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Matteson, Robert Eliot (37575990): Difference between revisions

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Enrich from USHMM oral history (irn512456) + transcript; interview cue via watchlist
Expand biography from USHMM oral-history transcript (RG-50.043.0005)
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|birth_year=1914
|birth_year=1914
|death_year=1994
|death_year=1994
|division=80th Infantry Division
|nativity=United States
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'''Robert E. Matteson''' (1914–1994) was a Camp Ritchie trainee who served in counter-intelligence with the 80th Infantry Division (Third U.S. Army), helped capture Ernst Kaltenbrunner, and later worked in public affairs and diplomacy.
'''Robert E. Matteson''' (1914–1994) was a Camp Ritchie–associated Counter Intelligence Corps officer with Patton’s Third Army (80th Infantry Division) who helped capture Ernst Kaltenbrunner, entered Ebensee after the SS fled, and later handled personnel security at the Nuremberg trials.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Robert Eliot Matteson (1914–1994) trained at Camp Ritchie and served in Europe with a counter-intelligence unit attached to the 80th Infantry Division of the Third U.S. Army. Near the end of the war in Austria he came upon the Ebensee concentration camp, then took part in the search that led to the capture of SS Obergruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner in a remote mountain cabin. He later had security responsibilities connected with the Nuremberg trials.
Robert Eliot Matteson (1914–1994) attended Carleton College and served in Europe as head of a Counter Intelligence Corps unit operating under the 80th Infantry Division in General George S. Patton’s Third U.S. Army. The Classes 1–31 / demographics roster associates him with Camp Ritchie.


After the war Matteson worked in public affairs and diplomacy, including a 1947 trip to Moscow with Harold Stassen and later efforts related to U.S.–Cuba communications. In June 1982 he recorded an oral-history testimony at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls that is held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Near the end of the war his unit met Soviet forces at Steyr, Austria, then pulled back toward the Salzburg–Vienna Autobahn. At Gmunden he and interpreter Sidney Bruskin picked up the first solid lead that SS Obergruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner—head of the Reich Security Main Office—had been in the area days earlier. Pushing south toward the supposed Alpine “national redoubt,” Matteson and Bruskin were among the first Americans into the Ebensee concentration camp after the SS guards fled: they forced the lock, found piles of bodies at the crematorium and a chemical ditch used for executions, and radioed for medics and food for the survivors.
 
Following further leads through Bad Ischl and Altaussee, Matteson’s party tracked Kaltenbrunner to a remote mountain cabin, arrested him with associates (including adjutant Arthur Scheidler), recovered documents and a Gestapo badge, and delivered the prisoners for higher interrogation. Kaltenbrunner was later held at Britain’s Camp 020 before trial. In November 1945 Matteson was transferred to personnel security for the Palace of Justice at Nuremberg; he tested cell-block security himself and briefly confronted major defendants including Julius Streicher and Hermann Göring.
 
After the war Matteson directed research for Harold Stassen’s presidential bid and, on 9 April 1947, accompanied Stassen to Moscow for a meeting with Joseph Stalin. He later studied the Kaltenbrunner case at Oxford (1979) with Hugh Trevor-Roper, visited Albert Speer in Heidelberg in 1978, served on the CIA Board of Estimates (1959–1962, overt side, by his account), and in later years worked as a private citizen on U.S.–Cuba cultural contacts while accredited to the ''Ashland Daily Press'' in northern Wisconsin. In June 1982 he recorded a video oral history at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls that is held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
Line 34: Line 40:


== Timeline ==
== Timeline ==
* Born 1914
* 1914 — Born (Robert Eliot Matteson).
* Died 1994
* Attended Carleton College.
* June 1982 — Oral-history interview, University of Wisconsin–River Falls (USHMM RG-50.043.0005)
* WWII — Head of a CIC unit under the 80th Infantry Division, Third U.S. Army; Camp Ritchie association on roster.
* Spring 1945 — Met Soviet forces at Steyr, Austria; first lead on Kaltenbrunner at Gmunden (with Sidney Bruskin).
* Spring 1945 — Entered Ebensee concentration camp after SS withdrawal; radioed for relief.
* Spring 1945 — Tracked and arrested Ernst Kaltenbrunner near Altaussee; recovered documents and badge.
* November 1945 — Assigned to personnel security, Palace of Justice, Nuremberg trials.
* 9 April 1947 — In Moscow with Harold Stassen; meeting with Joseph Stalin.
* 1959–1962 — CIA Board of Estimates (overt estimates work, by his later account).
* 1978 — Visited Albert Speer in Heidelberg.
* 1979 — Research term at Oxford on the Kaltenbrunner story (Trevor-Roper / Michael Howard).
* June 1982 — Oral-history interview, University of Wisconsin–River Falls (USHMM RG-50.043.0005).
* 1994 — Died.


== Sources ==
== Sources ==

Revision as of 19:49, 20 September 2026

Robert E. Matteson
Personal details
Born1914
Died1994
NativityUnited States
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN37575990
Unit / division80th Infantry Division
Interview Watch Robert E. Matteson on USHMM oral history (video + transcript).
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.


Robert E. Matteson (1914–1994) was a Camp Ritchie–associated Counter Intelligence Corps officer with Patton’s Third Army (80th Infantry Division) who helped capture Ernst Kaltenbrunner, entered Ebensee after the SS fled, and later handled personnel security at the Nuremberg trials.

Biography

Robert Eliot Matteson (1914–1994) attended Carleton College and served in Europe as head of a Counter Intelligence Corps unit operating under the 80th Infantry Division in General George S. Patton’s Third U.S. Army. The Classes 1–31 / demographics roster associates him with Camp Ritchie.

Near the end of the war his unit met Soviet forces at Steyr, Austria, then pulled back toward the Salzburg–Vienna Autobahn. At Gmunden he and interpreter Sidney Bruskin picked up the first solid lead that SS Obergruppenführer Ernst Kaltenbrunner—head of the Reich Security Main Office—had been in the area days earlier. Pushing south toward the supposed Alpine “national redoubt,” Matteson and Bruskin were among the first Americans into the Ebensee concentration camp after the SS guards fled: they forced the lock, found piles of bodies at the crematorium and a chemical ditch used for executions, and radioed for medics and food for the survivors.

Following further leads through Bad Ischl and Altaussee, Matteson’s party tracked Kaltenbrunner to a remote mountain cabin, arrested him with associates (including adjutant Arthur Scheidler), recovered documents and a Gestapo badge, and delivered the prisoners for higher interrogation. Kaltenbrunner was later held at Britain’s Camp 020 before trial. In November 1945 Matteson was transferred to personnel security for the Palace of Justice at Nuremberg; he tested cell-block security himself and briefly confronted major defendants including Julius Streicher and Hermann Göring.

After the war Matteson directed research for Harold Stassen’s presidential bid and, on 9 April 1947, accompanied Stassen to Moscow for a meeting with Joseph Stalin. He later studied the Kaltenbrunner case at Oxford (1979) with Hugh Trevor-Roper, visited Albert Speer in Heidelberg in 1978, served on the CIA Board of Estimates (1959–1962, overt side, by his account), and in later years worked as a private citizen on U.S.–Cuba cultural contacts while accredited to the Ashland Daily Press in northern Wisconsin. In June 1982 he recorded a video oral history at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls that is held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Research notes

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Technical record

Field Imported value
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Timeline

  • 1914 — Born (Robert Eliot Matteson).
  • Attended Carleton College.
  • WWII — Head of a CIC unit under the 80th Infantry Division, Third U.S. Army; Camp Ritchie association on roster.
  • Spring 1945 — Met Soviet forces at Steyr, Austria; first lead on Kaltenbrunner at Gmunden (with Sidney Bruskin).
  • Spring 1945 — Entered Ebensee concentration camp after SS withdrawal; radioed for relief.
  • Spring 1945 — Tracked and arrested Ernst Kaltenbrunner near Altaussee; recovered documents and badge.
  • November 1945 — Assigned to personnel security, Palace of Justice, Nuremberg trials.
  • 9 April 1947 — In Moscow with Harold Stassen; meeting with Joseph Stalin.
  • 1959–1962 — CIA Board of Estimates (overt estimates work, by his later account).
  • 1978 — Visited Albert Speer in Heidelberg.
  • 1979 — Research term at Oxford on the Kaltenbrunner story (Trevor-Roper / Michael Howard).
  • June 1982 — Oral-history interview, University of Wisconsin–River Falls (USHMM RG-50.043.0005).
  • 1994 — Died.

Sources

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