Japan, which of course never happened. He served from 1943–1946. After his service, Warren operated his family farm and taught junior high school science. He was married for 62 years, has two children, five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
Appears: Warren Musch
- Open on YouTube
- Video by EF Explore America / Warren Musch
Robert A. Potash[edit | edit source]
Robert A. Potash was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1921. He studied history at Harvard, trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 19), and served overseas as a technician fourth grade. After the war he became a historian of Argentine politics and military affairs; his memoir Looking Back at My First Eighty Years appeared in 2008. He died in 2016.
Interviewed by Allie Brudney on 13 January 2012 at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts, this oral history covers family life, Jewish identity and Yiddish education, Harvard years, and related themes (English-language recording with video highlight clips on the Center site).
Appears: Robert A. Potash
- Open on Yiddish Book Center
- Open on Internet Archive
- Download MP3 (Internet Archive)
- Oral history by Yiddish Book Center / Robert A. Potash (13 January 2012; interviewer Allie Brudney)
Frederick John Rosenthal[edit | edit source]
Landon Grove, former director of the Ritchie History Museum, had the pleasure of having a virtual conversation with Frederick John Rosenthal (Fred J. Rosenthal), a Ritchie Boy who shares his interesting story of his wartime experiences and more. We thank John for his time and his service to the Country! A quick note — We welcomed John as a graduate of the 15th class at Camp Ritchie, but he corrected us that he was a member of the 15th class, however he did not complete the courses before being alerted for his overseas assignment.
Appears: Frederick John Rosenthal
- Open on YouTube
- Interview by Landon Grove, Ritchie History Museum / John Rosenthal
Richard Schifter[edit | edit source]
Born in Vienna in 1923, Richard Schifter emigrated to the United States at the age of 15 — the only member of his family to do so. In 1943 he joined the US Army and trained as an interrogator of prisoners of war. He was assigned to France in the summer of 1944, tasked with gathering important documents and making certain arrests.
After the war he learned that his family did not survive the Holocaust, making his emigration all the more surreal. He would go on to serve in the US State Department, the National Security Council, and the UN Security Council. Over his distinguished career, he has served his adopted country in numerous ways.
Appears: Richard Schifter
- Open on YouTube
- Video by American Veterans Center / Richard Schifter
Alfred Shehab[edit | edit source]
Lt. Col. Alfred Shehab served during WWII, and saw action during the Battle of the Bulge – Hitler’s month-long final offensive on the Western front. LTC Shehab was assigned to the 38th Cavalry Squadron, a reconnaissance unit tasked with patrolling the forests of the Ardennes region when the battle broke out on December 16, 1944. Here, he talks about his distinguished service, and the impact it has had upon his life.
Appears: Alfred Shehab
- Open on YouTube
- Video by American Veterans Center / Lt. Col. Alfred Shehab
Hugo D. Weisgall[edit | edit source]
Hugo David Weisgall was born on 13 October 1912 in Ivančice, Moravia, emigrated to Baltimore as a child, and trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 2). A composer and conductor, he later taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Juilliard, and Queens College.
This 31 May 1995 Milken Archive oral history covers his family and early life, immigration, World War II service, Jewish identity, musical training, and operatic career. Video hosted on Aviary by the Lowell Milken Center.
Appears: Hugo D. Weisgall
- Open on Milken Archive
- Open on Milken Archive Aviary
- Oral history by Milken Archive of Jewish Music / Hugo Weisgall (31 May 1995)
Gunter Kosse (Zekelman Holocaust Center)[edit | edit source]
Gunter Kosse was born in Berlin in 1922. After Kristallnacht his father fled to Cuba; Gunter and his mother followed in 1939, then the family reached New York in 1940. Drafted in 1943, he trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 9) and later served with IPW Team 4 of the 8th Infantry Division. Near war’s end he interpreted at Nuremberg discovery interrogations of Kaltenbrunner, Sauckel, and Frick.
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his escape route, Ritchie training, combat interrogations, Nuremberg work, and long Defense Department career.
Appears: Gunter Kosse
- Open on YouTube
- Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 416)
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Gunter Kosse (OHV 416, July 22, 2011)
Gerald Lieberman (Zekelman Holocaust Center)[edit | edit source]
Gerald “Jerry” Lieberman (born Gerhard) left Munich after Kristallnacht, when his father Leo was briefly held at Dachau. The family reached the United States via the Dominican Republic. A Class 10 Ritchie Boy, he interrogated with the 3rd Infantry Division from Anzio into southern France, earned a Purple Heart, and later served with the 10th Mountain Division.
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his Munich youth, Camp Ritchie training, Mediterranean and European interrogations, and postwar business life.
Appears: Gerald Lieberman
- Open on YouTube
- Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 415)
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Gerald Lieberman (OHV 415, July 24, 2011)
Werner E. Michel (Zekelman Holocaust Center)[edit | edit source]
Werner E. Michel left Landau for St. Louis in 1936 at age twelve; his father later perished at Auschwitz. After Fort Knox and Fort Benning OCS he trained at Camp Ritchie and commanded IPW Team 270 with the 9th Infantry Division, including Malmedy-related interrogations and undercover CIC work in Bavaria. He later rose to colonel and Defense Intelligence Inspector General.
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his immigration, Ritchie training, occupation interrogations, and postwar intelligence career.
Appears: Werner E. Michel
- Open on YouTube
- Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 414)
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Werner E. Michel (OHV 414, July 25, 2011)
Henry Norton (Zekelman Holocaust Center)[edit | edit source]
Henry Norton (born Heinrich Julius Nussenbaum in Bautzen) came alone to Rochester, New York, in 1937. An artillery officer before Camp Ritchie, he interrogated with the 88th Infantry Division in Italy, later served in Fifth and Seventh Army G-2, and helped contact German rocket scientists near war’s end. He received the Bronze Star and afterward practiced law in Miami.
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his family’s fate, combat interrogations in Italy and France, and postwar life.
Appears: Henry Norton
- Open on YouTube
- Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 417)
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Henry Norton (OHV 417, July 25, 2011)
Walter Schwarz (Zekelman Holocaust Center)[edit | edit source]
Walter Schwarz was born in Timișoara, Romania, in 1921 and reached the United States in March 1940. After long training at Camp Ritchie (Class 20) he served as a technical sergeant interrogator with Third Army through the Saar, the Battle of the Bulge, and into Czechoslovakia.
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his Romanian youth, Ritchie training, European interrogations, and postwar textile career.
Appears: Walter Schwarz
- Open on YouTube
- Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 413)
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Walter Schwarz (OHV 413, July 24, 2011)
Guy Stern (Zekelman Holocaust Center)[edit | edit source]
Guy Stern (born Günther Stern in Hildesheim) reached St. Louis in 1937; his parents and siblings were later murdered in the Holocaust. A Class 8 Ritchie Boy and master sergeant, he interrogated from Normandy through the Bulge, earned the Bronze Star, and afterward became a German-literature scholar and Holocaust Center leader in Michigan.
This November 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history (two parts) covers his Hildesheim youth, immigration, wartime intelligence service, and academic career.
Appears: Guy Stern
- Open on YouTube
- Open on YouTube
- Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 402)
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Guy Stern (OHV 402, November 16, 2011)
Ernest Wachtel (Zekelman Holocaust Center)[edit | edit source]
Ernest Wachtel left Vienna for France in 1938 and reached New York alone in July 1938; his parents followed to a New Jersey chicken farm beside Camp Kilmer. After University of Kentucky topography training he went to Camp Ritchie and served with IPW Team 62 of Patton’s Third Army from Omaha Beach into Germany, including aid to Dachau survivors after liberation.
This July 2011 Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history covers his Vienna escape, Ritchie service, Third Army interrogations, and postwar life.
Appears: Ernest Wachtel
- Open on YouTube
- Open in Zekelman Holocaust Center collections (OHV 418)
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Oral history by The Zekelman Holocaust Center / Ernest Wachtel (OHV 418, July 24, 2011)