Soft launch: Soldier biographies and research notes vary in completeness. Prefer class-roster, NARA, newspapers, and other cited sources for contested facts — treat Research notes as leads, not settled history. Anyone can correct a page; contact us with questions.
Kurt Klein
| Kurt Klein | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1920 |
| Died | 2002 |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32554510 |
| Rank | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 5 (8 February – 9 April 1943) |
| Section | 9 |
| Enlisted | Buffalo, New York |
| Specialty | Military intelligence |
| Unit / division | 5th Infantry Division |
| Team | IPW 3 |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Kurt Klein (1920–2002) was a United States Army Private who trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, in Class 5. Kurt enlisted at Buffalo, New York. From Walldorf, Germany; intelligence officer in the 5th Infantry Division who later married Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann.
Biography
Kurt Klein immigrated alone to the United States in 1937 from Walldorf, Germany. Inducted in 1942, he became an intelligence officer in the 5th Infantry Division after Camp Ritchie. After the war he married Gerda Weissmann, whose liberation story was told in the Academy Award–winning documentary One Survivor Remembers. He died in 2002 while on a lecture tour in Guatemala. See the full story.
Research notes
- To 2nd Lt About Face
- Civil Life
Gallery
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 82 |
| Nara ASN | 32554510 |
| Nara Name | KLEIN KURT |
| Nara State | 23 |
| Nara County | 29 |
| Nara POE | 2309 |
| Nara DOE | 281042 |
| 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 | N1 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 20 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 4 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 444 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 66 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 128 |
| Class_ASN | 32554510 |
| Class_Name | KLEIN, Kurt |
| 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)
- The Stories essay