Hans N. Spear

Hans N. Spear
Personal details
Birth name	Spier
Born	2 December 1918 Germany
Died	2009
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	36681166
Rank	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 14 (2 December 1943 – 31 January 1944)
Section	5B

On film Hans N. Spear appears in The Ritchie Boys (Christian Bauer, 2004).

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Hans N. Spear (2 December 1918–2009), born Spier, was a German-born Jewish refugee and Camp Ritchie graduate who served with the Counter Intelligence Corps in Europe.

Biography

Hans Spear (born Spier) left Germany for the United States at about age twenty and soon married his childhood sweetheart Bea, who had also fled Germany. As an “enemy alien,” the Army first sent him to Camp Grant, Illinois, for medical-corps basic training—without a weapon. Determined to fight rather than serve only as a medic, he was ordered out under confidential shipping instructions and the next day found himself at Camp Ritchie, the Military Intelligence Training Center.

He entered the Army in summer 1943, trained in Class 14, and returned to Europe in spring 1944. Spear served with the Counter Intelligence Corps from Normandy across Europe and for about six months with the army of occupation. After crossing into Germany he discovered one of the Nazis’ secret Lebensborn children’s homes. He returned to the United States in December 1945 and later founded a painting company in Chicago. He died in 2009.

Research notes

• CIC BS CIB
• Ritchie Boy
• PI 16
• Painting company owner
• Notable Ritchie Boys slide lists as Hans J. Spear

Gallery

• 
  Earlier profile photograph (retained after press-photo update)

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	91
Class_ASN	36681166
Class_Name	SPEAR, Hans N.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• Born 2 December 1918 in Germany.
• c. 1938–1939 — Escaped to the United States; married Bea.
• 2 December 1943 — Entered Class 14 (IPW Ge).
• Summer 1943 — Entered the U.S. Army; transferred to Camp Ritchie.
• 31 January 1944 — Graduated Class 14 (German Linguist).
• 6 January 1944 — Became naturalized citizen in Wash, DC.
• Spring 1944 — Returned to Europe with the Counter Intelligence Corps.
• December 1945 — Returned to the United States.
• In 2008 — Spear finally received the Bronze medal he earned but was not given to him because of anti-Semitism.
• Assigned to PI Team 16 attached to 30th Infantry Division.

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)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Hans N. Spear for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Spear, Hans N. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: HANS N. SPEAR.doc)
• The Ritchie Boys: Hans Spear
• The Ritchie Boys film site — Life in Camp Ritchie (Hans Spear quotes)
• The Stories/Life in Camp Ritchie (Bauer film excerpts)
• The Ritchie Boys film site — press photos (© TANGRAM (Harald Stuckmann); high-res https://ritchieboys.com/DL/photos-highq/boys/spear.jpg)