Kundert, Otto Robert (16034933): Difference between revisions

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|surname=Kundert

|first=Otto

|middle=R.

|middle=Robert

|class_section=5A (21); 6F (22)

|class_rank=S/Sgt

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|class_display=21; 22

|death_date=10 December 2006

|birth_place=Java, South Dakota

|death_place=Winchester, Virginia

|arm_or_service=Air Corps

}}

'''[[Kundert, Otto R. (16034933)|Otto R. Kundert]]''' (1918 – 10 December 2006) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 21; 22.

'''[[Kundert, Otto Robert (16034933)|Otto Robert Kundert]]''' (1918 – 10 December 2006) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in [[:Category:Class 21|class 21]]; 22.

</div>

== Biography ==

Kundert was born on a farm in Java, ~~S.D.~~, to ethnic German immigrants from Russia.

Otto Robert Kundert was born in 1918 on a farm in Java, South Dakota, to ethnic German immigrants from Russia. A church organist from age eight, he entered the University of South Dakota at sixteen to qualify as an elementary teacher, played violin and clarinet in university ensembles, and later taught piano and children’s choruses before moving to Chicago to study voice as an operatic tenor.

~~He received~~ an ~~undergraduate degree years later,~~ in ~~1954,~~ and ~~a law degree from American University~~ in ~~1955. He entered~~ the ~~University of South Dakota~~ at ~~age 16 to become qualified to teach elementary school. As an elementary school teacher~~, he taught ~~piano and conducted numerous children’s choruses~~, and ~~then moved~~ to ~~Chicago~~ to ~~pursue his own music dreams~~.

Kundert served in the Army Air Corps as an instructor in Denver and performed in New Haven war-bond shows before transfer to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie (Classes 21 and 22), where he studied and taught prisoner interrogation, aerial photo interpretation, and German order of battle. In 1945 he went to Wiesbaden as chief of a War Crimes Branch translation section that contributed documents to the Nuremberg trials. After discharge he headed a political intelligence section at the 7707 European Command Intelligence Center at Oberursel, interrogating refugees and German prisoners of war.

Kundert, who was fluent in German, was transferred to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Md., where he studied and taught courses on prisoner interrogation, aerial photo interpretation and German order of battle.

Returning to South Dakota in 1950, Kundert spoke widely on postwar Europe, joined Senator Francis H. Case’s staff in 1951, and entered the CIA in 1952 as a German and Russian translator and economic analyst, retiring in 1976. He later taught voice, German, and Russian in Winchester, Virginia. He died there of coronary artery disease on 10 December 2006.

~~He was sent to Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1945 to work as chief of a War Crimes Branch translation section, which contributed 70 documents to the Nuremberg war crimes trials.~~ Returning to South Dakota in 1950 ~~to see his dying father~~, ~~he spent a year making speeches about~~ postwar Europe, ~~America’s role~~ in the ~~world~~ and ~~the Soviet threat. Kundert also gave psychic readings.~~

~~A member of the Army Air Corps~~, ~~he was an Army instructor~~ in ~~Denver, where he continued to study~~ voice ~~and perform. Transferred to New Haven~~, ~~Conn.~~, ~~he performed with Yale glee clubs~~ and ~~appeared on war bond shows with such celebrities as Tony Martin and Glenn Miller~~. He ~~also appeared~~ on ~~the Major Bowes Amateur Hour.~~

After his discharge, he became chief of a political intelligence section at the 7707 European Command Intelligence Center at Oberursel, Germany, where he and his staff interrogated refugees and German prisoners of war.

~~Otto passed away~~ December 10 2006 at the age of 88. , and retired analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency. An operatic tenor, he studied voice and was a featured soloist at churches, until his plans were interrupted by World War II.

== Research notes ==

* Ger OB Nuremberg CIA

* ~~[https://memory~~.~~loc~~.~~gov/diglib/vhp~~-~~stories/loc~~.~~natlib.afc2001001.04797/transcript?ID=sr0001 memory.loc.gov — transcript]~~

* Regenerated chronologically from the Washington Post obituary. No military decoration is asserted. Private psychic-client names are omitted.

== Technical record ==

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| row_source || both

|}

== Timeline ==

* 1918 — Born on a farm in Java, South Dakota.

* 1943–1944 — Trained and instructed at Camp Ritchie (Classes 21 and 22).

* 1945 — Served in Wiesbaden as chief of a War Crimes Branch translation section supporting the Nuremberg trials.

* 1945–1950 — Headed a political intelligence section at the 7707 European Command Intelligence Center, Oberursel.

* 1951 — Joined the staff of U.S. Senator Francis H. Case.

* 1952 — Joined the CIA as a translator and economic analyst.

* 1954 — Received an undergraduate degree.

* 1955 — Earned a law degree from American University.

* 1976 — Retired from the CIA.

* 10 December 2006 — Died in Winchester, Virginia.

* World War II — Served in the Army Air Corps; instructed in Denver and performed in New Haven war-bond programs.

</div>

</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>

== Sources ==

* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/12/21/otto-kundert-88/c8224061-b3d6-40b9-a147-b0d602e4afde/ ''Washington Post'', 21 December 2006 — Otto Kundert obituary (RB Archive copy)]

* 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

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 |surname=Kundert
 |first=Otto
-|middle=R.
+|middle=Robert
 |class_section=5A (21); 6F (22)
 |class_rank=S/Sgt
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 |class_display=21; 22
 |death_date=10 December 2006
+|birth_place=Java, South Dakota
+|death_place=Winchester, Virginia
+|arm_or_service=Air Corps
 }}
 <div class="soldier-lead">
-'''[[Kundert, Otto R. (16034933)|Otto R. Kundert]]''' (1918 – 10 December 2006) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 21; 22.
+'''[[Kundert, Otto Robert (16034933)|Otto Robert Kundert]]''' (1918 – 10 December 2006) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in [[:Category:Class 21|class 21]]; 22.
 </div>
 == Biography ==
-Kundert was born on a farm in Java, S.D., to ethnic German immigrants from Russia.
+Otto Robert Kundert was born in 1918 on a farm in Java, South Dakota, to ethnic German immigrants from Russia. A church organist from age eight, he entered the University of South Dakota at sixteen to qualify as an elementary teacher, played violin and clarinet in university ensembles, and later taught piano and children’s choruses before moving to Chicago to study voice as an operatic tenor.
-He received an undergraduate degree years later, in 1954, and a law degree from American University in 1955. He entered the University of South Dakota at age 16 to become qualified to teach elementary school. As an elementary school teacher, he taught piano and conducted numerous children’s choruses, and then moved to Chicago to pursue his own music dreams.
+Kundert served in the Army Air Corps as an instructor in Denver and performed in New Haven war-bond shows before transfer to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie (Classes 21 and 22), where he studied and taught prisoner interrogation, aerial photo interpretation, and German order of battle. In 1945 he went to Wiesbaden as chief of a War Crimes Branch translation section that contributed documents to the Nuremberg trials. After discharge he headed a political intelligence section at the 7707 European Command Intelligence Center at Oberursel, interrogating refugees and German prisoners of war.
-Kundert, who was fluent in German, was transferred to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Md., where he studied and taught courses on prisoner interrogation, aerial photo interpretation and German order of battle.
+Returning to South Dakota in 1950, Kundert spoke widely on postwar Europe, joined Senator Francis H. Case’s staff in 1951, and entered the CIA in 1952 as a German and Russian translator and economic analyst, retiring in 1976. He later taught voice, German, and Russian in Winchester, Virginia. He died there of coronary artery disease on 10 December 2006.
-He was sent to Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1945 to work as chief of a War Crimes Branch translation section, which contributed 70 documents to the Nuremberg war crimes trials. Returning to South Dakota in 1950 to see his dying father, he spent a year making speeches about postwar Europe, America’s role in the world and the Soviet threat. Kundert also gave psychic readings.
-A member of the Army Air Corps, he was an Army instructor in Denver, where he continued to study voice and perform. Transferred to New Haven, Conn., he performed with Yale glee clubs and appeared on war bond shows with such celebrities as Tony Martin and Glenn Miller. He also appeared on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
-After his discharge, he became chief of a political intelligence section at the 7707 European Command Intelligence Center at Oberursel, Germany, where he and his staff interrogated refugees and German prisoners of war.
-Otto passed away December 10 2006 at the age of 88. , and retired analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency. An operatic tenor, he studied voice and was a featured soloist at churches, until his plans were interrupted by World War II.
 == Research notes ==
 * Ger OB Nuremberg CIA
-* [https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.04797/transcript?ID=sr0001 memory.loc.gov — transcript]
+* Regenerated chronologically from the Washington Post obituary. No military decoration is asserted. Private psychic-client names are omitted.
 == Technical record ==
@@ Line 113: / Line 108: @@
 | row_source || both
 |}
+== Timeline ==
+<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
+<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
+* 1918 — Born on a farm in Java, South Dakota.
+* 1943–1944 — Trained and instructed at Camp Ritchie (Classes 21 and 22).
+* 1945 — Served in Wiesbaden as chief of a War Crimes Branch translation section supporting the Nuremberg trials.
+* 1945–1950 — Headed a political intelligence section at the 7707 European Command Intelligence Center, Oberursel.
+* 1951 — Joined the staff of U.S. Senator Francis H. Case.
+* 1952 — Joined the CIA as a translator and economic analyst.
+* 1954 — Received an undergraduate degree.
+* 1955 — Earned a law degree from American University.
+* 1976 — Retired from the CIA.
+* 10 December 2006 — Died in Winchester, Virginia.
+* World War II — Served in the Army Air Corps; instructed in Denver and performed in New Haven war-bond programs.
+</div>
+</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>
 == Sources ==
+* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/12/21/otto-kundert-88/c8224061-b3d6-40b9-a147-b0d602e4afde/ ''Washington Post'', 21 December 2006 — Otto Kundert obituary (RB Archive copy)]
 * 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