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Kaufmann, Ellen J. (A206769): Difference between revisions
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Import/enrich WAC profile from Gross–Eddy Camp Ritchie WAC spreadsheet |
RB Archive batch-3 enrichment: Full WAC bio; Mainz; Ritchie instructor; Boucher; interview cites |
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|death_year=2014 | |death_year=2014 | ||
|known_for=Pacific Military Intelligence Research Section (PACMIRS) | |known_for=Pacific Military Intelligence Research Section (PACMIRS) | ||
|alias=Ellen Kaufmann Boucher | |||
|birth_place=Mainz, Germany | |||
}} | }} | ||
<div class="soldier-lead"> | <div class="soldier-lead"> | ||
'''Ellen J. Kaufmann''' ( | '''[[Kaufmann, Ellen J. (A206769)|Ellen J. Kaufmann]]''' (1920–2014), later Ellen Kaufmann Boucher, was a Mainz-born Women's Army Corps Technician Fourth Grade who instructed German interrogation at Camp Ritchie. | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
Ellen J. Kaufmann was born in 1920 ( | Ellen J. Kaufmann was born in 1920 in Mainz, Germany, to Hermann Kaufmann and Ella (née Barth) Kaufmann; her mother died in childbirth, and her father later married Else Wallach. In the 1930s the family faced Nazi anti-Jewish restrictions, including the loss of Hermann's dry-goods store. Ellen emigrated to the United States in 1937 with her maternal grandmother Amalie Barth. She later learned that her parents and sister Marianne had been deported in 1942. | ||
Kaufmann joined the Women's Army Corps in 1943 (service date recorded 5 November 1943). By 6 January 1944 she was at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie as a German instructor in the unit training interrogators of German prisoners (personnel notes also associate her with PACMIRS Section V, Enemy Armies). She held the rank of Technician Fourth Grade (ASN A-206769) and was released on 23 October 1945. | |||
At Camp Ritchie she met Melville Boucher; they married there in 1946. In later life she wrote a memoir and gave a 1995 cable-television interview in Canandaigua, New York, about her childhood, immigration, and family losses. She died in 2014. Her papers are held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Accession 2018.38.2). | |||
== Research notes == | == Research notes == | ||
| Line 28: | Line 34: | ||
* Release date (spreadsheet): 23 October 1945 | * Release date (spreadsheet): 23 October 1945 | ||
* Also known as / alternate name: Boucher | * Also known as / alternate name: Boucher | ||
* Also listed on thin page [[Boucher, Ellen K. (WAC)]]; prefer this ASN page as canonical. | |||
* USHMM collection includes extensive family correspondence and photographs; only military/bio-relevant items are attached to the profile. | |||
== Gallery == | == Gallery == | ||
| Line 41: | Line 49: | ||
| spreadsheet_row || 94 | | spreadsheet_row || 94 | ||
|} | |} | ||
== Timeline == | |||
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline"> | |||
<div class="soldier-timeline-body"> | |||
* 1920 — Born in Mainz, Germany. | |||
* 1937 — Emigrated to the United States with grandmother Amalie Barth. | |||
* 1942 — Learned of deportation of parents and sister Marianne. | |||
* 5 November 1943 — Entered Women's Army Corps (spreadsheet service date). | |||
* 6 January 1944 — At Camp Ritchie MITC as German interrogation instructor (T/4). | |||
* 23 October 1945 — Released from service. | |||
* 1946 — Married Melville Boucher at Camp Ritchie. | |||
* 1995 — Canandaigua, N.Y., cable interview (Holocaust testimony). | |||
* 2014 — Died. | |||
</div> | |||
</div><div style="clear: both;"></div> | |||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
* [https://medium.com/memory-action/from-nazi-germany-to-the-us-military-one-womans-story-219a9d4ecd07 Medium / Memory Action — Ellen Kaufmann Boucher profile] | |||
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoZxi5JlUdw YouTube — Ellen Kaufmann Boucher interview / related testimony] | |||
* USHMM collection description / RB Archive Ellen.txt summary of Accession 2018.38.2 (memoir, correspondence, 1995 interview transcript) | |||
* [https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn595072 USHMM — Ellen Kaufmann Boucher papers (Accession 2018.38.2)] (if catalog URL differs, see finding aid title Ellen Kaufmann Boucher papers) | |||
* Dan Gross and Beverley Driver Eddy, ''WACs at Camp Ritchie'' roster research spreadsheet (Gross base list; Eddy additions, 2021) | * Dan Gross and Beverley Driver Eddy, ''WACs at Camp Ritchie'' roster research spreadsheet (Gross base list; Eddy additions, 2021) | ||
Revision as of 16:50, 16 September 2026
| Ellen J. Kaufmann | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Ellen Kaufmann Boucher |
| Born | 1920 Mainz, Germany |
| Died | 2014 |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Known for | Pacific Military Intelligence Research Section (PACMIRS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  Women's Army Corps |
| ASN | A-206769 |
| Rank | Technician Fourth Grade |
Interview Watch Ellen J. Kaufmann on Canandaigua cable interview (1995).
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.Ellen J. Kaufmann (1920–2014), later Ellen Kaufmann Boucher, was a Mainz-born Women's Army Corps Technician Fourth Grade who instructed German interrogation at Camp Ritchie.
Biography
Ellen J. Kaufmann was born in 1920 in Mainz, Germany, to Hermann Kaufmann and Ella (née Barth) Kaufmann; her mother died in childbirth, and her father later married Else Wallach. In the 1930s the family faced Nazi anti-Jewish restrictions, including the loss of Hermann's dry-goods store. Ellen emigrated to the United States in 1937 with her maternal grandmother Amalie Barth. She later learned that her parents and sister Marianne had been deported in 1942.
Kaufmann joined the Women's Army Corps in 1943 (service date recorded 5 November 1943). By 6 January 1944 she was at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie as a German instructor in the unit training interrogators of German prisoners (personnel notes also associate her with PACMIRS Section V, Enemy Armies). She held the rank of Technician Fourth Grade (ASN A-206769) and was released on 23 October 1945.
At Camp Ritchie she met Melville Boucher; they married there in 1946. In later life she wrote a memoir and gave a 1995 cable-television interview in Canandaigua, New York, about her childhood, immigration, and family losses. She died in 2014. Her papers are held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Accession 2018.38.2).
Research notes
- Personnel card: 3-by-5 personnel card (A)
- Pacific Military Intelligence Research Section (PACMIRS)
- Section V (Enemy Armies); German Instructor;
- Service date (spreadsheet): 5 November 1943
- Military Intelligence Training Center date (spreadsheet): 6 January 1944
- Release date (spreadsheet): 23 October 1945
- Also known as / alternate name: Boucher
- Also listed on thin page Boucher, Ellen K. (WAC); prefer this ASN page as canonical.
- USHMM collection includes extensive family correspondence and photographs; only military/bio-relevant items are attached to the profile.
Gallery
Use the Upload for this soldier box below (log in required), or Special:Upload. Profile photos: check Use as profile photo.
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| row_source | wac_eddy_gross_2021 |
| spreadsheet_row | 94 |
Timeline
- 1920 — Born in Mainz, Germany.
- 1937 — Emigrated to the United States with grandmother Amalie Barth.
- 1942 — Learned of deportation of parents and sister Marianne.
- 5 November 1943 — Entered Women's Army Corps (spreadsheet service date).
- 6 January 1944 — At Camp Ritchie MITC as German interrogation instructor (T/4).
- 23 October 1945 — Released from service.
- 1946 — Married Melville Boucher at Camp Ritchie.
- 1995 — Canandaigua, N.Y., cable interview (Holocaust testimony).
- 2014 — Died.
Sources
- Medium / Memory Action — Ellen Kaufmann Boucher profile
- YouTube — Ellen Kaufmann Boucher interview / related testimony
- USHMM collection description / RB Archive Ellen.txt summary of Accession 2018.38.2 (memoir, correspondence, 1995 interview transcript)
- USHMM — Ellen Kaufmann Boucher papers (Accession 2018.38.2) (if catalog URL differs, see finding aid title Ellen Kaufmann Boucher papers)
- Dan Gross and Beverley Driver Eddy, WACs at Camp Ritchie roster research spreadsheet (Gross base list; Eddy additions, 2021)