| Joachim Manfred Haarburger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Freddie Haarburger |
| Born | 9 October 1921 Zittau, Germany |
| Died | 1977 |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 31356458 |
| Rank | Technician Third Grade |
| Rank at Ritchie | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 11 (25 August – 23 October 1943) |
| Section | 5E |
| Enlisted | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Teams | IPW 2, IPW 179 |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Joachim Manfred “Freddie” Haarburger (9 October 1921–1977) was a German-Jewish Ritchie Boy from Zittau. He trained with Class 11 at Camp Ritchie and served as a technician third grade with IPW Team 179 (also associated with IPW Team 2) attached to the 36th Infantry Division.
Biography
Joachim Manfred Haarburger — known as Freddie — was born on 9 October 1921 in Zittau, Germany. A May 1938 German passport issued in Frankfurt am Main lists him as an apprentice living in Frankfurt. At seventeen he and his parents fled Nazism, sailing from Le Havre on the SS America in 1938 and settling in New York. Evening-school certificates from George Washington Evening High School in Manhattan (January and June 1940) record coursework under the name Freddie Haarburger. He later worked in leather manufacture, studied textile chemistry at the Lowell Institute, and completed American Red Cross first-aid courses in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1942.
Haarburger volunteered for the U.S. Army (ASN 31356458, Boston). He trained at Camp Ritchie with Class 11 and went overseas beginning in Algiers in 1943. As a technician third grade he served with IPW Team 179 attached to the 36th Infantry Division, Seventh Army; roster research also associates him with IPW Team 2. Research notes place his IPW cluster with Herbert W. Allen, Gerhard Bromberg, Herbert Kraus, Martin Frank, and Rolf Fein.
Haarburger died in 1977.
Research notes
- Family packet includes many civilian/family photographs and a family register not uploaded (privacy / low relevance); curated military and identity documents only.
- 5th Army
Gallery
-
Wartime studio portrait in U.S. Army service uniform (RB Archive). -
Verso of army portrait (publication crop marks; name Harburger) (RB Archive). -
German passport ID pages, Frankfurt am Main, 3 May 1938 — birth 9 October 1921, Zittau; signature Joachim Manfred Haarburger (RB Archive). -
German passport cover/spread (RB Archive). -
Enlisted man’s pass, June 1945 (RB Archive). -
American Red Cross first-aid certificates for Freddie Haarburger, Salem, Massachusetts, 1942 (RB Archive). -
George Washington Evening High School certificate, January 1940 (as Freddie) (RB Archive). -
Wartime photograph from family packet (RB Archive). -
Wartime photograph from family packet (RB Archive). -
Wartime photograph from family packet (RB Archive).
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 56 |
| Nara ASN | 31356458 |
| Nara Name | HAARBURGER JOACHIM M |
| Nara State | 13 |
| Nara County | 9 |
| Nara POE | 1306 |
| Nara DOE | 130543 |
| 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 | N1 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 21 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 5 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 459 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 70 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 99 |
| Class_ASN | 31356458 |
| Class_Name | HAARBURGER, Joachim M. |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline
- 9 October 1921 — Born in Zittau, Germany.
- 1938 — Emigrated via SS America from Le Havre; settled in New York.
- 3 May 1938 — German passport issued, Frankfurt am Main (apprentice; residence Frankfurt).
- 31 January 1940 / 27 June 1940 — George Washington Evening High School (Manhattan) term certificates (as Freddie Haarburger).
- 1942 — Red Cross first-aid courses, Salem, Massachusetts; Lowell Institute textile chemistry study (research timeline).
- 1943 — Overseas service begins in Algiers.
- 13 May 1943 — Enlisted, Boston area (ASN 31356458).
- 19–21 June 1945 — Enlisted man’s pass (ASN on card), European theater.
- 1977 — Died.
- Camp Ritchie — Class 11 IPW training.
- Wartime — T/3 with IPW Team 179 / 36th Infantry Division (also IPW 2 on roster).
Sources
- RB Archive family packet (passport, Red Cross cards, evening-school certificates, enlisted pass, war photos), curated September 2026
- Wartime army portrait (RB Archive)
- German passport ID pages, 3 May 1938 (RB Archive)
- Diana Nelson Jones, “Family artifacts reveal kin’s top-secret WWII service,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8 January 2018 (RB Archive ProQuest)
- 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
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Joachim M Haarburger for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Haarburger, Joachim M for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: JOACHIM M. HAARBURGER.doc)