Kaufman, Theodore N. (18120159)

Theodore N. Kaufman
Personal details
Birth name	Theodore Newman Kaufman
Born	22 February 1910 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	1 April 1986 East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Nativity	United States
Religion	Jewish
Known for	Germany Must Perish!
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	18120159
Rank	Master Sergeant
Camp Ritchie	Class 5 (8 February – 9 April 1943)
Section	5
Enlisted	Santa Fe, New Mexico

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Theodore Newman Kaufman (February 22, 1910 – April 1, 1986), sometimes given incorrectly as Theodore Nathan Kaufmann, was an American Jewish businessman and writer.

Biography

Theodore Newman Kaufman (February 22, 1910 – April 1, 1986), sometimes given incorrectly as Theodore Nathan Kaufmann, was an American Jewish businessman and writer.

In 1939, he published pamphlets as "chairman of the American Federation of Peace" that argued that Americans should be sterilized so that their children will no longer have to fight in foreign wars. The text was criticised for its extremism and generated limited attention in the United States. It was mostly used in Nazi propaganda, using it as proof that Jews were plotting for the genocide of the German people.

He was born in Manhattan, on February 22, 1910, to Anton Kaufman and Fannie Newman. He was born to a Jewish family. His parents had married on March 14, 1909. His father had been a reporter for the Berliner Morgen-Zeitung in Berlin before emigrating to the United States in 1905. Theodore's three brothers were Herbert, Julian, and Leonard.

He attended South Side High School in Newark, New Jersey, and graduated around 1928.

In 1934, he was arrested along with his blind father, Anton Kaufman, for the robbery of Sandor Alexander Balint of Budapest. Balint had developed a process to increase the aging of wine. The Kaufmans had purchased this formula from Balint, but later came to believe that the formula was "worthless". Theodore Kaufman's mother died in 1939.

Kaufman became the owner of a small advertising agency and ticket agency in South Orange, New Jersey. He published the New Jersey Legal Record. Kaufman founded the Argyle Press of Newark, New Jersey to publish his political pamphlets.

Kaufman was a radical intent on preventing American involvement in future wars in Europe. In 1939, under the auspices of the "American Federation of Peace", an unknown entity of which he was the president and probably only member, Kaufman produced several publications. One pamphlet, titled "Passive Purchase" advocated the establishment of a two-week period during which Americans would curtail their spending in order to demonstrate public opposition to American intervention in European conflicts. In a section of the pamphlet on the American Federation of Peace's beliefs, Kaufman advocated for "the strongest possible military defense of the United States" and stated that "by keeping absolutely aloof from foreign wars and entanglements the American People face a truly great future."

A possible plea to Congress. ... Have Us All Sterilized! ... If You Plan On Sending Us To A Foreign War ... Spare Us Any Possibility Of Ever Bringing Children Into This World — Into This Country Of Ours!

250px|left|thumb|Map showing Kaufman's proposed dismemberment of Germany (and Austria).

Two years later he shifted his focus to the forced mass-sterilization of all German men under 65 and the sterilization of most German women under 45. This would eliminate "inbred Germanism," he proposed, thus solving a great deal of humanity's problems. He also promoted the distribution of Germany's lands among the neighboring countries. His effort was spearheaded by the self-publication of the book Germany Must Perish!

Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels read the book in early August and immediately grasped its value, writing in his diary: "This Jew did a real service for the enemy [German] side. Had he written this book for us, he could not have made it any better."

This is just a flimsy pretext for another of the innate cruelties of the German people ... I don't think it was my book that prompted this barbarity. They employed every possible German cruelty against the Jews long before my book was published.

The Nazi propaganda ministry continued to publish pamphlets, posters and flyers on Kaufman's ideas through the end of the war, and also urged newspapers and public speakers to remind Germans of Kaufman's book. Kaufman's last major appearance in Nazi propaganda occurred in late 1944, when a five-page section on him was included in the widely published booklet Never!, which described a number of alleged plots to destroy Germany. During this time he was also placed at Camp Ritchie because of his linguistic abilities, thus making him one of many Ritchie Boys. His three brothers also served.

Kaufman married the former Jean Siris in a civil ceremony on November 23, 1942, in Harris County, Texas.

After World War II, Kaufman disappeared entirely from public life. Berel Lang, a visiting professor of philosophy and letters at Wesleyan University, failed to locate Kaufman in the records of the city of Newark and in other sources.

Kaufman and his wife appear in the Montclair, New Jersey Directory in 1947. He is listed as being in the painted textile business at 50 Church Street, Montclair. From 1949 through 1981, the Kaufmans sold "Charcrust Broil-It" barbecue seasoning powder from their home in East Orange, NJ.

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	76
Nara ASN	18120159
Nara Name	KAUFMAN THEODORE N
Nara State	22
Nara County	13
Nara POE	8365
Nara DOE	240442
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	BI
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
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	23
Nativity.1	NEW YORK
Nara Year of Birth	10
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
Nara Education	5
Nara Civilian Occupation	6
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	67
Nara Weight (lbs)	174
Class_ASN	18120159
Class_Name	KAUFMAN, Theodore N.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both
Census_HISTID	7685F9AD-47F4-41D6-90FC-F4F89BF516BF
Census_State	NEW JERSEY
Census_Relate	Child
Census_Sex	Male
Census_Age	30
Census_BirthYear	1910
Census_Marital	Never married/single
Census_Race	White
Census_BPL	NEW YORK
Census_MBPL	0
Census_FBPL	0
Census_Educ	1 year of college
Census_OCC	156

Sources

• Wikipedia: Theodore N. Kaufman
• 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)