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Dolibois, John Ernest (01018596): Difference between revisions

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|middle=Ernest
|middle=Ernest
|class_section=5D
|class_section=5D
|class_rank=2nd Lt
|class_rank=Second Lieutenant
|birth_year=1918
|birth_year=1918
|death_year=2014
|death_year=2014
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|religion=Catholic
|religion=Catholic
|overseas=Y
|overseas=Y
|certificate=6722
|confidence=high
|confidence=high
|class_number=18
|class_number=18
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|birth_date=4 December 1918
|birth_date=4 December 1918
|death_date=2 May 2014
|death_date=2 May 2014
|birth_place=Luxembourg
|birth_place=Bonnevoie, Luxembourg
|death_place=Cincinnati, Ohio
|death_place=Cincinnati, Ohio
|education=Miami University (BA)
|occupation=Diplomat, college administrator
|alias=Jean Ernst Dolibois
|alias=Jean Ernst Dolibois
|known_for=Diplomat, college administrator
|arm_or_service=Cavalry
|arm_or_service=Cavalry
|photo=4252601021428453.jpg
|photo=4252601021428453.jpg
|rank_final=2nd Lt
|rank_final=Second Lieutenant
}}
}}


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'''[[Dolibois, John E. (01018596)|John Ernest Dolibois]]''' (1918–2014) was a Ritchie Boy (from Lux; Catholic) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 18.
'''John Ernest Dolibois''' (born Jean Ernst Dolibois; 4 December 1918&ndash;2 May 2014) was a Luxembourg-born U.S. Army interrogator associated with [[Camp Ritchie]]. He trained with [[:Category:Class 18|Class 18]], taught interrogation there, and after the German surrender questioned high-ranking Nazi prisoners at Mondorf-les-Bains (''Ashcan'') for the Nuremberg trials. He later served as United States Ambassador to Luxembourg.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
John Ernest Dolibois (né Jean Ernst Dolibois; December 4, 1918 &ndash; May 2, 2014) was an American diplomat and university administrator who served as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1981 to 1985. In 1989, his autobiography, Pattern of Circles: An Ambassador's Story, was published by the Kent State University Press. He graduated from North High School in Akron and then attended Miami University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and was a member of Beta Theta Pi.
John Ernest Dolibois was born Jean Ernst Dolibois on 4 December 1918 in Bonnevoie, Luxembourg, shortly after the armistice. His mother died of the influenza pandemic soon after his birth. An older sister married an American soldier from the First World War occupation after a long correspondence and settled in Akron, Ohio. In 1931, at thirteen, Dolibois and his father followed her. He arrived speaking no English and was placed in kindergarten, then moved up quickly. He later credited the Boy Scouts with his Americanization, became an Eagle Scout, graduated from North High School in Akron, and in 1942 earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at Miami University, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi.


He emigrated to the United States with his father in 1931, settling in Akron, Ohio. Dolibois served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, during World War II. He was awarded the Order of the Oak Crown by Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 1987.
The Army took him in 1942 but at first ignored his French and German. When he asked for military intelligence, a recruiter asked whether he had driven a truck, then a tank. He was sent to Fort Knox as a tank driver and then to cooks-and-bakers school. After about eighteen months the Army sent him to Officer Candidate School. He later said General George Patton presented his commission. Fluent in German, he was transferred to [[Camp Ritchie]] and trained with [[:Category:Class 18|Class 18]] (13 April – 10 June 1944). He stayed on as an instructor, teaching interrogation, German organization, and Nazi leadership to classes that ran about two months. He later specialized in strategic interrogation of high-ranking prisoners.


The following article was from "The American Israelite" dated November 16, 1995. He worked as Industrial Engineer. He served as interrogator at Nuremberg Trials and administered IQ and.
Dolibois shipped to Europe in early 1945, landing in Scotland, then Paris and Le Havre. In the Ardennes he did detailed interrogation, identifying prisoners worth sending to specialized intelligence centers. After Germany's surrender he was assigned to Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg, the secret Allied detention center code-named Ashcan, in the country where he had been born. He was one of five military-intelligence officers who interrogated senior German military and political prisoners held there, including Hermann Göring and Julius Streicher, work used in preparing the Nuremberg prosecutions. He later recalled Göring as charismatic and unpredictable, with a small black joke book. At the Nuremberg trials Dolibois served as interpreter for the prison psychiatrist and worked with the Nazi prisoners. Rudolf Hess he met only there; Hess claimed total amnesia, even when placed in a room with Göring. Dolibois was promoted to captain in January 1946 and returned to the United States in May 1946.


Dolibois was a native of Bonnevoie, Luxembourg. He was a member of the so-called Ritchie Boys, a special military intelligence unit composed mainly of German, Austrian, and Czech refugees and immigrants to the United States. He taught German order of battle and Nazi Party hierarchy to army officers preparing for war and worked for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in France.
After a brief career with Procter & Gamble, Dolibois returned to Miami University in 1947 as alumni secretary and rose to vice president, serving from 1967 until 1981. He was instrumental in establishing the university's campus in Luxembourg in 1968, renamed the Miami University Dolibois European Center in his honor in 1988, and he often spoke to students and other audiences about Nuremberg. President Ronald Reagan named him United States Ambassador to Luxembourg on 6 August 1981, and he served until 1985. Grand Duke Jean awarded him the Order of the Oak Crown in 1987. His autobiography, ''Pattern of Circles: An Ambassador's Story'', was published by Kent State University Press in 1989. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 2 May 2014.
 
Dolibois was a frequent speaker to students and other audiences about his experiences during the Nuremberg trials. One was Second Lieutenant Walter Jessel of the Forty-Fourth Division Counter Intelligence Corps, who interrogated Wernher von Braun. The second was John Dolibois, an officer with Army Intelligence, G-2, the Collecting and Disseminating Division.
 
Goering was interrogated by Ritchie Boy John E.
 
Dolibois died on May 2, 2014, in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 95. We have made a few posts about him in the past, including when he passed away on on May 2, 2014.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
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4252601021428453.jpg|Nazi leader Hermann Göring in the Nuremberg prison awaiting trial. Göring was interrogated by Ritchie Boy [[Dolibois, John E. (01018596)|John E. Dolibois]]
4252601021428453.jpg|Nazi leader Hermann Göring in the Nuremberg prison awaiting trial. Göring was interrogated by Ritchie Boy [[Dolibois, John Ernest (01018596)|John E. Dolibois]]
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* Born 4 December 1918 in Luxembourg (Religion: Catholic).
* 4 December 1918 — Born Jean Ernst Dolibois in Bonnevoie, Luxembourg.
* 7 June 1941 — Became naturalized U.S. citizen.
* 1931 — Immigrated with his father to Akron, Ohio, following his sister.
* May 1945 — To Served with 5-man interrogation team at Mondorf, Luxembourg where a.
* 1942 — Graduated from Miami University (psychology); entered the Army.
* Served with 16th Armored Division at Camp Chafee, AK.
* 1942–1943 — Fort Knox (tank driver) and cooks-and-bakers school; languages initially unused.
* Served with MIS as POW interrogator at a Detailed Interrogation Center.
* c. 1944 — Officer Candidate School; later said General Patton presented his commission.
* 13 April – 10 June 1944 — Camp Ritchie Class 18; then instructor in interrogation and German organization.
* Early 1945 — To Europe via Scotland, Paris, and Le Havre; detailed interrogation in the Ardennes.
* 1945–1946 — Nuremberg-related interrogation work, including a later meeting with Rudolf Hess.
* May 1945 — Assigned to Ashcan at Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg; interrogated high-ranking prisoners including Hermann Göring.
* January 1946 — Promoted to captain.
* May 1946 — Returned to the United States.
* 1947 — Returned to Miami University as alumni secretary; vice president 1967–1981.
* 1968 — Helped establish Miami University's Luxembourg campus (renamed the Dolibois European Center in 1988).
* 1981–1985 — United States Ambassador to Luxembourg.
* 1987 — Order of the Oak Crown (Luxembourg).
* 1989 — Autobiography ''Pattern of Circles'' published.
* 2 May 2014 — Died in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Dolibois Wikipedia: John E. Dolibois]
* John E. Dolibois, ''Pattern of Circles: An Ambassador's Story'' (Kent State University Press, 1989)
* [[Ritchie Boy Interviews#John Dolibois|Public Library of Cincinnati interview (watchlist card)]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSRxsKm91yA Public Library of Cincinnati interview with John Dolibois on YouTube]
* [https://holocaustcenter.org/research/oral-history-department/oral-histories-index/ Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index] (lists John E. Dolibois — Library Archive holding; not an Oral History Department recording with public online player)
* The American Israelite, 16 November 1995 (RB Archive clippings)
* [https://www.miamioh.edu/global-initiatives/education-abroad/mudec/about/history/john-dolibois/index.html Miami University — John Dolibois / MUDEC history]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Dolibois Wikipedia — John E. Dolibois]
* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
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