Joachim M Haarburger
Personal details
Birth nameFreddie Joachim Manfred Haarburger
Born1921
Zittau, Germany
Died1977
NativityGermany
ReligionJewish
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN31356458
RankTechnician Third Grade
Rank at RitchiePrivate
Camp RitchieClass 11 (25 August – 23 October 1943)
Section5E
EnlistedBoston, Massachusetts
TeamsIPW 2, IPW 179
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.


Joachim Manfred “Freddie” Haarburger (1921 – 1977) was a German-Jewish Ritchie Boy (Class 11) who escaped Nazism in 1938 and returned to Europe with IPW Team 179.

Biography edit

Joachim Manfred “Freddie” Haarburger was born in 1921. At seventeen he and his parents fled Nazi Germany, sailing from Le Havre on the SS America in 1938 after leaving Frankfurt, and settled in New York. He worked as a bookbinder and studied textile chemistry at the Lowell Institute before volunteering for the U.S. Army.

Trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 11), he began overseas service in Algiers in 1943 and served as a technician third grade with IPW Team 179 attached to the 36th Infantry Division, Seventh Army. His cluster included Herbert W. Allen, Gerhard Bromberg, Herbert Kraus, Martin Frank, and Rolf Fein. Haarburger died in 1977.

Research notes edit

  • 5th Army

Gallery edit

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Technical record edit

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 56
Nara ASN 31356458
Nara Name HAARBURGER JOACHIM M
Nara State 13
Nara County 9
Nara POE 1306
Nara DOE 130543
Nara Grade Alpha PVT
Nara Grade Code 8
Nara Branch Alpha NO
Nara Branch Code 2
Branch No branch assignment
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 N1
Nara Year of Birth 21
Nara Race J
Nara Race Description White not yet a citizen
Nara Education 5
Nara Civilian Occupation 459
Nara Marital Status 6
Nara Height (inches) 70
Nara Weight (lbs) 99
Class_ASN 31356458
Class_Name HAARBURGER, Joachim M.
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Timeline edit

  • 1921 — Born (Zittau / German-Jewish family).
  • 1938 — Emigrated via SS America from Le Havre; settled in New York.
  • 1942 — Lowell Institute textile chemistry study.
  • Camp Ritchie Class 11 — IPW training.
  • 1943 — Overseas service begins in Algiers.
  • 1945 — T/3, IPW Team 179, 36th Infantry Division, Seventh Army.
  • 1977 — Died.

Sources edit

  • Diana Nelson Jones, “Family artifacts reveal kin’s top-secret WWII service,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8 January 2018 (RB Archive ProQuest)
  • 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 Joachim M Haarburger for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
  • Dan Gross, Timeline of Haarburger, Joachim M for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: JOACHIM M. HAARBURGER.doc)