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Manheim, Ralph F. (32977412): Difference between revisions

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|surname=Manheim
|surname=Manheim
|first=Ralph
|first=Ralph
|middle=F.
|middle=Frederick
|class_section=5E
|class_section=5E
|class_rank=Pvt
|class_rank=Pvt
|birth_year=1907
|birth_year=1907
|death_year=1992
|death_year=1992
|nativity=US
|nativity=United States
|religion=J
|religion=Jewish
|enlistment_place=NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK
|enlistment_place=NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK
|state=NEW YORK
|state=NEW YORK
Line 21: Line 21:
|class_number=23
|class_number=23
|class_display=23
|class_display=23
|photo=5901808306507708.jpg
|photo=Manheim_Ralph_F_32977412_portrait.png
|birth_date=4 April 1907
|birth_date=4 April 1907
|death_date=26 September 1992
|death_date=26 September 1992
|birth_place=New York
|birth_place=New York City, New York
|death_place=Cambridge, England
}}
}}


<div class="soldier-lead">
<div class="soldier-lead">
'''[[Manheim, Ralph F. (32977412)|Ralph F. Manheim]]''' (4 April 1907 – 26 September 1992) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 23.
'''[[Manheim, Ralph F. (32977412)|Ralph Frederick Manheim]]''' (4 April 1907 – 26 September 1992) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 23.
</div>
</div>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Ralph Frederick Manheim, was a Ritchie Boy. Born April 4, 1907; died September 26, 1992 at the age of 85. He was the outstanding literary translator from German into English since the second world war. Best known perhaps for his widely-read translations of Gunter Grass, starting with The Tin Drum for Kurt Wolff's New York firm Pantheon Books, he worked for several leading belles-lettres, academic and art book publishers on both sides of the Atlantic and also did some translating from the French (including Celine's novels and Proust's early letters). He won a number of literary awards, culminating in the MacArthur fellowship and the PEN medal for translation, and was an internationally loved and respected figure. Manheim was born in New York to American parents of Lithuanian and German descent, and graduated from Harvard in 1926. He thereafter studied at Yale and Columbia before going overseas to Vienna and Munich. For a time he was a schoolmaster in Connecticut, and during the Roosevelt era began producing stories and articles of his own, helped by the Federal WPA writing project. His long bibliography of some 150 book translations begins ominously with Mein Kampf in 1943 and Konrad Heiden's biography of Hitler a year later, and when he was drafted into the army he was first sent to the intelligence training centre at Camp Ritchie to be made into a prisoner of war interrogator. By his own account he was spared this unwelcome role in favour of translating German documents, and the command of military terms and expressions which this gave him would become useful after 1945.
Ralph Frederick Manheim was born on 4 April 1907 in New York City, New York to American parents of Lithuanian and German descent. He graduated from Harvard in 1926, studied further at Yale and Columbia, and spent time in Vienna and Munich. He taught school in Connecticut and wrote under the WPA Federal Writers’ Project before turning to literary translation; his early wartime bibliography included an English ''Mein Kampf'' (1943) and Konrad Heiden’s Hitler biography.
 
Drafted into the Army, Manheim trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 23) for prisoner-of-war interrogation but, by his own later account, was assigned instead to translating German documents—work that sharpened the military vocabulary he used after 1945.
 
After the war Manheim became one of the leading translators from German (and French) into English, rendering Günter Grass, Brecht, Handke, Cassirer, and many others. He settled in Paris in 1951 and later in Cambridge, England, receiving a MacArthur Fellowship and the PEN translation medal. He died of cancer on 26 September 1992.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
* 5th Army ?
* 5th Army ?
* Normalized birth_place from “New York” to New York City. No military decoration is asserted.
== Gallery ==
<div class="soldier-gallery">
<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
Manheim_Ralph_F_32977412_portrait.png|Ralph F. Manheim portrait (RB Archive)
</gallery>
</div>


== Technical record ==
== Technical record ==
Line 102: Line 115:
| row_source || both
| row_source || both
|}
|}
== Timeline ==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
* 4 April 1907 — Born in New York City, New York.
* 1926 — Graduated from Harvard.
* 1943 — Published English translation of ''Mein Kampf''; drafted and trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 23).
* World War II — Assigned to German document translation rather than front-line interrogation.
* 1951 — Settled in Paris to translate full time.
* 1985 — After his third wife’s death, later settled in Cambridge, England.
* 26 September 1992 — Died in Cambridge, England.
</div>
</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
* [[:File:Manheim_Ralph_F_32977412_portrait.png|Ralph F. Manheim portrait (RB Archive)]]
* ''The Guardian'', 29 September 1992 — John Willett, “Englishing the Germans from Hitler to Grass” (RB Archive ProQuest 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
* 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 2022-11-28 (1 post)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-11-28 (1 post)
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Manheim Wikipedia]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Manheim Wikipedia]

Latest revision as of 01:05, 17 September 2026

Ralph Frederick Manheim
Ralph Frederick Manheim
Personal details
Born4 April 1907
New York City, New York
Died26 September 1992
Cambridge, England
NativityUnited States
ReligionJewish
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN32977412
RankPrivate
Camp RitchieClass 23 (25 September – 23 November 1944)
Section5E
EnlistedNew York City, New York
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.


Ralph Frederick Manheim (4 April 1907 – 26 September 1992) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 23.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Ralph Frederick Manheim was born on 4 April 1907 in New York City, New York to American parents of Lithuanian and German descent. He graduated from Harvard in 1926, studied further at Yale and Columbia, and spent time in Vienna and Munich. He taught school in Connecticut and wrote under the WPA Federal Writers’ Project before turning to literary translation; his early wartime bibliography included an English Mein Kampf (1943) and Konrad Heiden’s Hitler biography.

Drafted into the Army, Manheim trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 23) for prisoner-of-war interrogation but, by his own later account, was assigned instead to translating German documents—work that sharpened the military vocabulary he used after 1945.

After the war Manheim became one of the leading translators from German (and French) into English, rendering Günter Grass, Brecht, Handke, Cassirer, and many others. He settled in Paris in 1951 and later in Cambridge, England, receiving a MacArthur Fellowship and the PEN translation medal. He died of cancer on 26 September 1992.

Research notes[edit | edit source]

  • 5th Army ?
  • Normalized birth_place from “New York” to New York City. No military decoration is asserted.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • Ralph F. Manheim portrait (RB Archive)
    Ralph F. Manheim portrait (RB Archive)

Technical record[edit | edit source]

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 85
Nara ASN 32977412
Nara Name MANHEIM RALPH F
Nara State 23
Nara County 61
Nara POE 2364
Nara DOE 10743
Nara Grade Alpha PVT
Nara Grade Code 8
Nara Branch Alpha NO
Nara Branch Code 2
Branch No branch assignment
Nara Term or Enlistment 5
Term of enlistment Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date 0
Nara Source 0
Nara Nativity 23
Nativity.1 NEW YORK
Nara Year of Birth 7
Nara Race 1
Nara Race Description White citizen
Nara Education 4
Nara Civilian Occupation 68
Nara Marital Status 7
Nara Height (inches) 94
Nara Weight (lbs) 949
Class_ASN 32977412
Class_Name MANHEIM, Ralph F.
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Timeline[edit | edit source]

  • 4 April 1907 — Born in New York City, New York.
  • 1926 — Graduated from Harvard.
  • 1943 — Published English translation of Mein Kampf; drafted and trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 23).
  • World War II — Assigned to German document translation rather than front-line interrogation.
  • 1951 — Settled in Paris to translate full time.
  • 1985 — After his third wife’s death, later settled in Cambridge, England.
  • 26 September 1992 — Died in Cambridge, England.

Sources[edit | edit source]

  • Ralph F. Manheim portrait (RB Archive)
  • The Guardian, 29 September 1992 — John Willett, “Englishing the Germans from Hitler to Grass” (RB Archive ProQuest 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
  • 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 2022-11-28 (1 post)
  • Wikipedia
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