Graber, Norman N. (0927260): Difference between revisions

Line 8:

|birth_year=1916

|death_year=2009

|nativity=~~Poland~~

|nativity=Austria

|religion=Jewish

|ipw_ge=407

|overseas=Y

|rank_final=Staff Sergeant

~~|certificate=8326~~

|confidence=medium

|class_number=21

|class_display=21

|birth_place=Poland

|birth_place=Jasło, Poland

}}

'''Norman N. Graber''' (1916–2009) was a ~~United States~~ Army Staff Sergeant who trained at [[Camp Ritchie]], ~~Maryland~~, in [[~~Class 21~~]].

'''Norman N. Graber''' (1916–2009) was a Jasło-born U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and Dachau and Buchenwald survivor who trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] with [[:Category:Class 21|Class 21]], served with [[Team IPW 407|IPW Team 407]], and was assigned to [[P.O. Box 1142]].

</div>

== Biography ==

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

Norman N. Graber was born in 1916 in Jasło, then in Austria-Hungary, where his father served in the Austrian Army. In 1918 the family returned to Vienna. He grew up there, went to gymnasium, studied English, German, and Hebrew, and learned tailoring and cutting—trades that later helped him get by. The family ran a successful men’s clothing store until March 1938, when Nazi stormtroopers seized the stock and the property after the Anschluss.

In May 1938 he was arrested without charges and sent first to Dachau for about four months, then to Buchenwald for about eight. He saw executions, torture, starvation, and forced labor—carrying stumps, pick-and-shovel work, wheelbarrows, bricklaying. He survived a thirty-day starvation punishment and credited, among other things, a Seventh-day Adventist prisoner who taught him bricklaying, a possible Gestapo intervention tied to a woman connected with his family, and a visa process started through the American embassy.

Released in May 1939, he went to England, lived in a refugee work camp, monitored radio transmissions for the British, and sailed to the United States in 1940. His parents escaped separately by way of Holland. In New York he worked in tailoring shops and volunteered for the draft in April 1941. Citizenship paperwork trailed him from camp to camp, but he was not classed as an enemy alien. Roster records show enlistment from the Bronx under ASN 32086622; this page carries officer ASN 0927260.

Early Army stops included Camp Croft and the 20th Division, then specialized training in San Antonio that pointed him toward intelligence work. He trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] with [[:Category:Class 21|Class 21]] and is listed with [[Team IPW 407|IPW Team 407]]. Fluent German, firsthand knowledge of Nazi camps and military culture, and a drive to serve made him a natural fit for intelligence.

He was assigned to [[P.O. Box 1142]] at Fort Hunt. The surviving NPS interview excerpt places him there clearly—he remembered going into Washington to pick up long-delayed American visa and citizenship papers while serving at the post—but cuts off before describing his day-to-day duties. He died in 2009.

== Research notes ==

* FH to CR

* Fort Hunt / [[P.O. Box 1142]] — assigned there; NPS interview excerpt ends before day-to-day duties (citizenship papers caught up while at 1142).

* Also enlisted ASN '''32086622''' (Bronx, 17 April 1941); page ASN '''0927260'''.

* FH to CR (roster research note).

== Gallery ==

''~~After you are autoconfirmed, [[Special:Upload|upload a photo]] and add <code><nowiki>[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]]</nowiki></code> here, or set <code>|photo=Example.jpg</code> in the infobox~~.''

''No portrait on file yet.''

== Technical record ==

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Line 62:

* 17 April 1941 — ~~Enlisted at~~ Bronx ~~in Army as Pvt~~ (ASN: 32086622).

* 1916 — Born in Jasło (then Austria-Hungary).

* ~~1916~~ — ~~Born~~ in ~~Poland~~.

* 1918 — Family returned to Vienna; gymnasium; languages; tailoring.

* March 1938 — Family clothing store seized after the Anschluss.

* May 1938 – May 1939 — Imprisoned at Dachau (~4 months) then Buchenwald (~8 months); released May 1939.

* 1939–1940 — England (refugee work camp; radio monitoring for the British); parents escaped via Holland.

* 1940 — Arrived in the United States; New York tailoring work.

* 17 April 1941 — Volunteered / enlisted, Bronx (ASN 32086622).

* 1941– — Camp Croft; 20th Division; specialized training in San Antonio.

* Class 21 — Camp Ritchie; IPW Team 407.

* P.O. Box 1142 — Assigned to Fort Hunt; citizenship / visa papers caught up while he was there.

* 2009 — Died.

</div>

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

== Sources ==

* [[:File:FOHU_POBox1142_Graber_Norman.pdf|NPS Fort Hunt Oral History — Norman Graber interview transcript]] (Dachau/Buchenwald survivor; Camp Ritchie; P.O. Box 1142; formerly published on the NPS Fort Hunt oral-history exhibit)

* 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

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 |birth_year=1916
 |death_year=2009
-|nativity=Poland
+|nativity=Austria
 |religion=Jewish
 |ipw_ge=407
 |overseas=Y
 |rank_final=Staff Sergeant
-|certificate=8326
 |confidence=medium
 |class_number=21
 |class_display=21
-|birth_place=Poland
+|birth_place=Jasło, Poland
 }}
 <div class="soldier-lead">
-'''Norman N. Graber''' (1916&ndash;2009) was a United States Army Staff Sergeant who trained at [[Camp Ritchie]], Maryland, in [[Class 21]].
+'''Norman N. Graber''' (1916&ndash;2009) was a Jasło-born U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and Dachau and Buchenwald survivor who trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] with [[:Category:Class 21|Class 21]], served with [[Team IPW 407|IPW Team 407]], and was assigned to [[P.O. Box 1142]].
 </div>
 == Biography ==
-''Add a biography, family details, and sources. Click Edit to change this page; no account is required.''
+Norman N. Graber was born in 1916 in Jasło, then in Austria-Hungary, where his father served in the Austrian Army. In 1918 the family returned to Vienna. He grew up there, went to gymnasium, studied English, German, and Hebrew, and learned tailoring and cutting—trades that later helped him get by. The family ran a successful men’s clothing store until March 1938, when Nazi stormtroopers seized the stock and the property after the Anschluss.
+In May 1938 he was arrested without charges and sent first to Dachau for about four months, then to Buchenwald for about eight. He saw executions, torture, starvation, and forced labor—carrying stumps, pick-and-shovel work, wheelbarrows, bricklaying. He survived a thirty-day starvation punishment and credited, among other things, a Seventh-day Adventist prisoner who taught him bricklaying, a possible Gestapo intervention tied to a woman connected with his family, and a visa process started through the American embassy.
+Released in May 1939, he went to England, lived in a refugee work camp, monitored radio transmissions for the British, and sailed to the United States in 1940. His parents escaped separately by way of Holland. In New York he worked in tailoring shops and volunteered for the draft in April 1941. Citizenship paperwork trailed him from camp to camp, but he was not classed as an enemy alien. Roster records show enlistment from the Bronx under ASN 32086622; this page carries officer ASN 0927260.
+Early Army stops included Camp Croft and the 20th Division, then specialized training in San Antonio that pointed him toward intelligence work. He trained at [[Camp Ritchie]] with [[:Category:Class 21|Class 21]] and is listed with [[Team IPW 407|IPW Team 407]]. Fluent German, firsthand knowledge of Nazi camps and military culture, and a drive to serve made him a natural fit for intelligence.
+He was assigned to [[P.O. Box 1142]] at Fort Hunt. The surviving NPS interview excerpt places him there clearly—he remembered going into Washington to pick up long-delayed American visa and citizenship papers while serving at the post—but cuts off before describing his day-to-day duties. He died in 2009.
 == Research notes ==
-* FH to CR
+* Fort Hunt / [[P.O. Box 1142]] — assigned there; NPS interview excerpt ends before day-to-day duties (citizenship papers caught up while at 1142).
+* Also enlisted ASN '''32086622''' (Bronx, 17 April 1941); page ASN '''0927260'''.
+* FH to CR (roster research note).
 == Gallery ==
-''After you are autoconfirmed, [[Special:Upload|upload a photo]] and add <code><nowiki>[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]]</nowiki></code> here, or set <code>|photo=Example.jpg</code> in the infobox.''
+''No portrait on file yet.''
 == Technical record ==
@@ Line 53: / Line 62: @@
 <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
 <div class="soldier-timeline-body">
-* 17 April 1941 — Enlisted at Bronx in Army as Pvt (ASN: 32086622).
+* 1916 — Born in Jasło (then Austria-Hungary).
-* 1916 — Born in Poland.
+* 1918 — Family returned to Vienna; gymnasium; languages; tailoring.
+* March 1938 — Family clothing store seized after the Anschluss.
+* May 1938 – May 1939 — Imprisoned at Dachau (~4 months) then Buchenwald (~8 months); released May 1939.
+* 1939–1940 — England (refugee work camp; radio monitoring for the British); parents escaped via Holland.
+* 1940 — Arrived in the United States; New York tailoring work.
+* 17 April 1941 — Volunteered / enlisted, Bronx (ASN 32086622).
+* 1941– — Camp Croft; 20th Division; specialized training in San Antonio.
+* Class 21 — Camp Ritchie; IPW Team 407.
+* P.O. Box 1142 — Assigned to Fort Hunt; citizenship / visa papers caught up while he was there.
+* 2009 — Died.
 </div>
 </div><div style="clear: both;"></div>
 == Sources ==
+* [[:File:FOHU_POBox1142_Graber_Norman.pdf|NPS Fort Hunt Oral History — Norman Graber interview transcript]] (Dachau/Buchenwald survivor; Camp Ritchie; P.O. Box 1142; formerly published on the NPS Fort Hunt oral-history exhibit)
 * 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