Soft launch: Soldier biographies and research notes vary in completeness. Prefer class-roster, NARA, newspapers, and other cited sources for contested facts — treat Research notes as leads, not settled history. Anyone can correct a page; contact us with questions.
Otto K. Gruenbaum
| Otto K. Gruenbaum | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 August 1918 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 18 November 1945 |
| Nativity | Austria |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Awards | Purple Heart |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32527211 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Rank at Ritchie | Technician Fifth Grade |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 20 (19 June – 16 August 1944) |
| Section | 5B |
| Enlisted | Ft Jay Governors Island, New York |
| Team | IPW 120 |
|
| Purple Heart |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Otto K. Gruenbaum (1918–1945) was a United States Army Technician Fifth Grade who trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, in Class 20. Otto enlisted at Ft Jay Governors Island, New York.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Otto K. Gruenbaum (also spelled Greenbaum) was born on 18 August 1918 in Vienna, Austria, the second of two children. His father, a Jewish furrier and former Austrian Army non-commissioned officer, and his Catholic mother raised him in a musical household. Gruenbaum studied piano at the Vienna Conservatory of Music from age ten and later continued in Paris and in New York under Arthur Schnabel. After the Anschluss in March 1938 he left Austria under the pretext of a Brussels piano contest, reached Paris as a refugee, and sailed from Le Havre on 11 August 1939. In New York he gave Carnegie Hall and Town Hall recitals, toured as an accompanist, and married Susanne Hohenberg in February 1942.
Drafted in October 1942, Gruenbaum served with a medical detachment at Goldsboro, North Carolina, and at England General Hospital in Atlantic City before Military Intelligence Training Center selection at Camp Ritchie (Class 20). Overseas he interrogated German prisoners and civilians and worked as an interpreter with IPW Team 120. He received the Purple Heart and died on 18 November 1945.
Research notes[edit | edit source]
- 3rd Army; died 11/18/1945
- Folder spelling is Greenbaum; roster and wartime press use Gruenbaum. Alias/Greenbaum retained in the opening sentence. Live rank_final Captain is not reasserted; class rank and 1943 press place him as a corporal/T/5-era enlisted soldier. Purple Heart retained from the live awards block and research notes.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
Otto K. Gruenbaum playing piano in wartime uniform (RB Archive) -
Otto K. Gruenbaum interrogating a German prisoner who surrendered after a propaganda broadcast, 5 March 1945 (RB Archive)
Technical record[edit | edit source]
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 27 |
| Nara ASN | 32527211 |
| Nara Name | GRUENBAUM OTTO K |
| Nara State | 23 |
| Nara County | 61 |
| Nara POE | 2327 |
| Nara DOE | 121042 |
| 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 | N2 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 18 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 4 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 24 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 70 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 174 |
| Class_ASN | 32527211 |
| Class_Name | GRUENBAUM, Otto |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline[edit | edit source]
- 18 August 1918 — Born in Vienna, Austria.
- March 1938 — Fled Vienna after the Anschluss; reached Paris via Brussels.
- 11 August 1939 — Sailed from Le Havre for the United States.
- February 1942 — Married Susanne Hohenberg in New York.
- October 1942 — Drafted into the U.S. Army; medical-detachment duty at Goldsboro, North Carolina.
- January 1943 — Transferred to England General Hospital, Atlantic City, New Jersey.
- 1943–1944 — Trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 20); later served with IPW Team 120 in Europe.
- 18 November 1945 — Died.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Otto K. Gruenbaum interrogating a German prisoner who surrendered after a propaganda broadcast, 5 March 1945 (RB Archive)
- Otto K. Gruenbaum playing piano in wartime uniform (RB Archive)
- Irene Wittig, Almost Home — Otto Gruenbaum biography (RB Archive notes)
- RB Archive clipping, The Beam (England General Hospital, Atlantic City), 9 October 1943 — “Soldier Pianist Fled from Nazis’ Terror in Vienna”
- 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 Otto K. Gruenbaum for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Gruenbaum, Otto K. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: OTTO GRUENBAUM.doc)