Meyer, Alfred G. (0555182): Difference between revisions

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{{Soldier

|lede_on_page=1

|asn=0555182

|surname=Meyer

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|birth_year=1920

|death_year=1998

|nativity=Ge

|nativity=Germany

|religion=J

|religion=Jewish

~~|assignment=VI-897~~

|overseas=Y

|rank_final=~~T/4~~

|rank_final=Second Lieutenant

|certificate=7119

|confidence=medium

|class_number=18

|class_display=18

|birth_place=Bielefeld, Germany

|teams=MII 409-G

|birth_date=5 February 1920

|division=MII 409-G; 29th Infantry Division

|specialty=IPW (interrogation of prisoners of war)

|story=The Stories/My Life as a Fish

}}

'''[[Meyer, Alfred G. (0555182)|Alfred G. Meyer]]''' (5 February 1920–1998) was a German-born Jewish refugee, Camp Ritchie interrogator with the 29th Infantry Division, and later a scholar of Soviet politics.

</div>

== Biography ==

~~''Add~~ a ~~biography~~, ~~family details~~, and ~~sources~~. ~~Click Edit~~ to ~~change this page~~; ~~no account is required~~.''

Alfred Georg Meyer was born on 5 February 1920 in Bielefeld, Germany, the son of attorney Gustav Meyer and Therese Meyer. After the November 1938 pogrom curtailed his father’s practice, he emigrated to the United States in 1939 (after a first sailing was turned back), settled with relatives in Santa Ana, California, and volunteered into the draft in 1941 (enlisted ASN 39162439).

Following clerical duty and an Army Specialized Training Program Russian course at Harvard, the Army sent him to Camp Ritchie [[Class 18]] for prisoner-of-war interrogation training. On 6 June 1944—D-Day, and his father’s birthday—he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He crossed to Omaha Beach, served on an intelligence team under Capt. Hans Kohler with other Ritchie graduates, and joined the 29th Infantry Division (roster: MII Team 409-G). In April 1945, as a lieutenant with U.S. forces advancing through Brackwede into Bielefeld, he appears in contemporary U.S. Army film later used in a Neue Westfälische documentary about the city’s liberation.

After the war Meyer studied at Harvard under the GI Bill, earned a doctorate, and became a professor of political science, teaching in Michigan and also at Harvard and in Washington; he returned to Bielefeld for guest lectures. He married Eva Apel, whom he met at Harvard. In 1991 he received the Federal Republic of Germany’s Grand Cross of Merit for strengthening German–American understanding. His parents were murdered in the Holocaust (Theresienstadt and Auschwitz). He died in 1998. Longer Camp Ritchie and wartime passages from his autobiography are on [[The Stories/My Life as a Fish]].

== Research notes ==

* "My Life as a Fish" ASTP

* Scholar of Communism / Marxism (postwar academic career)

* Scholar of Communism; Marxism

* ASTP Russian at Harvard before Camp Ritchie

* ~~409-G~~

== Gallery ==

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|}

== Timeline ==

* 5 February 1920 — Born in Bielefeld, Germany (Jewish).

* 1939 — Emigrated to the United States after a first sailing was turned back; settled in Santa Ana, California.

* 1941 — Volunteered into the draft; entered the Army from Los Angeles as a private (ASN 39162439).

* Assigned to the ASTP Russian-language program at Harvard University.

* Entered Camp Ritchie [[Class 18]] for IPW / military-intelligence training.

* 6 June 1944 — Commissioned second lieutenant at Camp Ritchie (D-Day).

* Summer 1944 — Sailed to Liverpool; staged at Broadway, Worcestershire.

* September 1944 — Crossed to Omaha Beach; assigned to Capt. Hans Kohler’s intelligence team (four other Ritchie graduates) with the 29th Infantry Division; roster: MII 409-G.

* 1944–1945 — Interrogation and related intelligence duty with the 29th Infantry Division in Northwest Europe.

* 1946 — Began graduate study at Harvard; later scholar of Soviet politics / Marxism.

* 1998 — Died.

* 2000 — Autobiography ''My Life as a Fish'' (excerpts concerning Camp Ritchie later shared by his daughter Vera Meyer).

* April 1945 — With U.S. forces entering Bielefeld via Brackwede; appears in Army film later used in Neue Westfälische DVD documentary.

* 1991 — Awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for German–American relations work.

</div>

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

== Sources ==

* Camp Ritchie ~~class roster~~ (~~classes~~ 1–31), ~~merged~~ research ~~file~~

* Neue Westfälische (Bielefeld) article on Vera Meyer recognizing her father Alfred Georg Meyer in the DVD documentary ''Bielefeld – Leben und Hoffen in den Ruinen'' (RB Archive PDF copy: BielefeldDVDKriegsende.pdf)

* 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)

* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Alfred G. Meyer for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)

* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Meyer, Alfred G. for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: ALFRED G. MEYER.doc)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Soldier
+|lede_on_page=1
 |asn=0555182
 |surname=Meyer
@@ Line 8: / Line 9: @@
 |birth_year=1920
 |death_year=1998
-|nativity=Ge
+|nativity=Germany
-|religion=J
+|religion=Jewish
-|assignment=VI-897
 |overseas=Y
-|rank_final=T/4
+|rank_final=Second Lieutenant
 |certificate=7119
 |confidence=medium
 |class_number=18
 |class_display=18
+|birth_place=Bielefeld, Germany
+|teams=MII 409-G
+|birth_date=5 February 1920
+|division=MII 409-G; 29th Infantry Division
+|specialty=IPW (interrogation of prisoners of war)
+|story=The Stories/My Life as a Fish
 }}
+<div class="soldier-lead">
+'''[[Meyer, Alfred G. (0555182)|Alfred G. Meyer]]''' (5 February 1920–1998) was a German-born Jewish refugee, Camp Ritchie interrogator with the 29th Infantry Division, and later a scholar of Soviet politics.
+</div>
 == Biography ==
-''Add a biography, family details, and sources. Click Edit to change this page; no account is required.''
+Alfred Georg Meyer was born on 5 February 1920 in Bielefeld, Germany, the son of attorney Gustav Meyer and Therese Meyer. After the November 1938 pogrom curtailed his father’s practice, he emigrated to the United States in 1939 (after a first sailing was turned back), settled with relatives in Santa Ana, California, and volunteered into the draft in 1941 (enlisted ASN 39162439).
+Following clerical duty and an Army Specialized Training Program Russian course at Harvard, the Army sent him to Camp Ritchie [[Class 18]] for prisoner-of-war interrogation training. On 6 June 1944—D-Day, and his father’s birthday—he was commissioned a second lieutenant. He crossed to Omaha Beach, served on an intelligence team under Capt. Hans Kohler with other Ritchie graduates, and joined the 29th Infantry Division (roster: MII Team 409-G). In April 1945, as a lieutenant with U.S. forces advancing through Brackwede into Bielefeld, he appears in contemporary U.S. Army film later used in a Neue Westfälische documentary about the city’s liberation.
+After the war Meyer studied at Harvard under the GI Bill, earned a doctorate, and became a professor of political science, teaching in Michigan and also at Harvard and in Washington; he returned to Bielefeld for guest lectures. He married Eva Apel, whom he met at Harvard. In 1991 he received the Federal Republic of Germany’s Grand Cross of Merit for strengthening German–American understanding. His parents were murdered in the Holocaust (Theresienstadt and Auschwitz). He died in 1998. Longer Camp Ritchie and wartime passages from his autobiography are on [[The Stories/My Life as a Fish]].
 == Research notes ==
-* "My Life as a Fish" ASTP
+* Scholar of Communism / Marxism (postwar academic career)
-* Scholar of Communism; Marxism
+* ASTP Russian at Harvard before Camp Ritchie
-* 409-G
 == Gallery ==
@@ Line 45: / Line 58: @@
 | row_source || both
 |}
+== Timeline ==
+<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
+<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
+* 5 February 1920 — Born in Bielefeld, Germany (Jewish).
+* 1939 — Emigrated to the United States after a first sailing was turned back; settled in Santa Ana, California.
+* 1941 — Volunteered into the draft; entered the Army from Los Angeles as a private (ASN 39162439).
+* Assigned to the ASTP Russian-language program at Harvard University.
+* Entered Camp Ritchie [[Class 18]] for IPW / military-intelligence training.
+* 6 June 1944 — Commissioned second lieutenant at Camp Ritchie (D-Day).
+* Summer 1944 — Sailed to Liverpool; staged at Broadway, Worcestershire.
+* September 1944 — Crossed to Omaha Beach; assigned to Capt. Hans Kohler’s intelligence team (four other Ritchie graduates) with the 29th Infantry Division; roster: MII 409-G.
+* 1944–1945 — Interrogation and related intelligence duty with the 29th Infantry Division in Northwest Europe.
+* 1946 — Began graduate study at Harvard; later scholar of Soviet politics / Marxism.
+* 1998 — Died.
+* 2000 — Autobiography ''My Life as a Fish'' (excerpts concerning Camp Ritchie later shared by his daughter Vera Meyer).
+* April 1945 — With U.S. forces entering Bielefeld via Brackwede; appears in Army film later used in Neue Westfälische DVD documentary.
+* 1991 — Awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for German–American relations work.
+</div>
+</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>
 == Sources ==
-* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
+* Neue Westfälische (Bielefeld) article on Vera Meyer recognizing her father Alfred Georg Meyer in the DVD documentary ''Bielefeld – Leben und Hoffen in den Ruinen'' (RB Archive PDF copy: BielefeldDVDKriegsende.pdf)
+* 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)
+* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Alfred G. Meyer for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
+* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Meyer, Alfred G. for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: ALFRED G. MEYER.doc)
+* [https://ritchieboys.com/DL/fish203.pdf Chapter 3 excerpt PDF (Camp Ritchie) — My Life as a Fish, © 2000 Alfred G. Meyer]
+* [https://ritchieboys.com/DL/fish204.pdf Chapter 4 excerpt PDF (Europe) — My Life as a Fish, © 2000 Alfred G. Meyer]
+* [https://ritchieboys.com/DL/fish205.pdf Chapter 5 excerpt PDF (postwar) — My Life as a Fish, © 2000 Alfred G. Meyer]