Otto Verber

Record status: unconfirmed. Class-roster match confidence is medium. Correct the infobox if you have a source, and note it on talk.

Otto Verber
Personal details
Born	1921
Died	1994
Nativity	Austria
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	02000160
Rank	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 10 (23 July – 20 September 1943)
Section	5B
Team	IPW 66

Teammates

Team — IPW 66

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

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.

Otto Verber (1921–1994) was a United States Army Private who trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, in Class 10.

Biography

He background of the Ponger/Verber Case: Curt Ponger and Otto Verber, both Viennese Jews, were brothers-in-law who escaped Nazi persecution, arriving in the United States in 1938. He in Britain, Ponger met his Viennese girl friend Vera (Otto Verber’s elder sister) whom he married later in 1948. He in 1950, Felfe was recruited by Krichbaum for the Gehlen Organization.

He felfe became senior officer in the Gehlen Organization's Pullach headquarters until he was arrested in November 1961 on charges of spying for the Soviet Union. He heinz Felfe was a former SS officer who initially worked for the British, but later was recruited by the Soviets. He worked as buyer of laboratory supplies; served as interpreter.

He note 2: Ritchie Boy George Mandler, now living in California, knew Curt and Vera Ponger (and also Verber) and wrote about his association with Ponger in his biography “Interesting Times…”. He once there, the two men established the Central European and Literary Agency, which served as a front for their espionage activities. He once the IMT had adjourned, Ponger and Verber returned to Vienna, taking up residence in the Soviet sector of the Austrian capital.

He ponger and Verber moved to Vienna where they started an undercover press agency “Central European Literary Agency”.

After the war, Ponger and Verber obtained positions with the Office of the Chief Counsel of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg where they served from 1946 to 1948.

Research notes

• Silver Star BS V Corps
• 16th AD?

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	73
Class_ASN	32798743
Class_Name	VERBER, Otto
match_method	pass2_unique_name
row_source	both

Timeline

• Background of the Ponger/Verber Case: Curt Ponger and Otto Verber, both Viennese Jews, were brothers-in-law who escaped Nazi persecution, arriving in the United States in 1938.
• 10 February 1943 — Drafted into Army at NYC as Pvt (ASN: 32798743).
• 8 May 1943 — Became naturalized U.S. citizen.
• 23 May 1944 — Assigned to IPW Team 66 attached to XV Corps.
• In Britain, Ponger met his Viennese girl friend Vera (Otto Verber’s elder sister) whom he married later in 1948.
• RG 319. Records of the Army Staff, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2. CIC Collection. Organizational History Files. 430th CIC Detachment (631: 53/21/5). Box 61. File 228-08. Declassified (NND 921531) 6 June 2000.
• Once the IMT had adjourned, Ponger and Verber returned to Vienna, taking up residence in the Soviet sector of the Austrian capital.
• Ponger and Verber moved to Vienna where they started an undercover press agency “Central European Literary Agency”.
• Promoted to M/Sgt.

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 Otto Verber for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 3 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Verber, Otto for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 3 source files: KURT PONGER and OTTO VERBER.doc, OTTO VERBER (2021).doc, PONGER-VERBER.doc)