|
|
| Line 25: |
Line 25: |
| |division=69th IPW; XX Corps, Third Army | | |division=69th IPW; XX Corps, Third Army |
| |photo=Enemy I Knew Fred Fields 1.png | | |photo=Enemy I Knew Fred Fields 1.png |
| | |class=10 |
| | |ipw=69 |
| }} | | }} |
|
| |
|
| <div class="soldier-lead"> | | <div class="soldier-lead"> |
| '''Fred D. Fields''', born Siegfried Dingfelder around 1924, was a German-born Jewish refugee and Camp Ritchie interrogator. Serving with the 69th IPW Team under XX Corps, he followed the campaign from Metz through Remagen and into Germany. | | '''Fred D. Fields''' (born 1924) was a Ritchie Boy (born Siegfried Dingfelder; from Germany; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 10 and served with IPW Team 69 and IPW (interrogation of prisoners of war). Fred Fields was a member of IPW 69. |
| </div> | | </div> |
|
| |
|
| == Biography == | | == Biography == |
| Fred D. Fields was born Siegfried Dingfelder around 1924 in Uehlfeld, Germany. He grew up in a Jewish family as Nazi persecution transformed daily life in the small Franconian community. During Kristallnacht his father was arrested and imprisoned at Dachau, making the danger to the family unmistakable. | | Wiki profile records list Fred D. Fields (ASN 32878282). He was also known as Siegfried Dingfelder, born 1924, nativity Germany, Jewish. Service fields include Camp Ritchie class 10; class rank Pvt; IPW Team 69; IPW (interrogation of prisoners of war); 69th IPW; XX Corps, Third Army; overseas service. Roster notes also show enlisted at New York City New York; education listed as 4 years of high school; civilian occupation listed as Butcher (retired); marital status Single without dependents. |
|
| |
|
| Dingfelder escaped first to England and then reached the United States with his family in May 1940. They settled in Brooklyn, where the family operated a bakery and rebuilt a livelihood. He worked there before being drafted at about nineteen, only a few years after fleeing the country against which he would now serve.
| | Fred Fields was a member of IPW 69. |
|
| |
|
| The Army recognized his fluent German and direct knowledge of German life and sent him to Camp Ritchie for prisoner-interrogation training. Before shipping overseas he became an American citizen and changed his name to Fred Fields. The change protected a German-born soldier headed into combat while also marking his new national identity.
| | Fred Fields recorded an interview with American Veterans Center shortly before his passing in March 2023. |
| | |
| Fields joined the 69th Interrogation of Prisoners of War Team near Metz. Serving under XX Corps, he worked with fellow interrogators including Liethen, Wallach, and Bornstein. Their questioning of prisoners supplied information on enemy units, weapons, morale, and movements as American forces pushed through Luxembourg and Belgium and crossed the Rhine after the breakthrough at Remagen.
| |
| | |
| After Buchenwald had been liberated, Fields entered the concentration camp and confronted the consequences of the regime his family had escaped. He also returned to Uehlfeld with his cousin Henry Schwab of the 57th IPW Team, bringing two former refugees back in American uniform. By V-E Day, Fields was at Tutzing in Bavaria.
| |
| | |
| Fields returned to New York after the war. Although he had worked in the family bakery before military service, his later trade was butchering. He eventually retired as a butcher and lived in Riverdale, New York.
| |
| | |
| See the [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Fred Fields|full story]].
| |
|
| |
|
| == Research notes == | | == Research notes == |
| Line 118: |
Line 112: |
| * 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present) | | * 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present) |
| * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Fred Fields|The Stories essay]] | | * [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Fred Fields|The Stories essay]] |
| | * Facebook group posts archived under <code>import/facebook_posts/</code> (Ritchie Boys of WWII) |