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Kaufman, Theodore Newman (18120159): Difference between revisions
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After the war Kaufman withdrew from public life; the philosopher Berel Lang later failed to trace him in Newark records. He and his wife appear in the 1947 Montclair, New Jersey, directory, where he was listed in the painted textile business, and from 1949 to 1981 they sold "Charcrust Broil-It" barbecue seasoning from their home in East Orange, New Jersey. He died in East Orange on 1 April 1986. | After the war Kaufman withdrew from public life; the philosopher Berel Lang later failed to trace him in Newark records. He and his wife appear in the 1947 Montclair, New Jersey, directory, where he was listed in the painted textile business, and from 1949 to 1981 they sold "Charcrust Broil-It" barbecue seasoning from their home in East Orange, New Jersey. He died in East Orange on 1 April 1986. | ||
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== Research notes == | |||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
Latest revision as of 04:11, 25 September 2026
| Theodore Newman Kaufman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Theodore Newman Kaufman |
| Born | 22 February 1910 New York City, New York |
| Died | 1 April 1986 East Orange, New Jersey |
| Nativity | United States |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Known for | Germany Must Perish! |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 18120159 |
| Rank | Master Sergeant |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 5 (8 February – 9 April 1943) |
| Section | 5 |
| Enlisted | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Theodore Newman Kaufman (22 February 1910 – 1 April 1986), sometimes wrongly called Theodore Nathan Kaufmann, was an American businessman and pamphleteer whose self-published 1941 tract Germany Must Perish! was exploited by Nazi propaganda, and who trained at Camp Ritchie with Class 5 during World War II.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Theodore Newman Kaufman was born in Manhattan on 22 February 1910 to a Jewish family, the son of Anton Kaufman, a former reporter for the Berliner Morgen-Zeitung who had emigrated from Berlin in 1905, and Fannie Newman, who had married in March 1909. He had three brothers, Herbert, Julian, and Leonard. He attended South Side High School in Newark, New Jersey, graduating around 1928. In 1934 he and his blind father were arrested for robbing Sandor Alexander Balint of Budapest, from whom they had bought a wine-aging formula that they had come to consider worthless. His mother died in 1939.
Kaufman ran a small advertising and ticket agency in South Orange, New Jersey, published the New Jersey Legal Record, and founded the Argyle Press in Newark to issue his political pamphlets. A radical opponent of American involvement in European wars, in 1939 he wrote as president, and probably sole member, of an "American Federation of Peace". One pamphlet, "Passive Purchase", proposed a two-week curtailment of consumer spending to show opposition to intervention while calling for the strongest possible defense of the United States; another urged Congress to sterilize Americans rather than send them to a foreign war. The tracts drew little notice. In 1941 he self-published Germany Must Perish!, which called for the mass sterilization of German men under 65 and most German women under 45 and the partition of Germany among its neighbors. Joseph Goebbels read it that August and seized on it, writing in his diary that its Jewish author had done Germany a real service and that the book could not have been better had it been written for the Nazis. The propaganda ministry used the book as supposed proof of a Jewish plan to destroy the German people in pamphlets, posters, and press guidance throughout the war, as late as a five-page section in the 1944 booklet Never!. Kaufman rejected the suggestion that his book had prompted Nazi measures against Jews, noting that such cruelty long predated it.
Kaufman entered the Army as a private at Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 24 April 1942 (ASN 18120159), and on 23 November 1942 he married Jean Siris in a civil ceremony in Harris County, Texas. Because of his language abilities he was sent to Camp Ritchie, where he trained with Class 5 (certificate 1058) and was recorded as a master sergeant; he served overseas. His three brothers also served in the war.
After the war Kaufman withdrew from public life; the philosopher Berel Lang later failed to trace him in Newark records. He and his wife appear in the 1947 Montclair, New Jersey, directory, where he was listed in the painted textile business, and from 1949 to 1981 they sold "Charcrust Broil-It" barbecue seasoning from their home in East Orange, New Jersey. He died in East Orange on 1 April 1986.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
After you are autoconfirmed, upload a photo and add [[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]] here, or set |photo=Example.jpg in the infobox.
Timeline[edit | edit source]
- 22 February 1910 — Born in Manhattan, New York City.
- c. 1928 — Graduated from South Side High School, Newark.
- 1939 — Published pamphlets as the "American Federation of Peace".
- 1941 — Self-published Germany Must Perish!.
- 24 April 1942 — Entered the Army as Pvt at Santa Fe, New Mexico (ASN 18120159).
- 23 November 1942 — Married Jean Siris in Harris County, Texas.
- 1949–1981 — Sold "Charcrust Broil-It" seasoning from East Orange, New Jersey.
- 1 April 1986 — Died in East Orange, New Jersey.
- Camp Ritchie Class 5 — Certificate # 1058; M/Sgt.
Technical record[edit | edit source]
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 76 |
| Nara ASN | 18120159 |
| Nara Name | KAUFMAN THEODORE N |
| Nara State | 22 |
| Nara County | 13 |
| Nara POE | 8365 |
| Nara DOE | 240442 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| Nara Grade Code | 8 |
| Nara Branch Alpha | BI |
| Nara Branch Code | 0 |
| Branch | Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA |
| Nara Term or Enlistment | 5 |
| Term of enlistment | Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law |
| Defer. Date | 0 |
| Nara Source | 0 |
| Nara Nativity | 23 |
| Nativity.1 | NEW YORK |
| Nara Year of Birth | 10 |
| Nara Race | 1 |
| Nara Race Description | White citizen |
| Nara Education | 5 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 6 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 67 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 174 |
| Class_ASN | 18120159 |
| Class_Name | KAUFMAN, Theodore N. |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
| Census_HISTID | 7685F9AD-47F4-41D6-90FC-F4F89BF516BF |
| Census_State | NEW JERSEY |
| Census_Relate | Child |
| Census_Sex | Male |
| Census_Age | 30 |
| Census_BirthYear | 1910 |
| Census_Marital | Never married/single |
| Census_Race | White |
| Census_BPL | NEW YORK |
| Census_MBPL | 0 |
| Census_FBPL | 0 |
| Census_Educ | 1 year of college |
| Census_OCC | 156 |
Research notes[edit | edit source]
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Wikipedia: Theodore N. Kaufman
- 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
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)