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Schifter, Richard (32966898): Difference between revisions

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|birth_year=1923
|birth_year=1923
|nativity=Austria
|nativity=Austria
|religion=J
|religion=Jewish
|enlistment_place=NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK
|enlistment_place=NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK
|state=NEW YORK
|state=NEW YORK
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|marital=Single without dependents
|marital=Single without dependents
|certificate=6615
|certificate=6615
|photo=Wikipedia_Richard_Schifter_cropped.jpg
|photo=Schifter, Richard (32966898) press TANGRAM.jpg
|confidence=high
|confidence=high
|class_display=17
|class_display=17
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|occupation=4th Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
|occupation=4th Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
|known_for=4th Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
|known_for=4th Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Richard Schifter (31 July 1923 – 4 October 2020) was an Austrian-born Jewish Ritchie Boy from Vienna who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 17 and served with IPW Teams 83 and 94. He later studied at City College of New York and Yale Law School.
Richard Schifter was born in Vienna on 31 July 1923 into a Jewish family. He was the only member of his immediate family able to emigrate to the United States; his parents remained on a waiting list and did not survive the Holocaust. He arrived in the U.S. at age fifteen and later attended City College of New York.


After the war he became a lawyer and diplomat, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs and as an ambassador and representative to the United Nations.
After college he entered the Army in 1943 and trained at Camp Ritchie as an IPW. He was assigned to the same special unit as [[Parloff, Morris B. (0552566)|Morris Parloff]] and landed in France in summer 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge period he and his team remained in Aachen and took part in interrogating the civilian population. After Germany’s surrender he served with the Military Government as a civilian until returning to the United States in 1948.


On 14 July 2021, ''Die Presse'' reported that at a ceremony at the Austrian Consulate General in New York, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz granted citizenship to emigrants and their descendants, including Schifter's granddaughter.
Schifter studied law and practiced as a lawyer, later serving in the U.S. State Department and the National Security Council. He was appointed a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Deputy U.S. Representative on the U.N. Security Council.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
* OTC; 3rd Army
* OTC
* 3rd Army
* Ritchie Boy
* Ritchie Boy
* Assistant Secretary of State
* Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations
* Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations
* Portrait and summary from Notable Ritchie Boys slides ([https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1EWiegWT3PMxAFXS7MZLxFFLMZg0265GK5_Axp_XnzWM source]).


== Technical record ==
== Technical record ==
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| row_source || both
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|}
== Timeline ==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
* Born 1923.
* 1943 — Entered the U.S. Army.
* 11 March 1944 — Entered Class 17 (IPW Ge).
* 14 June 1944 — Promoted to S/Sgt. Transferred to DEML.
* 8 May 1944 — Graduated with Class 17 (German Document Examiner).
* Summer 1944 — Landed in France with a special unit that included Morris Parloff.
* 1945–1948 — Military Government civilian service in Germany; returned to the U.S. in 1948.
* 1966 — 1970 Served as Democratic Party Chairman in Montgomery County.
* 1985 — 1992 Served as U.
* Also served with IPW Team 83.
</div>
</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>


== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Schifter Wikipedia: Richard Schifter]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Schifter Wikipedia: Richard Schifter]
* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
* 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 2021-07-15 (1 post)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2021-07-15 (1 post)
* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Richard Schifter for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 2 source documents reviewed)
* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Schifter, Richard for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 2 source files: RICHARD SCHIFTER.doc, RICHARD SCHIFTER.docx)
* [https://ritchieboys.com/EN/boys_schifter.html The Ritchie Boys: Richard Schifter]
* [https://ritchieboys.com/EN/press_photos.html The Ritchie Boys film site — press photos] (© TANGRAM (Harald Stuckmann); high-res https://ritchieboys.com/DL/photos-highq/boys/schifter.jpg)

Latest revision as of 15:01, 16 September 2026

Richard Schifter
Richard Schifter
Personal details
Born31 July 1923
Vienna, Austria
Died4 October 2020
NativityAustria
ReligionJewish
Known for4th Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN32966898
RankPrivate First Class
Camp RitchieClass 17 (11 March – 8 May 1944)
Section5B
EnlistedNew York City, New York
Battles / warsWorld War II
TeamsIPW 83, IPW 94
Interview Watch Richard Schifter on American Veterans Center.
On film Richard Schifter appears in The Ritchie Boys (Christian Bauer, 2004).
Teammates
Team — IPW 83
Team — IPW 94
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.


Richard Schifter (31 July 1923 – 4 October 2020) was a Ritchie Boy (from Austria; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 17 and served with IPW Teams 83 and 94.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Richard Schifter was born in Vienna on 31 July 1923 into a Jewish family. He was the only member of his immediate family able to emigrate to the United States; his parents remained on a waiting list and did not survive the Holocaust. He arrived in the U.S. at age fifteen and later attended City College of New York.

After college he entered the Army in 1943 and trained at Camp Ritchie as an IPW. He was assigned to the same special unit as Morris Parloff and landed in France in summer 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge period he and his team remained in Aachen and took part in interrogating the civilian population. After Germany’s surrender he served with the Military Government as a civilian until returning to the United States in 1948.

Schifter studied law and practiced as a lawyer, later serving in the U.S. State Department and the National Security Council. He was appointed a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Deputy U.S. Representative on the U.N. Security Council.

Research notes[edit | edit source]

  • OTC
  • 3rd Army
  • Ritchie Boy
  • Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations

Technical record[edit | edit source]

Field Imported value
Nara ASN 32966898
Nara Name SCHIFTER RICHARD
Nara State 23
Nara County 5
Nara POE 2364
Nara DOE 80643
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 N2
Nara Year of Birth 23
Nara Race J
Nara Race Description White not yet a citizen
Nara Education 7
Nara Civilian Occupation 992
Nara Marital Status 6
Nara Height (inches) 34
Nara Weight (lbs) 529
Class_ASN 32966898
Class_Name SCHIFTER, Richard
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Timeline[edit | edit source]

  • Born 1923.
  • 1943 — Entered the U.S. Army.
  • 11 March 1944 — Entered Class 17 (IPW Ge).
  • 14 June 1944 — Promoted to S/Sgt. Transferred to DEML.
  • 8 May 1944 — Graduated with Class 17 (German Document Examiner).
  • Summer 1944 — Landed in France with a special unit that included Morris Parloff.
  • 1945–1948 — Military Government civilian service in Germany; returned to the U.S. in 1948.
  • 1966 — 1970 Served as Democratic Party Chairman in Montgomery County.
  • 1985 — 1992 Served as U.
  • Also served with IPW Team 83.


Sources[edit | edit source]

  • Wikipedia: Richard Schifter
  • 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 2021-07-15 (1 post)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Richard Schifter for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 2 source documents reviewed)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Schifter, Richard for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 2 source files: RICHARD SCHIFTER.doc, RICHARD SCHIFTER.docx)
  • The Ritchie Boys: Richard Schifter
  • The Ritchie Boys film site — press photos (© TANGRAM (Harald Stuckmann); high-res https://ritchieboys.com/DL/photos-highq/boys/schifter.jpg)
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