The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith: Difference between revisions
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I felt strange; I wanted to get into the real war and not just sit it out in the Yukon directing traffic, patrolling highways and Streets, and guarding gasoline dumps, no matter how essential they were. One day, I saw on the company bulletin board that anyone having foreign language skills could apply directly without going through channels to the War Department in Washington, D.C. Needless to say, I saw a way to get out of there and wrote immediately. | I felt strange; I wanted to get into the real war and not just sit it out in the Yukon directing traffic, patrolling highways and Streets, and guarding gasoline dumps, no matter how essential they were. One day, I saw on the company bulletin board that anyone having foreign language skills could apply directly without going through channels to the War Department in Washington, D.C. Needless to say, I saw a way to get out of there and wrote immediately. | ||
Soon, I was sent to Military Government School at Fort Custer, Michigan. This was a great experience. Many of the nation’s finest historians and international law experts taught us what to expect in occupied territories. I was then told to report to Camp Ritchie, Maryland, to train as an interrogator of prisoners of war. At Camp Ritchie, the washout rate was very high, but I made it and with luck I met John Slade. He was born Hans Schlessinger in Frankfurt and was thirteen years my senior—highly intelligent, honest, and decent, and as good of a man as one could wish to be with. When he arrived in New York, he started out as a foot messenger for a very small investment banking firm called Bear Stearns, and he made such an impression on the head of the firm, Joseph Bear, that he kept getting promoted. | Soon, I was sent to Military Government School at Fort Custer, Michigan. This was a great experience. Many of the nation’s finest historians and international law experts taught us what to expect in occupied territories. I was then told to report to Camp Ritchie, Maryland, to train as an interrogator of prisoners of war. At Camp Ritchie, the washout rate was very high, but I made it and with luck I met [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]]. He was born Hans Schlessinger in Frankfurt and was thirteen years my senior—highly intelligent, honest, and decent, and as good of a man as one could wish to be with. When he arrived in New York, he started out as a foot messenger for a very small investment banking firm called Bear Stearns, and he made such an impression on the head of the firm, Joseph Bear, that he kept getting promoted. | ||
After he made enough money, John was able bring his entire family over to the States. When the war started, John, who was already thirty-four at the time, really wanted to serve in the army, but since he was the sole provider for his parents he wasn’t sure whether he should go. Joseph Bear, who absolutely loved John, told him, “You go into the army; I will take care of your parents, and when you come back your job will be waiting for you.” What employer would do that today? Anyway, John Slade was probably the finest interrogator in the European Theater of Operations. I held the rank of staff sergeant and John was a technician third grade, which was just half a grade below mine. We were a successful team. | After he made enough money, John was able bring his entire family over to the States. When the war started, John, who was already thirty-four at the time, really wanted to serve in the army, but since he was the sole provider for his parents he wasn’t sure whether he should go. Joseph Bear, who absolutely loved John, told him, “You go into the army; I will take care of your parents, and when you come back your job will be waiting for you.” What employer would do that today? Anyway, [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]] was probably the finest interrogator in the European Theater of Operations. I held the rank of staff sergeant and John was a technician third grade, which was just half a grade below mine. We were a successful team. | ||
We left Camp Ritchie and were in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, awaiting our ship. We soon boarded our transport in New York and started our convoy trip to Europe. The quarters were cramped, the food was so-so, but what the heck, we were in good spirits. By the third day out, I had lost all my money playing poker—I have stayed away from gambling ever since that sobering occasion. Basically, the trip went smoothly; there were some U-boat alerts but no attacks, and we landed in a “camp,” which was actually a group of row houses evacuated for our use, near Manchester. There I was exposed to true hunger. We Americans had plenty of food, which was dispensed to us in large containers directly in our mess kit. When we finished, we put the scraps in a refuse barrel. There were always children, English kids, with buckets asking for our scraps. No scraps ever went in the scrap barrel. This was a sad sight. John, nicknamed “Pop” because his being older than all of us, and I decided to go out on the town and eat in a good restaurant, What followed us was almost like a scene from the Marx Brothers. The waiters brought a beautiful silver-topped cart, ceremoniously lifted the cover, and, lo and behold, there appeared the tiniest morsel of meat, looking totally lost on this silver serving tray. It was comical. | We left Camp Ritchie and were in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, awaiting our ship. We soon boarded our transport in New York and started our convoy trip to Europe. The quarters were cramped, the food was so-so, but what the heck, we were in good spirits. By the third day out, I had lost all my money playing poker—I have stayed away from gambling ever since that sobering occasion. Basically, the trip went smoothly; there were some U-boat alerts but no attacks, and we landed in a “camp,” which was actually a group of row houses evacuated for our use, near Manchester. There I was exposed to true hunger. We Americans had plenty of food, which was dispensed to us in large containers directly in our mess kit. When we finished, we put the scraps in a refuse barrel. There were always children, English kids, with buckets asking for our scraps. No scraps ever went in the scrap barrel. This was a sad sight. John, nicknamed “Pop” because his being older than all of us, and I decided to go out on the town and eat in a good restaurant, What followed us was almost like a scene from the Marx Brothers. The waiters brought a beautiful silver-topped cart, ceremoniously lifted the cover, and, lo and behold, there appeared the tiniest morsel of meat, looking totally lost on this silver serving tray. It was comical. | ||
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Soon our orders came to go. I couldn’t begin to tell you how excited| I was. I was a very proud American by that time, and I was doing something that it was high time we were all doing it together. I was surrounded by people with whom I already had a lot of experiences, and this camaraderie that we had, I guess it’s what only happens in wartime. I felt that I was going to show those German sons of bitches what we could do—we, that motley crew from America, that nobody believed could do a damn thing except build automobiles. I wanted to stand on top of my jeep and shout, “Hooray!” | Soon our orders came to go. I couldn’t begin to tell you how excited| I was. I was a very proud American by that time, and I was doing something that it was high time we were all doing it together. I was surrounded by people with whom I already had a lot of experiences, and this camaraderie that we had, I guess it’s what only happens in wartime. I felt that I was going to show those German sons of bitches what we could do—we, that motley crew from America, that nobody believed could do a damn thing except build automobiles. I wanted to stand on top of my jeep and shout, “Hooray!” | ||
Somehow I was the driver of our jeep. Our team consisted of two complete units made up of six people: Ist Lt. Rudy Freier, 2nd Lt. Michaels, Sgt. Karl Smith (AKA Karl Goldschmidt), Tech. Sgt. John Slade, Sgt. Wilder, and Cpl. Jancowitz. Freier, Slade, and I were always teamed together. The jeep had a trailer that held all our work material including desk, typewriter, etc. Our weapons consisted of one Thompson submachine gun for each jeep, and each of us carried a Smith and Wesson .45-caliber automatic pistol. With these, we drove onto an LST to go to France. | Somehow I was the driver of our jeep. Our team consisted of two complete units made up of six people: Ist Lt. Rudy Freier, 2nd Lt. Michaels, Sgt. Karl Smith (AKA Karl Goldschmidt), Tech. Sgt. [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]], Sgt. Wilder, and Cpl. Jancowitz. Freier, Slade, and I were always teamed together. The jeep had a trailer that held all our work material including desk, typewriter, etc. Our weapons consisted of one Thompson submachine gun for each jeep, and each of us carried a Smith and Wesson .45-caliber automatic pistol. With these, we drove onto an LST to go to France. | ||
On the first day out in the channel, it was Rosh Hashanah and I made up my mind that we were going to have Jewish services, We had our army- issued prayer books and the word spread. t was unbelievable. It seemed as if the whole LST became Jewish. I suppose when in danger, when we all pray to the same God, but I am sure half or three-quarters of my “congregation” were Christians. | On the first day out in the channel, it was Rosh Hashanah and I made up my mind that we were going to have Jewish services, We had our army- issued prayer books and the word spread. t was unbelievable. It seemed as if the whole LST became Jewish. I suppose when in danger, when we all pray to the same God, but I am sure half or three-quarters of my “congregation” were Christians. | ||
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Karl Goldsmith (top row, middle) with an interrogator prisoner of war (IPW) team; John Slade (Hans Schlessinger) first row far left. Karl Goldsmith | Karl Goldsmith (top row, middle) with an interrogator prisoner of war (IPW) team; [[Slade, John H. (32885570)|John Slade]] (Hans Schlessinger) first row far left. Karl Goldsmith | ||
'''The above content is from ''The Enemy I Knew: German Jews in the Allied Military in World War II'' by Steven Karras. Steven has given us permission to reproduce the chapters in their entirety. All content is copyright Steven Karras and Zenith Press. No reproduction without permission.''' | '''The above content is from ''The Enemy I Knew: German Jews in the Allied Military in World War II'' by Steven Karras. Steven has given us permission to reproduce the chapters in their entirety. All content is copyright Steven Karras and Zenith Press. No reproduction without permission.''' | ||