Ritchie Boys Wiki

Boris Krass

Boris Krass
Boris Krass
Personal details
Born4 March 1920
Cholm, Russia
Died28 February 1991
New York
NativityRussia
ReligionGreek Orthodox
AwardsEuropean-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; Good Conduct Medal
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN32542552
RankTechnician Fifth Grade
Rank at RitchiePrivate
Camp RitchieClass 7 (15 April – 12 June 1943)
Section6
EnlistedNew York City, New York
Awards and honors
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Good Conduct Medal
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.


Boris Krass (4 March 1920 – 28 February 1991), born Boris Krasnoumoff, was a Cholm-born Ritchie Boy (Class 7) who trained as a Russian interpreter and psychological-warfare interrogator and served with Mobile Radio Broadcasting companies and Radio Luxembourg in the ETO.

Biography edit

Boris Krass was born Boris Krasnoumoff on 4 March 1920 in Cholm, Russia. As a child refugee he lived in Berlin, where German police issued him a Kinderausweis in January 1934 listing him as stateless; he received a U.S. quota immigration visa the same month and emigrated to the United States. He graduated from George Washington High School in New York, earned a B.S. in psychology from Long Island University in 1942, and married Yvonne C. Boet in New York that year. At naturalization he legally shortened the family name from Krasnoumoff to Krass.

Inducted on 27 October 1942, he entered active service on 10 November 1942 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and took basic training with the 11th Armored Division at Camp Polk, Louisiana. Transferred to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, he graduated from the seventh course on 12 June 1943. That August–September he completed the Special Russian Interpreter Course (Class 10, Section 7D) alongside classmates including Henry Pleasants III, Serge C. Troubetzkoy, Serge J. Omelianuk, Victor B. Crawshaw, and Nicholas Drake; evaluators called him intelligent, strong in English and Russian, and officer material. He next studied propaganda techniques and strategic interrogation at the Psychological Warfare School, Camp Sharpe, Pennsylvania.

From May 1944 he served in the European Theater with the 2nd and 3rd Mobile Radio Broadcasting Companies and on detached and temporary duty with First and Third Army headquarters and Publicity and Psychological Warfare, Twelfth Army Group. In England he attended the School of Political Intelligence at Brondesbury. In northern France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Rhineland he interrogated German prisoners and Russian prisoners of war in German uniform, interviewed displaced persons, and did intelligence research at Radio Luxembourg. From December 1944 into February 1945 he worked with Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment 303, Third Army, in Luxembourg. His enlisted record credits him with the Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns. Returned to Camp Ritchie in early 1945, he instructed on the Soviet Union’s national background, military forces, geography, and culture. Honored by the Military Intelligence Division on 22 September 1945, he was honorably discharged as a technician fifth grade at Separation Point, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, on 28 September 1945.

After the war Krass received a commission as a first lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Reserve (service number 0962670) on 13 August 1948. In civilian life he built a sales career in business forms and office systems with The Standard Register Company and later Dashew Business Machines, then worked as a manufacturers’ representative. He died in New York on 28 February 1991.

Research notes edit

  • Also completed Special Russian Interpreter Course, Class 10 Section 7D (Aug–Sep 1943).
  • Wartime enlisted ASN 32542552; postwar Military Intelligence Reserve commission S.N. 0962670 (1st Lt, 13 August 1948).
  • PWD / psychological warfare assignments included 2nd and 3rd Mobile Radio Broadcasting Companies and Radio Luxembourg.
  • Name legally changed from Krasnoumoff to Krass at naturalization (Personal History Statement).

Gallery edit

  •  
    German Kinderausweis (Berlin, 18 January 1934) and U.S. quota immigration visa
  •  
    MITC Camp Ritchie graduation extract, Special Orders 141, 12 June 1943
  •  
    Special Russian Interpreter Course final grades, Class 10 Sec 7D
  •  
    World War II service resume listing units and assignments, c. 1948
  •  
    Personal History Statement, 2 January 1945 (p. 1)
  •  
    Twelfth Army Group letter documenting Russian interrogation duties, 4 February 1945
  •  
    Radio Luxembourg Detachment message, 24 December 1944
  •  
    Message to 2d Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company, 29 December 1944
  •  
    Enlisted Record and Report of Separation — Honorable Discharge
  •  
    Honorable Discharge certificate, 28 September 1945
  •  
    Military Intelligence Division acknowledgment, 22 September 1945
  •  
    Induction / active-service entry papers
  •  
    Alien status document, 15 September 1942
  •  
    Transfer / return to Camp Ritchie, 1945
  •  
    Russian interpreter grade / evaluation document, 1945
  •  
    Military Intelligence Reserve Corps appointment, 13 August 1948

Technical record edit

Field Imported value
MRBC3 3
Approx Age at Death 71
Nara ASN 32542552
Nara Name KRASS BORIS
Nara State 23
Nara County 61
Nara POE 2364
Nara DOE 271042
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 O9
Nara Year of Birth 20
Nara Race J
Nara Race Description White not yet a citizen
Nara Education 7
Nara Civilian Occupation 295
Nara Marital Status 2
Nara Height (inches) 71
Nara Weight (lbs) 139
Class_ASN 32542552
Class_Name KRASS, Boris
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Timeline edit

  • 4 March 1920 — Born Boris Krasnoumoff in Cholm, Russia
  • 18 January 1934 — German Kinderausweis issued in Berlin (listed as stateless); U.S. quota immigration visa No. 1764 issued 26 January 1934
  • 1934 — Emigrated from Germany to the United States
  • 1938 — Graduated from George Washington High School, New York
  • 1942 — B.S. in psychology, Long Island University; married Yvonne C. Boet in New York
  • 27 October 1942 — Inducted into the U.S. Army, New York
  • 10 November 1942 — Entered active service at Fort Dix, New Jersey
  • November 1942 – April 1943 — Basic training, 11th Armored Division, Camp Polk, Louisiana
  • 23 March 1943 — Transferred to Camp Ritchie, Maryland
  • 12 June 1943 — Graduated seventh course, Military Intelligence Training Center, Camp Ritchie
  • 19 August – 19 September 1943 — Special Russian Interpreter Course, Class 10 Section 7D, Camp Ritchie (qualified as assistant interpreter)
  • February/March – May/June 1944 — Psychological Warfare School, Camp Sharpe, Pennsylvania
  • 12 May 1944 — Departed for overseas service; arrived England 23 May 1944
  • May – December 1944 — 2nd and 3rd Mobile Radio Broadcasting Companies; D.S./T.D. with First and Third Army headquarters and P&PW, Twelfth Army Group; intelligence work at Radio Luxembourg
  • 15 August – 15 December 1944 — Interrogated Russian POWs in German uniform and liberated Russian civilians in eastern France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Rhineland
  • December 1944 – February 1945 — CIC Detachment 303, Headquarters Third Army, Luxembourg
  • 19 February 1945 — Left the ETO; arrived United States 26 February 1945
  • March – September 1945 — Instructor at Camp Ritchie on Soviet national background, military forces, geography, and culture
  • 22 September 1945 — Military Intelligence Division, War Department, acknowledgment of service
  • 28 September 1945 — Honorable discharge as Tec 5, Military Intelligence Service, Separation Point, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
  • 13 August 1948 — Commissioned first lieutenant, Military Intelligence Reserve (S.N. 0962670)
  • 28 February 1991 — Died in New York

Sources edit

Retrieved from "https://ritchieboys.org/index.php?title=Krass,_Boris_(32542552)&oldid=124589"