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Gunter Kosse
| Gunter Kosse | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 August 1922 Berlin, Germany |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32712417 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Rank at Ritchie | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 9 (21 June – 18 August 1943) |
| Section | 5F |
| Team | IPW 4 |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Gunter Kosse (born 14 August 1922 in Berlin) was a Class 9 Ritchie Boy who served with IPW Team 4 of the 8th Infantry Division and interpreted at Nuremberg discovery interrogations of senior Nazis.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Gunter Kosse was born on 14 August 1922 in Berlin, Germany, the son of Leonard and Stephanie Kosse. His father owned a textile business and apartment buildings. Evicted from Gymnasium as a Jew, He continued in a Jewish school. Friends warned his father before Kristallnacht; Leonard fled to Cuba, and Gunter and his mother followed in February 1939. He attended a Quaker boarding school in Cuba, then the family reached New York in December 1940, where He apprenticed as a diamond cutter.
Drafted in January 1943, Kosse trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, then at Camp Ritchie in Class 9 (IPW-Ge). After further “Cattle Alert” / ranger-style training in Northern Ireland and England, He entered France in September 1944 and joined IPW Team 4 with the 8th Infantry Division in Luxembourg. Near war’s end He interpreted during discovery interrogations of Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Fritz Sauckel, and Wilhelm Frick before the Nuremberg tribunals, often advising non-German-speaking lawyers on questioning. He also undertook a mission into Soviet-held Białystok gathering information on Soviet army positions.
Discharged in January 1946, Kosse studied industrial technology and worked in medical-research electronics at Columbia University. From 1951 He spent decades with the U.S. Department of Defense in Germany interrogating returning POWs and East German deserters and later in communications intelligence, retiring in 1986.
Research notes[edit | edit source]
- Camp Sharpe
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Technical record[edit | edit source]
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Class_ASN | 32712417 |
| Class_Name | KOSSE, Gunter |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline[edit | edit source]
- 14 August 1922 — Born in Berlin, Germany.
- February 1939 — Reached Cuba with his mother after his father’s escape.
- December 1940 — Family arrived in the United States.
- January 1943 — Drafted; later sent to Camp Ritchie Class 9.
- September 1944 — Entered France; IPW Team 4, 8th Infantry Division.
- 1945 — Interpreted at Nuremberg discovery interrogations of senior Nazis.
- January 1946 — Discharged from the Army.
- 1951–1986 — U.S. Department of Defense intelligence work, chiefly in Germany.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral-history index
- Zekelman Holocaust Center oral history, OHV 416
- 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 Gunter Kosse for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Kosse, Gunter for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: GUNTER KOSSE.doc)