Werner E. Stark

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Werner E. Stark
Personal details
Born1921
Munich Germany, Was From
Died25 July 1995
Oakland, Michigan
NativityGermany
ReligionJewish
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN36598320
RankPrivate First Class
Camp RitchieClass 25 (30 November 1944 – 29 January 1945)
Section5C
TeamIPW 208
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.


Werner E. Stark (1921 – 25 July 1995) was a Ritchie Boy (from Germany; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 25 and served with IPW Team 208.

Biography

RB Werner Erwin Stark, February 12 1921, born in Munich Germany, was from a Jewish family of textile merchants. Together with his older brother Walter, he immigrated to the United States via France in 1938. His parents and sister were able to join him shortly thereafter. During World War Two, Stark enlisted in the US Army and was trained in counterintelligence at Fort Ritchie, Maryland. He served in Europe as one of the "Ritchie Boys." Stark performed a variety of counterintelligence tasks, including being dropped into Germany under a false name. According to a summary of an oral history Stark provided to the Holocaust Memorial Center, Zekelman Family Campus, in Michigan, he also served "... as an interpreter at the Nuremberg trials of war criminals, ... [interrogated] the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele, and [provided] surveillance of the former girlfriend of Ernst Kaltenbrunner, chief of the German Security Service as related to her associations with American army officers.". Werner Stark died July 25 1995 in Oakland Michigan. Attached are some photos of RB Stark, his CIC identification card, and naturalization certificate.

Research notes

  • Mengele (Oral history)
  • Jackie Odom (dau)
  • Jim Burnstein
  • 15th Army

Gallery

Technical record

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 74
Class_ASN 36598320
Class_Name STARK, Werner E.
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Sources

  • 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 2022-10-23 (1 post)