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The Stories/The Enemy I Knew: Difference between revisions
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:The Stories/The Enemy I Knew}} | {{DISPLAYTITLE:The Stories/The Enemy I Knew}} | ||
'''The Enemy I Knew''' | '''The Enemy I Knew''' | ||
'''The Enemy I Knew: German Jews in the Allied Military in World War II''' | |||
''by Steven Karras'' | |||
The Enemy I Knew | <div class="story-figure"> | ||
[[File:The Enemy I Knew 1.png|frameless|center|320px|alt=The Enemy I Knew 1.png]] | |||
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The Enemy I Knew is a collection of twenty-seven first-person accounts from European-born Jewish combat veterans of World War II. All were refugees from the Nazi regime who fled Germany and Austria in humiliation and fear, then faced down their persecutors by joining the Allied military to fight against the country of their birth. | The Enemy I Knew is a collection of twenty-seven first-person accounts from European-born Jewish combat veterans of World War II. All were refugees from the Nazi regime who fled Germany and Austria in humiliation and fear, then faced down their persecutors by joining the Allied military to fight against the country of their birth. | ||
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But Hitler was creating his worst enemy. These refugees knew the psychology of the enemy better than anyone else in the Allied armies. They knew Germany deep down its countryside, its people, its language and dialects, its cities and streets. As Great Britain and the United States entered the war, the refugees were eager to fight. They struggled to overcome their adopted countries distrust of Germans and got their chance to strike back against the Third Reich. | But Hitler was creating his worst enemy. These refugees knew the psychology of the enemy better than anyone else in the Allied armies. They knew Germany deep down its countryside, its people, its language and dialects, its cities and streets. As Great Britain and the United States entered the war, the refugees were eager to fight. They struggled to overcome their adopted countries distrust of Germans and got their chance to strike back against the Third Reich. | ||
There are seven Ritchie Boys featured in Steven's book | '''There are seven Ritchie Boys featured in Steven's book. 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.''' | ||
William Katzenstein | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/William Katzenstein|William Katzenstein]] — Chapter 8 | ||
Karl Goldsmith | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith|Karl Goldsmith]] ([[Smith, Karl G (32475883)|Smith, Karl G]]) — Chapter 9 | ||
Ralph Baer | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Ralph Baer|Ralph Baer]] — Chapter 12 | ||
Manfred Steinfeld | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Manfred Steinfeld|Manfred Steinfeld]] — Chapter 17 | ||
Fred Fields | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Fred Fields|Fred Fields]] — Chapter 21 | ||
John Brunswick | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/John Brunswick|John Brunswick]] — Chapter 23 | ||
Kurt Klein | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Kurt Klein|Kurt Klein]] — Chapter 25 | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
Latest revision as of 04:15, 25 August 2026
The Enemy I Knew
The Enemy I Knew: German Jews in the Allied Military in World War II
by Steven Karras
The Enemy I Knew is a collection of twenty-seven first-person accounts from European-born Jewish combat veterans of World War II. All were refugees from the Nazi regime who fled Germany and Austria in humiliation and fear, then faced down their persecutors by joining the Allied military to fight against the country of their birth.
Serving in North Africa and Europe, these brave men, and a brave woman, gained a sense of dignity and vindication that enabled them to rise above their victimization at the hands of Nazi oppressors. All burned with anger at the Germans who had subjected them to cruelty on the playgrounds and streets of their native towns and to ridicule in radio broadcasts, movies, and newspapers.
Adolf Hitler's initial intention had been to drive every last Jew out of Germany. He implemented policies so hostile toward Jews that they would have little choice but to emigrate. Starting with a nationwide boycott of all Jewish businesses in 1933, the Nazi persecution of Jews rapidly grew harsher. They were expelled from government jobs, their children forced out of school, their assets confiscated. Enforcement came from the vicious Sturmabteilung the stormtroopers or brownshirts. Hundreds of thousands of Jews fled.
But Hitler was creating his worst enemy. These refugees knew the psychology of the enemy better than anyone else in the Allied armies. They knew Germany deep down its countryside, its people, its language and dialects, its cities and streets. As Great Britain and the United States entered the war, the refugees were eager to fight. They struggled to overcome their adopted countries distrust of Germans and got their chance to strike back against the Third Reich.
There are seven Ritchie Boys featured in Steven's book. 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.
- William Katzenstein — Chapter 8
- Karl Goldsmith (Smith, Karl G) — Chapter 9
- Ralph Baer — Chapter 12
- Manfred Steinfeld — Chapter 17
- Fred Fields — Chapter 21
- John Brunswick — Chapter 23
- Kurt Klein — Chapter 25