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Jacobs, Kurt R. (12207399): Difference between revisions

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|birth_place=Germany
|birth_place=Germany
|rank_final=Capt
|rank_final=Staff Sergeant
|division=106th Infantry Division
|awards=Purple Heart
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'''[[Jacobs, Kurt R. (12207399)|Kurt R. Jacobs]]''' (1909–1944) was a Ritchie Boy (from Germany; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 19; 20 and served with IPW Team 154.
'''Kurt R. Jacobs''' (1909&ndash;1944) was a German-born Jewish Ritchie Boy on IPW Team 154 with the 106th Infantry Division; he was murdered as a prisoner of war because he was Jewish.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Kurt graduated Berlin University (LLB). He studied radio in Buffalo, N. He worked as clothing designer and manager of clothes store. Stephen Dickerman Stange has sent a request for information related to the incident cited in Bruce Henderson's book, Sons and Soldiers, where two German-Jewish Ritchie Boys became POWs, were identified as being Jewish, and were murdered. He has sent me some photos that I want to share with the Community "Our daughter is the Primary Sentinel of Memory of [[Zappler, Murray (32824267)|Murray Zappler]] at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial. That is why we were in the footsteps of the 106th infantry division last Thursday." A Belgian Facebook friend sent the following information about the tragedy that befell Ritchie Boys [[Zappler, Murray (32824267)|Murray Zappler]] and [[Jacobs, Kurt R. (12207399)|Kurt Jacobs]]. He has sent me some photos that I want to share with the Community "Our daughter is the Primary Sentinel of Memory of [[Zappler, Murray (32824267)|Murray Zappler]] at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial. That is why we were in the footsteps of the 106th infantry division last Thursday." "This was the border between Belgium and Germany. He told 6 German soldiers to execute Zappler and Jacobs a few meters further." A Belgian Facebook friend sent the following information about the tragedy that befell Ritchie Boys [[Zappler, Murray (32824267)|Murray Zappler]] and [[Jacobs, Kurt R. (12207399)|Kurt Jacobs]]. He has sent me some photos that I want to share with the Community. "Zappler and Jacobs were with MIS etousa. They were assigned to the 423th of the 106th infantry division as interogaters for German POW's. The German POW's told Hauptman Bruns that there were 2Jewish men among the Americans." There are at least two Ritchie Boys buried at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Liege, Belgium, [[Zappler, Murray (32824267)|Murray Zappler]] and [[Jacobs, Kurt R. (12207399)|Kurt Jacobs]] (Purple Heart). When the German Commanding Officer learned they were Jewish, he had them summarily executed.
Kurt R. Jacobs was a German-born Jewish Ritchie Boy who trained at Camp Ritchie (Classes 19–20) and served as a staff sergeant on IPW Team 154. The six-man team was attached to Headquarters, 106th Infantry Division, for interrogation of German prisoners.
 
Jacobs and teammate [[Zappler, Murray (32824267)|Murray Zappler]] were taken prisoner and murdered because of their Jewish heritage. Their names appear on the 106th Division Headquarters honor roll (sometimes with typographical errors). The responsible German officer’s case is documented in a Dachau trial transcript.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
* KIA Murdered as POW
* KIA Murdered as POW
* IPW Team 154; murdered as POW (Jewish); with Murray Zappler


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== Gallery ==
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* 28 November 1944 Assigned to IPW Team 154 attached to 106th Infantry Division.
* Born 17 November 1909 in Germany.
* 28 November 1944 Assigned to IPW Team 154 attached to 106th Infantry.
* 1943 — Enlisted as Pvt (ASN: 12207399).
* 4 September 1944 Assigned to DEML. Promoted to S/Sgt.
* 31 July 1944 — Entered Class 20 (IPW Ge).
* 5/1944 Assigned to Class 19 Section 5E.
* 16 August 1944 — Graduated Class 20 (German Documents Examiner).
* 19.
* 4 September 1944 — Assigned to DEML. Promoted to S/Sgt.
* 20.
* 28 November 1944 — Assigned to IPW Team 154 attached to 106th Infantry Division.
* 28 November 1944 — Assigned to IPW Team 154 attached to 106th Infantry.
* May 1944 — Assigned to Class 19 Section 5E.
* Buried at the American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.
* Buried at the American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.
* Division.
* Division.
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== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* Bruce Henderson, ''Sons and Soldiers'' (account of Jacobs and Zappler as POWs)
* [http://www.online.uni-marburg.de/icwc/dachau/000-006-0056.pdf Dachau trial transcript — Jacobs/Zappler murder case (Marburg ICWC)]
* Dan Gross research archive (miscellaneous timeline-adjacent documents; not uploaded): ''Jacobs and Zappler.doc''
* 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

Latest revision as of 03:42, 15 September 2026

Kurt R. Jacobs
Personal details
Born1909
Germany
Died1944
NativityGermany
ReligionJewish
AwardsPurple Heart
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN12207399
RankStaff Sergeant
Rank at RitchiePrivate
Camp RitchieClass 19 (16 May – 13 July 1944), 20 (19 June – 16 August 1944)
Section5E (19); 5D (20)
EnlistedBuffalo, New York
Unit / division106th Infantry Division
TeamIPW 154
Awards and honors
Purple Heart
Teammates
Team — IPW 154
These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.
Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.
Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.


Kurt R. Jacobs (1909–1944) was a German-born Jewish Ritchie Boy on IPW Team 154 with the 106th Infantry Division; he was murdered as a prisoner of war because he was Jewish.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Kurt R. Jacobs was a German-born Jewish Ritchie Boy who trained at Camp Ritchie (Classes 19–20) and served as a staff sergeant on IPW Team 154. The six-man team was attached to Headquarters, 106th Infantry Division, for interrogation of German prisoners.

Jacobs and teammate Murray Zappler were taken prisoner and murdered because of their Jewish heritage. Their names appear on the 106th Division Headquarters honor roll (sometimes with typographical errors). The responsible German officer’s case is documented in a Dachau trial transcript.

Research notes[edit | edit source]

  • KIA Murdered as POW
  • IPW Team 154; murdered as POW (Jewish); with Murray Zappler

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.

Technical record[edit | edit source]

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 35
Nara ASN 12207399
Nara Name JACOBS KURT R
Nara State 23
Nara County 29
Nara POE 2309
Nara DOE 131142
Nara Grade Alpha PVT
Nara Grade Code 8
Nara Branch Alpha SC
Nara Branch Code 90
Branch Signal Corps
Nara Term or Enlistment 0
Term of enlistment Unknown
Defer. Date 3
Nara Source 0
Nara Nativity N1
Nara Year of Birth 9
Nara Race 1
Nara Race Description White citizen
Nara Education 8
Nara Civilian Occupation 46
Nara Marital Status 6
Nara Height (inches) 69
Nara Weight (lbs) 191
Class_ASN 12207399
Class_Name JACOBS, Kurt R.; JACOBS, Kurt
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Timeline[edit | edit source]

  • Born 17 November 1909 in Germany.
  • 1943 — Enlisted as Pvt (ASN: 12207399).
  • 31 July 1944 — Entered Class 20 (IPW Ge).
  • 16 August 1944 — Graduated Class 20 (German Documents Examiner).
  • 4 September 1944 — Assigned to DEML. Promoted to S/Sgt.
  • 28 November 1944 — Assigned to IPW Team 154 attached to 106th Infantry Division.
  • 28 November 1944 — Assigned to IPW Team 154 attached to 106th Infantry.
  • May 1944 — Assigned to Class 19 Section 5E.
  • Buried at the American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.
  • Division.

Sources[edit | edit source]

  • Bruce Henderson, Sons and Soldiers (account of Jacobs and Zappler as POWs)
  • Dachau trial transcript — Jacobs/Zappler murder case (Marburg ICWC)
  • Dan Gross research archive (miscellaneous timeline-adjacent documents; not uploaded): Jacobs and Zappler.doc
  • 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)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2017-09-03 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2019-06-06 (3 posts)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2021-03-08 (1 post)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Kurt R. Jacobs for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 2 source documents reviewed)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Jacobs, Kurt R. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 2 source files: KURT R. JACOBS (2021).doc, KURT R. JACOBS.doc)
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