Gruenbaum, Otto Karl (32527211): Difference between revisions

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|awards_ribbon_rows=Ribbon_Purple_Heart_ribbon.png

|birth_date=18 August 1918

|death_date=18 November 1945

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== Biography ==

Otto ~~graduated from New York College of Music~~ (~~Piano~~). He studied at Vienna Conservatory of Music ~~(two years)~~. ~~Worked~~ as ~~pianist in solo~~ recitals and with ~~orchestras~~ at ~~Carnegie~~. ~~Interrogated~~ German ~~POWs~~ and civilians~~, served~~ as interpreter.

Otto K. Gruenbaum (also spelled Greenbaum) was born on 18 August 1918 in Vienna, Austria, the second of two children. His father, a Jewish furrier and former Austrian Army non-commissioned officer, and his Catholic mother raised him in a musical household. Gruenbaum studied piano at the Vienna Conservatory of Music from age ten and later continued in Paris and in New York under Arthur Schnabel. After the Anschluss in March 1938 he left Austria under the pretext of a Brussels piano contest, reached Paris as a refugee, and sailed from Le Havre on 11 August 1939. In New York he gave Carnegie Hall and Town Hall recitals, toured as an accompanist, and married Susanne Hohenberg in February 1942.

Drafted in October 1942, Gruenbaum served with a medical detachment at Goldsboro, North Carolina, and at England General Hospital in Atlantic City before Military Intelligence Training Center selection at Camp Ritchie (Class 20). Overseas he interrogated German prisoners and civilians and worked as an interpreter with IPW Team 120. He received the Purple Heart and died on 18 November 1945.

== Research notes ==

* 3rd Army; died 11/18/1945

* Folder spelling is Greenbaum; roster and wartime press use Gruenbaum. Alias/Greenbaum retained in the opening sentence. Live rank_final Captain is not reasserted; class rank and 1943 press place him as a corporal/T/5-era enlisted soldier. Purple Heart retained from the live awards block and research notes.

== Gallery ==

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* ~~Born~~ 18 August 1918 in Vienna, Austria.

* 18 August 1918 — Born in Vienna, Austria.

* ~~July 1943~~ — ~~Promoted to T/5~~.

* March 1938 — Fled Vienna after the Anschluss; reached Paris via Brussels.

* ~~4 September 1944~~ — ~~Promoted to T/3~~.

* 11 August 1939 — Sailed from Le Havre for the United States.

* ~~Assigned to IPW Team 120 attached to 7th Army (3rd Army?), then~~.

* February 1942 — Married Susanne Hohenberg in New York.

* ~~Basic training with Medical Detachment,~~ Goldsboro, NC.

* October 1942 — Drafted into the U.S. Army; medical-detachment duty at Goldsboro, North Carolina.

* ~~Division…~~.

* January 1943 — Transferred to England General Hospital, Atlantic City, New Jersey.

* ~~Purple Heart~~.

* 1943–1944 — Trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 20); later served with IPW Team 120 in Europe.

* ~~___ Promoted to M/Sgt.~~

* 18 November 1945 — Died.

* with CCA with the 14th Armored Division, XX Corps, 9th Infantry.

</div>

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

== Sources ==

* [https://www.amazon.com/Almost-Home-Gruenbaum-Pianist-Ritchie/dp/B0BF2ZR52Q Irene Wittig, ''Almost Home'' — Otto Gruenbaum biography (RB Archive notes)]

* RB Archive clipping, ''The Beam'' (England General Hospital, Atlantic City), 9 October 1943 — “Soldier Pianist Fled from Nazis’ Terror in Vienna”

* 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 28: / Line 28: @@
 |awards_ribbons=Ribbon_Purple_Heart_ribbon.png
 |awards_ribbon_rows=Ribbon_Purple_Heart_ribbon.png
+|birth_date=18 August 1918
+|death_date=18 November 1945
 }}
@@ Line 35: / Line 37: @@
 == Biography ==
-Otto graduated from New York College of Music (Piano). He studied at Vienna Conservatory of Music (two years). Worked as pianist in solo recitals and with orchestras at Carnegie. Interrogated German POWs and civilians, served as interpreter.
+Otto K. Gruenbaum (also spelled Greenbaum) was born on 18 August 1918 in Vienna, Austria, the second of two children. His father, a Jewish furrier and former Austrian Army non-commissioned officer, and his Catholic mother raised him in a musical household. Gruenbaum studied piano at the Vienna Conservatory of Music from age ten and later continued in Paris and in New York under Arthur Schnabel. After the Anschluss in March 1938 he left Austria under the pretext of a Brussels piano contest, reached Paris as a refugee, and sailed from Le Havre on 11 August 1939. In New York he gave Carnegie Hall and Town Hall recitals, toured as an accompanist, and married Susanne Hohenberg in February 1942.
+Drafted in October 1942, Gruenbaum served with a medical detachment at Goldsboro, North Carolina, and at England General Hospital in Atlantic City before Military Intelligence Training Center selection at Camp Ritchie (Class 20). Overseas he interrogated German prisoners and civilians and worked as an interpreter with IPW Team 120. He received the Purple Heart and died on 18 November 1945.
 == Research notes ==
 * 3rd Army; died 11/18/1945
+* Folder spelling is Greenbaum; roster and wartime press use Gruenbaum. Alias/Greenbaum retained in the opening sentence. Live rank_final Captain is not reasserted; class rank and 1943 press place him as a corporal/T/5-era enlisted soldier. Purple Heart retained from the live awards block and research notes.
 == Gallery ==
@@ Line 110: / Line 115: @@
 <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
 <div class="soldier-timeline-body">
-* Born 18 August 1918 in Vienna, Austria.
+* 18 August 1918 — Born in Vienna, Austria.
-* July 1943 — Promoted to T/5.
+* March 1938 — Fled Vienna after the Anschluss; reached Paris via Brussels.
-* 4 September 1944 — Promoted to T/3.
+* 11 August 1939 — Sailed from Le Havre for the United States.
-* Assigned to IPW Team 120 attached to 7th Army (3rd Army?), then.
+* February 1942 — Married Susanne Hohenberg in New York.
-* Basic training with Medical Detachment, Goldsboro, NC.
+* October 1942 — Drafted into the U.S. Army; medical-detachment duty at Goldsboro, North Carolina.
-* Division….
+* January 1943 — Transferred to England General Hospital, Atlantic City, New Jersey.
-* Purple Heart.
+* 1943–1944 — Trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 20); later served with IPW Team 120 in Europe.
-* ___ Promoted to M/Sgt.
+* 18 November 1945 — Died.
-* with CCA with the 14th Armored Division, XX Corps, 9th Infantry.
 </div>
 </div><div style="clear: both;"></div>
 == Sources ==
+* [https://www.amazon.com/Almost-Home-Gruenbaum-Pianist-Ritchie/dp/B0BF2ZR52Q Irene Wittig, ''Almost Home'' — Otto Gruenbaum biography (RB Archive notes)]
+* RB Archive clipping, ''The Beam'' (England General Hospital, Atlantic City), 9 October 1943 — “Soldier Pianist Fled from Nazis’ Terror in Vienna”
 * 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