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Eric Waldman

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Eric Waldman
Eric Waldman
Personal details
Birth nameErich Waldmann
Born1914
Vienna
Died2007
NativityAustria
ReligionCatholic
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
Arm / serviceField Artillery
ASN01182990
RankColonel
Rank at RitchieSecond Lieutenant
Camp RitchieClass 10 (23 July – 20 September 1943)
Section5A
SpecialtyMilitary intelligence; German tactics
Unit / divisionWar Department G-2; Fort Hunt / Gehlen group
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.


Eric Waldman (1914–2007), born Erich Waldmann in Vienna, was an Austrian American marine biologist, artillery officer, and military intelligence specialist. After training and teaching at Camp Ritchie, he worked on German tactics for War Department G-2 and helped direct the Gehlen organization at Fort Hunt and in occupied Germany.

Biography

Eric Waldman was born Erich Waldmann on September 21, 1914, at Franzensbrueckenstrasse 19 in Vienna. In 1960, he attended Published article on German Socialist movement based on PhD. Eric attended University of Vienna (PhD Biology). His father, Leo Waldmann, had served as an Austrian officer in the First World War. Waldman studied marine biology at the University of Vienna and completed a doctorate before Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938. Waldman escaped in 1938 by traveling through Yugoslavia to Trieste, where he boarded the SS Vulcania for the United States. His parents did not survive the Holocaust: the Gestapo killed his father in 1939, and his mother was later murdered at the Chełmno extermination camp. In the United States, Waldman entered the Army and attended Field Artillery Officer Candidate School. He became a naturalized citizen in 1943 and changed his name from Erich Waldmann to Eric Waldman. Assigned to the Military Intelligence Training Center, he graduated with Camp Ritchie Class 10 and remained as an instructor, putting his native German, academic training, and knowledge of Europe to use for the Army. Near the end of the war he was assigned to the secret prisoner-of-war installation at Fort Hunt, Virginia, known as P.O. There he worked with the German officers associated with Reinhard Gehlen and the Fremde Heere Ost intelligence apparatus under the Bolero program, using the cover names Captain Brown and Mr. He helped organize the Gehlen group as it became an important postwar intelligence partner of the United States and later a foundation of West Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, the BND. He taught and wrote about European politics, international affairs, and NATO, drawing on both his scholarly training and his government service. He died in 2007.

Research notes

No notes were in the source row. Add what you know.

Gallery

Technical record

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 93
Class_ASN 182990
Class_Name WALDMAN, Eric
match_method asn_partial_name_exact
row_source both

Timeline

  • 3 December 1943 Assigned to Faculty (Section V).
  • 10.

Sources

  • 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)
  • The Stories essay
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Eric Waldman for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Waldman, Eric for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: ERIC WALDMAN.doc)