William R. Perl

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William R. Perl
Personal details
Born	21 September 1906 Prague, Austro-hungarian Empire
Died	24 December 1998 Beltsville, Maryland, United States
Nativity	Austria
Religion	Jewish
Known for	Chief interrogator during the Malmedy massacre trial
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	0555149
Rank	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 6 (13 March – 11 May 1943)
Section	4
Teams	IPW 175, IPW 177

Teammates

Team — IPW 175

Team — IPW 177

These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.

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William R. Perl (September 21, 1906 – December 24, 1998) was a Prague-born American lawyer and psychologist who was the chief interrogator during the Malmedy massacre trial.

Biography

William R. Perl (September 21, 1906 – December 24, 1998) was a Prague-born American lawyer and psychologist who was the chief interrogator during the Malmedy massacre trial.

William R. Perl was born to a textile merchant in Prague on September 21, 1906, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He spent much of his youth and early adulthood in Vienna. Perl attended the University of Vienna, where he earned a Ph.D. in law and a master's degree in international business. He joined Ivria, one of several Jewish fraternities, as a student and soon became deeply immersed in the growing Zionist movement. Perl established a successful law firm in Vienna after graduating and practiced law there until the Nazi take-over in 1938.

Perl was a chief interrogator during the Malmedy massacre trial, where Col. Joachim Peiper and other members of the Waffen-SS were prosecuted for the murder of American prisoners of war at Malmedy, Belgium in December 1944. Together with Raphael Shumacker, Robert E. Byrne, Morris Ellowitz, Harry Thon and Joseph Kirschbaum, Perl was criticized for alleged torture at the interrogations.

The Perls settled in the United States with their two sons, Raphael and Solomon. Perl continued his study of psychology at Columbia University and then served as an army psychologist until his retirement with the rank of Lt. Colonel in 1966.

Perl remained active in Jewish affairs until his death, despite suffering from Parkinson's disease. He died at his home on December 24, 1998.

Research notes

• Malmedy Trials; Retired 58 Lt.Col.
• Rescued an estimated 40,000 Jews
• Author, "Operation Action"
• Portrait and summary from Notable Ritchie Boys slides (source).

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	92
Class_ASN	32712884
Class_Name	PERL, William
match_method	pass2_unique_name
row_source	both

Sources

• Wikipedia: William R. Perl
• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)