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Hermann Neustadt

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Hermann Neustadt
Personal details
Birth nameHarvey P. Newton
Born4 October 1920
Breslau, Germany
Died1 April 1998
Costa Rica
NativityGermany
ReligionJewish
AwardsPurple Heart
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN0555150
RankFirst Lieutenant
Rank at RitchiePrivate First Class
Camp RitchieClass 17 (11 March – 8 May 1944)
Section5B
SpecialtyPrisoner of War Interrogation Officer
Battles / warsNormandy
Northern France
Rhineland
Awards and honors
Purple Heart
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.


Hermann Neustadt (4 October 1920 – 1 April 1998), later Harvey P. Newton, was a Breslau-born Ritchie Boy (Class 17) who interrogated in France, earned a Purple Heart, and became a soil scientist.

Biography edit

Hermann Neustadt was born on 4 October 1920 in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) to an assimilated Jewish family. After Kristallnacht he was imprisoned at Buchenwald, then trained in agriculture at Auswanderer-Lehrsgut Groß Breesen and at Wieringerwaard in the Netherlands. He emigrated to the United States in 1940, worked briefly at the Hyde Park training farm in Virginia, and enlisted in the Army.

In February 1944 he transferred to Camp Ritchie (Class 17) as a German-language interrogator. He questioned German civilians and officers until he was wounded in France in November 1944, earning the Purple Heart, then served at the Enemy Prisoners of War Information Bureau. In 1944 he legally changed his name to Harvey P. Newton; he left the Army in 1946 as a first lieutenant. Enlisted records also list ASN 33044875 before his officer ASN 0555150.

Under the G.I. Bill he earned a B.S. in agronomy at Rutgers (1948) and a Ph.D. in plant physiology (1951), then worked as a soil expert for U.S. agricultural programs in Venezuela, Costa Rica, Somalia, and Ecuador. He died in Costa Rica on 1 April 1998.

Research notes edit

  • Enlisted records identify Hermann Neustadt as ASN 33044875; later officer records identify Harvey P. Newton/Hermann Neustadt as ASN 0555150.
  • The name-change record connects Hermann Neustadt with Harvey P. Newton.
  • Public profile remains under roster title Neustadt, Hermann (0555150); Harvey P. Newton is the postwar legal name (alias).

Gallery edit

Technical record edit

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 78
Class_ASN 33044875
Class_Name NEUSTADT, Hermann
match_method pass2_unique_name
row_source both

Timeline edit

  • 4 October 1920 — Born Hermann Neustadt in Breslau.
  • 1938–1940 — Buchenwald after Kristallnacht; Groß Breesen / Wieringerwaard training; to U.S. 1940.
  • 24 May 1941 onward — U.S. Army service (enlisted ASN 33044875).
  • February 1944 — Camp Ritchie Class 17; name change to Harvey P. Newton (1944).
  • November 1944 — Wounded in France; Purple Heart; EPW Information Bureau.
  • 1946 — Left Army as first lieutenant (officer ASN 0555150).
  • 1948 / 1951 — Rutgers B.S. agronomy; Ph.D. plant physiology.
  • 1952 onward — USDA / AID soil work in Latin America and Africa.
  • 1 April 1998 — Died in Costa Rica.

Sources edit

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