| Hans Curt Bubel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Curt Bubel |
| Born | 3 October 1925 Mannheim, Germany |
| Died | 16 November 2018 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 39926772 |
| Rank | Private First Class |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 26 (3 January – 3 March 1945) |
| Section | 5A |
| Team | MII 490-G |
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Hans Curt Bubel (known as Curt; 3 October 1925–16 November 2018) was a Mannheim-born U.S. Army interrogator associated with Camp Ritchie. He trained with Class 26, reached Europe as the war ended, collected documents for the Nuremberg trials with MII 490-G, and later taught microbiology and virology at the University of Cincinnati.
Biography
Hans Curt Bubel, known as Curt, was born on 3 October 1925 in Mannheim, Germany, to Curt and Maria Bubel. His father worked as an accountant for BASF. As political violence rose in Germany, the family left in 1928 for Murray, Utah, in the Salt Lake City area, sponsored by an aunt who had converted to Mormonism years earlier. Bubel grew up speaking German and English and attended Murray High School. He was sixteen when Pearl Harbor was attacked. His parents became United States citizens within five years of arriving.
He wanted to join the Navy at seventeen, but his mother would not sign the papers. Drafted at eighteen in Utah in March 1944, he trained as a medic for seventeen weeks at Camp Barkeley, Texas. The Army then held him from overseas shipment for many months while it investigated neighbors' accusations of Nazi sympathy, which grew from a 1933 family trip back to Germany. Once cleared, he was sent to Camp Ritchie. Bubel trained as an interrogator of prisoners of war, and in photo and military intelligence, with Class 26 (3 January – 3 March 1945).
He sailed to Europe, landing in Scotland and then France, and was assigned to the 13th Airborne Division with MII 490-G and the 326th Glider Infantry. He practiced on wooden gliders that he later said were crash landings more than landings. The war in Europe was ending, so he did little front-line interrogation. German fluency sent him instead into the War Crimes Trial Document Section. With another German-born soldier he traveled through Bavaria collecting military, political, and scientific records for the Nuremberg trials, including a large Associated Press photographic archive hidden in a monastery. He looked into rumors that Martin Bormann had survived and found no evidence. As a reward for the document work, he sat three days as an observer at Nuremberg and saw Göring, Ribbentrop, Hess, Keitel, and Baldur von Schirach. He was discharged on 1 June 1946.
Bubel used the G.I. Bill at the University of Utah, earning a B.S. In microbiology, an M.S. In experimental biology, and a Ph.D. In virology as a polio fellow. He married Marilyn, known as Sammie, after completing the doctorate. They had two children, Heidi and Peter. He then joined the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, teaching microbiology and virology and directing research for more than thirty years. He was a member of Sigma Xi and Alpha Omega Alpha and received the Golden Apple for teaching. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 16 November 2018.
Research notes
- Il de France
- Trained at Augers
- Utah Polio researcher moved to Cincinatti to work with Sabin
- Prof. emeritus U
- 490-G 326th GIR
Gallery
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 93 |
| Nara ASN | 39926772 |
| Nara Name | BUBEL HANS C |
| Nara State | 96 |
| Nara County | 35 |
| Nara POE | 9629 |
| Nara DOE | 110344 |
| 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 | 25 |
| Nara Race | 1 |
| Nara Race Description | White citizen |
| Nara Education | 4 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 992 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 0 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 0 |
| Class_ASN | 39926772 |
| Class_Name | BUBEL Hans |
| match_method | pass2_asn_last |
| row_source | both |
Timeline
- 3 October 1925 — Born in Mannheim, Germany, to Curt and Maria Bubel.
- 1928 — Immigrated to Murray, Utah, in the Salt Lake City area.
- 1933 — Family trip back to Germany; later cited during a wartime loyalty investigation.
- 7 December 1941 — Pearl Harbor; Bubel was sixteen and a student at Murray High School.
- 11 March 1944 — Drafted into the U.S. Army in Utah (NARA).
- 1944 — Medic training at Camp Barkeley, Texas; held from overseas shipment pending a security investigation.
- 3 January – 3 March 1945 — Camp Ritchie Class 26 (IPW / photo and military intelligence).
- 8 May 1945 — Arrived in Europe on VE-Day; assigned with MII 490-G / 13th Airborne Division.
- 1945 — War Crimes Trial Document Section in Bavaria; collected records for Nuremberg, including an Associated Press photographic archive.
- 1945 — Observed three days of the Nuremberg trials.
- 1 June 1946 — Discharged from the Army.
- Late 1940s–1950s — University of Utah: B.S. microbiology, M.S. experimental biology, Ph.D. virology (polio fellow).
- After the doctorate — Married Marilyn (Sammie); later taught at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
- 16 November 2018 — Died in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sources
- Veterans History Project interview (watchlist card)
- Cincinnati Enquirer obituary for Hans Curt Bubel (19 December 2018)
- Cincinnati Enquirer, 19 December 2018 — Hans Curt Bubel obituary (RB Archive ProQuest PDF)
- 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)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-11-28 (1 post)
- YouTube interview — Hans Curt Bubel (Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library Veterans History Project)
- Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library — Veterans History Project record
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Hans C. Bubel for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Bubel, Hans C. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: HANS C. BUBEL.doc)