Lerner, Maximilian (32908439)

Maximilian Lerner
Personal details
Born	1924 Vienna, Austria
Died	Manhattan, New York City, United States
Nativity	Austria
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	32908439
Rank	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 11 (25 August – 23 October 1943)
Section	5C
Enlisted	New York City, New York

Interviews Watch Maximilian Lerner in 4 recordings on Ritchie Boy Interviews: Veterans Breakfast Club (with Paul Fairbrook) · American Veterans Center · Interview with David S. Frey · Museum of Jewish Heritage.

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.

Maximilian Lerner (September 4, 1924 – September 10, 2022) was an Austrian-born American known for his work in the Military Intelligence Service during World War II. His training at Camp Ritchie during the war classifies him as one of the Ritchie Boys.

Biography

Maximilian Lerner (September 4, 1924 – September 10, 2022) was an Austrian-born American known for his work in the Military Intelligence Service during World War II. Born in Vienna, Austria, Max, his parents Isak and Bertha, and sister Susi, fled the Nazis in May 1938, arriving in the United States in 1941. RB LERNER, who was born in Austria and served in the Counter Intelligence Corps of the OSS, is 96.

Max Lerner followed the same footsteps as Glenn's Father's family - being born in Vienna, Austria, fleeing to United States after the Anschluss, joining the US Army, training together at Camp Ritchie, and serving heroically in the European Theater of Operations in WWII. Army on his 18th birthday and became an American citizen soon after.

Maximilian Lerner immigrated from Vienna to New York in 1941, then enlisted in the US Army and went back to Europe as an American soldier in 1944.

Ritchie Boy Maximilian Lerner arrived at Camp Ritchie the same month as Glenn Godart's father in 1943. Ritchie Boy Maximilian Lerner, who passed away September 10, 2022, has been honored on the grounds of Camp Ritchie. His training at Camp Ritchie during the war classifies him as one of the Ritchie Boys.

There are many good non-fiction books and short stories that describe the experiences of Ritchie Boys during their training at Camp Ritchie and their service in WWII. Back on February 9, I wrote the following: "There are many good non-fiction books and short stories that describe the experiences of Ritchie Boys during their training at Camp Ritchie and their service in WWII. He was assigned to Camp Ritchie (part of the Ritchie Boys) for training as a counterintelligence officer.

Crittenberg in May 1945 in Milan. His book, The Improbable Spy, was published in 2012, and I finished reading it today. The cover of the June 2020 issue of the National Geographic magazine has a feature story entitled "The Last Voices of World War II/Seventy Five years after the end of history's deadliest war, survivors share their stories." Below are two photos.

The Veterans Breakfast Club has posted this event coming up on Monday, Oct 4, 2021 on their website - Join us for a discussion with two World War II “Ritchie Boys,” German-Austrian Jewish immigrants recruited by US Military Intelligence for counter-intelligence operations in Europe. More on Ritchie Boy Maximilian Lerner's October 19, 2021 YouTube Interview. Ritchie Boy Maximilian Lerner turned 99 on September 4, 2022.

He was one of the Ritchie Boys interviewed on the 60 Minutes program on January 2, 2022. Books by such authors as Nina Wolff Feld, Bruce Henderson, Beverley Eddy, and K. Lang Slattery are just a few that come to mind.

I especially enjoy the first-hand stories written by Ritchie Boys, only a few of which I have read. Recently I read and wrote about The Visitable Past written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Leon Edel. Today, I finished a book by Max Lerner, Flight and Return, A Memoir of World War II.

Also an excellent book and easy read. Also an excellent book and easy read." Today, I finished a novel by Ritchie Boy Maximilian, The Expendable Spy. Here is an excerpt from the review on Amazon: From the deserts of Libya and Egypt to the icy lakes of Scotland, from London under the Blitz to German occupied France, from Alpine glaciers to the stately homes of Britain, the book ranges over the landscapes of World War II.

Ritchie Boy Max Lerner authored a novel about a little known part of World War II, Germany's effort to build a large submarine that would be capable of launching rockets on to U.S. Ritchie Boy Lerner also published another World War II novel, The Expendable Spy, and a non-fiction book, Flight and Return: A Memoir of World War II. The one on the left is from the cover of the magazine and is of Lawrence Brooks, 110, America's oldest known WWII veteran.

To the right is a collage of photos of WWII survivors, including that of RITCHIE BOY MAXIMILIAN LERNER. This photo montage can be found on page 43 of the June issue., and RB Lerner is on the bottom row in the white turtleneck. He was recruited into the Office of Strategic Services as a special agent for secret missions in Germany.

He also served in Europe overseeing interrogations and review of captured German documents. Beverley Eddy is a historian and author of Ritchie Boy Secrets: How a Force of Immigrants and Refugees Helped Win World War II. She will guide the conversation with our veterans about this fascinating story.

Below is a photo of Glenn Godart's Father receiving his Bronze Star from Gen. Our condolences to his family. From his obituary - "His was truly an American story.

As part of his service he gathered intelligence and arrested war criminals during the first stages of deNazification."

Ritchie Boy Maximilian Lerner passed away just two weeks after turning 98.

Research notes

• Camp Sharpe (2 mos)
• OSS; CIC
• 9/4/1924-A

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Nara ASN	32908439
Nara Name	LERNER MAXIMILIAN
Nara State	23
Nara County	61
Nara POE	2364
Nara DOE	170543
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	NO
Nara Branch Code	2
Branch	No branch assignment
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	N2
Nara Year of Birth	24
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	4
Nara Civilian Occupation	134
Nara Marital Status	1
Nara Height (inches)	48
Nara Weight (lbs)	148
Class_ASN	32908439
Class_Name	LERNER, Maximilian
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Sources

• Wikipedia: Maximilian Lerner
• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-02-09 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-03-23 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-04-01 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-05-29 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2021-09-24 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2021-12-22 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-09-13 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-09-18 (1 post)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-09-19 (1 post)
• Facebook-linked source: bit.ly
• Facebook-linked source: Veterans interview / article
• Facebook-linked source: legcy.co