Ritchie Boys Wiki

Wolf, Edwin II (33619146): Difference between revisions

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|birth_year=1911
|birth_year=1911
|death_year=1991
|death_year=1991
|nativity=US
|nativity=United States
|religion=J
|religion=Jewish
|enlistment_place=ALLENTOWN PENNSYLVANIA
|enlistment_place=ALLENTOWN PENNSYLVANIA
|state=PENNSYLVANIA
|state=PENNSYLVANIA
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|class_number=18
|class_number=18
|class_display=18
|class_display=18
|birth_date=6 December 1911
|death_date=20 February 1991
|birth_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|rank_final=Sergeant
}}
}}


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'''Edwin II Wolf''' (1911–1991) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 18.
'''[[Wolf, Edwin II (33619146)|Edwin Wolf II]]''' (6 December 1911 – 20 February 1991) was a Philadelphia bibliographer and Ritchie Boy (Class 18) whose wartime skill with rare books drew Civil Affairs interest.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
The following documents are about Ritchie Boy Edwin Wolf II. He was being recommended to join the Second Roberts Commission.
Edwin Wolf II was born on 6 December 1911 in Philadelphia. He attended William Penn Charter School and Bedales School in Hampshire, England, then spent about thirteen years with the A. S. W. Rosenbach Company working with rare books, producing bibliographical volumes and articles. He taught bibliography at Bryn Mawr College in 1941–42 and spoke French and German.


His Wikipedia page can be found at The second Roberts Commission, which was presidential-appointed is known after its chairman, then Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts. It was created to help the US Army protect works of cultural value in Allied-occupied areas of Europe. Its formal name was the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas.
Wolf enlisted early in 1943, completed basic training in Louisiana, and took an Army Specialized Training Program course in Columbia, Missouri, specializing in Central and Southern Europe. Camp Ritchie records place him as a corporal in Company G, 2nd Training Battalion, Section 7D (Class 18). Correspondence from late 1944 and early 1945 recommended him for Civil Affairs consideration because of his knowledge of books and manuscripts; the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas reviewed the suggestion, though the Army would not act on recommendations of noncommissioned men for that assignment. He served in Europe through 1946.


The commission also developed inventories of Nazi-appropriated property. Along with the US Military program known as Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA), the commission worked to rescue and preserve items of cultural significance. The commission took place from 1943 to 1946.
After the war Wolf became a leading Philadelphia bookman, joining the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1952 and later serving as its librarian and chief executive. He received the Philadelphia Award in 1981 and died on 20 February 1991.
 
The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA) under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies was established in 1943 to help protect cultural property in war areas during and after World War II. The group of approximately 400 service members and civilians worked with military forces to safeguard historic and cultural monuments from war damage, and as the conflict came to a close, to find and return works of art and other items of cultural importance that had been stolen by the Nazis or hidden for safekeeping.
 
Some of them are portrayed and honored in the 2014 film The Monuments Men. You can read more about the commission here:


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
* ASTP
* ASTP
* OCR (96%) of `6070697312952139.jpg` (gallery document) — rank mentioned: Staff Sergeant.
* OCR (95%) of `6070697292952141.jpg` (Camp Ritchie).
* OCR (89%) of `6070697302952140.jpg` (gallery document).
* OCR (81%) of `6070697316285472.jpg` (gallery document) — rank mentioned: Sergeant.
* OCR (81%) of `6070697332952137.jpg` (gallery document) — rank mentioned: Sergeant.
* OCR (80%) of `6070697319618805.jpg` (Camp Ritchie).
* Fold3 Camp Ritchie correspondence in the RB Archive folder overlaps material already represented in the Gallery OCR set; additional bulk scans were not re-uploaded.


== Gallery ==
== Gallery ==
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== Timeline ==
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* 6 December 1911 — Born in Philadelphia.
* William Penn Charter School; Bedales School (Hampshire, England).
* c. 1930s–early 1940s — A. S. W. Rosenbach Company; bibliography teaching at Bryn Mawr (1941–42).
* Early 1943 — Enlisted; basic training in Louisiana; ASTP, Columbia, Missouri.
* Camp Ritchie Class 18 — Corporal, Company G, 2nd Training Battalion, Section 7D.
* Late 1944–early 1945 — Correspondence recommending Civil Affairs / cultural-property consideration.
* 1943–1946 — Army service including Europe.
* 1952 onward — Library Company of Philadelphia (later librarian / CEO).
* 1981 — Philadelphia Award.
* 20 February 1991 — Died.
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== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
* Fold3 Camp Ritchie miscellaneous / commission correspondence images (RB Archive “Edwin Wolf”; selected items already on Gallery from prior OCR)
* [https://www.philadelphiaaward.org/winners/edwin-wolf-ii/ Philadelphia Award — Edwin Wolf II]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Wolf_II Wikipedia — Edwin Wolf II]
* 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)
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-01-22 (1 post)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-01-22 (1 post)
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Wolf_II Wikipedia]
* [[:File:6070697312952139.jpg|OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697312952139.jpg]]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monuments,_Fine_Arts,_and_Archives_program Wikipedia]
* [[:File:6070697292952141.jpg|OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697292952141.jpg]]
* [[:File:6070697302952140.jpg|OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697302952140.jpg]]
* [[:File:6070697316285472.jpg|OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697316285472.jpg]]
* [[:File:6070697332952137.jpg|OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697332952137.jpg]]
* [[:File:6070697319618805.jpg|OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6070697319618805.jpg]]
* [[:File:6070697292952141.jpg|Camp Ritchie information sheet on Edwin Wolf II]]
* [[:File:6070697302952140.jpg|Edwin Wolf II personal-history sheet]]
* [[:File:6070697299618807.jpg|Summary of Wolf?s qualifications and Camp Ritchie assignment]]
* [[:File:6070697319618805.jpg|Camp Ritchie information memorandum on Wolf?s rare-book work and training]]
* [[:File:6070697312952139.jpg|Rosenwald recommendation for Wolf?s possible Roberts Commission work, 21 December 1944]]
* [[:File:6070697332952137.jpg|Commission memorandum concerning recommendation of Wolf, 4 January 1945]]
* [[:File:6070697309618806.jpg|Commission letter inviting Wolf to submit qualifications, 5 May 1944]]
* [[:File:6070697326285471.jpg|Folger Shakespeare Library recommendation for Wolf, 13 January 1945]]
* [[:File:6070697329618804.jpg|Commission letter regarding Wolf?s recommendation]]
* [[:File:6070697336285470.jpg|Commission response regarding noncommissioned recommendations, 22 January 1945]]
* [[:File:6070697306285473.jpg|Commission memorandum seeking a recommendation for Wolf, 28 December 1944]]
* [[:File:6070697296285474.jpg|Commission correspondence concerning Wolf?s possible research-assistant work, 29 December 1944]]
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