Bondy, Eric Heinz (31254104)

Eric Heinz Bondy
Personal details
Born	2 June 1924 Bad Gandersheim, Germany
Died	2014
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Protestant
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	31254104
Rank	Technical Sergeant
Rank at Ritchie	Private First Class
Camp Ritchie	Class 15 (4 January – 3 March 1944)
Section	5B
Enlisted	Rutland, Vermont
Unit / division	79th Infantry Division
Team	IPW 50

Interview Listen to Eric Heinz Bondy on USHMM oral history (audio).

Teammates

Team — IPW 50

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.

Eric Heinz Bondy (born Heinz Eric Bondy; 2 June 1924–2014) was a German-born Ritchie Boy who trained at Camp Ritchie in Class 15, served with IPW Team 50 attached to the 79th Infantry Division in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, and later spent decades as a school headmaster.

Biography

Eric Heinz Bondy was born Heinz Eric Bondy on 2 June 1924 in Bad Gandersheim, Germany, where his parents, Max and Gertrud Bondy, ran a boarding school. Although the family was of Jewish heritage, they were not religious. After Nazi authorities appointed teachers to the school and then confiscated it, the Bondys fled to Switzerland around 1936 and opened a school in Gland for German refugees. When Switzerland began returning German citizens, they immigrated to the United States in 1938 through Ellis Island and settled in Vermont, founding the Windsor Mountain School (later moved to Lenox, Massachusetts).

Bondy graduated from the family school, attended college for a year, and entered the Army at age 18. He volunteered for mountain troops and trained for about eight months in Colorado, where he became a U.S. citizen. Fluent in English, German, and French, he was sent to Camp Ritchie, Maryland, and trained as a German interrogator under the less German-sounding name “Eric H.” One of the youngest men in Class 15, he graduated on 4 March 1944 as a technician fifth grade (section 5B) and was assigned to IPW Team 50 with the 79th Infantry Division. Section classmates included Philip Glaessner and Alois Liethen.

Bondy landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day and saw the dead on the beach. Working close to the combat zone to interrogate newly captured prisoners, he was wounded in the foot in Normandy, bandaged, and returned to duty. He later took part in the Battle of the Bulge. Over about a year and a half he estimated he questioned some 2,000–3,000 prisoners. When Paris was liberated, he was among the first American and French troops to drive down the Champs-Élysées. He was with forces at Dachau after its liberation, interrogating guards and speaking with survivors, and spent about a year after the German surrender writing up interrogations of officers for his commanding officers.

After the war Bondy earned a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and a master’s in history from Bryn Mawr. For 25 years he was headmaster of Windsor Mountain School, where he championed racial integration and scholarships for disadvantaged students. After the school closed in the mid-1970s, he held administrative posts at the University of Massachusetts Boston, helped found Elkins Mountain Schools in West Virginia, and later served as headmaster of Canterbury School in Accokeek, Maryland, and directed a Montessori school in Prince George’s County until retiring in 1998. He died in 2014. In 2012 he attended a Ritchie Boys reunion in Washington, D.C., and gave an oral-history interview to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Research notes

• Classmates in section 5B included Philip Glaessner and Alois Liethen (Dan Gross research).
• Later research notes a promotion to technical sergeant; the unsupported prior infobox rank “major” was removed.

Gallery

No portrait uploaded yet.

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	90
Nara ASN	31254104
Nara Name	BONDY ERIC/H/ / U
Nara State	16
Nara County	3
Nara POE	1665
Nara DOE	220243
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	BI
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
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	N1
Nara Year of Birth	24
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	5
Nara Civilian Occupation	992
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	70
Nara Weight (lbs)	147
Class_ASN	31254104
Class_Name	BONDY, Eric H.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 2 June 1924 — Born Heinz Eric Bondy in Bad Gandersheim, Germany (parents Max and Gertrud Bondy).
• c. 1936 — Family flees to Switzerland after Nazi confiscation of their boarding school; opens a refugee school in Gland.
• 1938 — Immigrates to the United States via Ellis Island; family founds Windsor Mountain School in Vermont (later Lenox, Massachusetts).
• c. 1941 — Graduates from Windsor Mountain School; attends college for a year.
• c. 1942–1943 — Enlists at about age 18; volunteers for mountain troops; trains about eight months in Colorado and becomes a U.S. citizen.
• 21 November 1943 — Arrives as private first class at Camp Ritchie (languages German, French).
• 4 March 1944 — Graduates Class 15, section 5B (IPW-Ge) as technician fifth grade; among the youngest in the class; classmates include Philip Glaessner and Alois Liethen.
• June 1944 — Lands in Normandy with the 79th Infantry Division shortly after D-Day; wounded in the foot and returned to duty; serves with IPW Team 50.
• August 1944 — Among the first Americans to enter liberated Paris (Champs-Élysées procession).
• December 1944–January 1945 — Participates in the Battle of the Bulge; continues POW interrogation (estimated 2,000–3,000 over about 18 months).
• April 1945 — At Dachau after liberation; interrogates guards and talks with survivors.
• 1945–1946 — About a year of postwar interrogation / war-crimes write-ups in Europe.
• postwar — Bachelor’s, Swarthmore College; master’s in history, Bryn Mawr; later promoted to technical sergeant (Dan Gross research).
• mid-1950s–mid-1970s — Headmaster, Windsor Mountain School (about 25 years).
• mid-1970s–1980s — University of Massachusetts Boston; helps found Elkins Mountain Schools (West Virginia).
• 1989–1998 — Headmaster, Canterbury School (Accokeek, Maryland); directs a Montessori school in Prince George’s County; retires 1998.
• 30 August 2012 — Oral history interview, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Gaithersburg, Maryland); attends Ritchie Boys reunion in Washington, D.C.
• 2014 — Died.

Sources

• Oral history interview with Eric Heinz Bondy, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (RG-50.030.0669 / Accession 2012.212.1), 30 August 2012
• Kay Past, “Heinz joins the Ritchie Boys during World War II,” Beeville Bee-Picayune / southtexasnews.com, 18 November 2021
• 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 Eric Heinz Bondy for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Bondy, Eric Heinz for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: HEINZ (ERIC) BONDY.doc)