Rudolf H. Michaels

Rudolf H. Michaels
Personal details
Born	28 July 1916 East Prussia, Germany
Died	2009
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	39007411
Rank	Major
Rank at Ritchie	Technical Sergeant
Camp Ritchie	Class 16 (6 February – 5 April 1944)
Section	5C
Enlisted	San Francisco, California
Team	IPW 78

On film Rudolf H. Michaels appears in The Ritchie Boys (Christian Bauer, 2004).

Teammates

Team — IPW 78

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.

Rudolf H. Michaels (28 July 1916–2009) was a German-born Jewish refugee and Camp Ritchie interrogator. After Class 16 he served with the 5th Armored Division in Europe and later became a lawyer and judge.

Biography

Rudolf Michaels was born on 28 July 1916 in East Prussia and grew up in Leipzig. Barred from university as a Jew, he began a bank apprenticeship after school. In 1938 he emigrated alone to the United States under the name Michaels (formerly Michaelis); after Kristallnacht his family escaped to England.

Drafted in April 1941, he was still an alien when he entered the Army and, a few months later as a corporal, found himself classified an “enemy alien” after the United States went to war with Germany. Compared with earlier units he later called Camp Ritchie “a circus—but a good circus,” and remembered reuniting there with childhood friend Joseph Bromberg of Leipzig. He trained in Class 16 in early 1944, then landed in France with the 5th Armored Division, where he was noted for successful interrogations.

In fall 1945 he returned to the United States, earned a law doctorate, practiced and taught law, and later served as a judge. He died in 2009.

Research notes

• Ritchie Boy
• Law school professor
• judge

Gallery

• 
  Earlier profile photograph (retained after press-photo update)

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	93
Nara ASN	39007411
Nara Name	MICHAELS RUDOLF H
Nara State	91
Nara County	75
Nara POE	9175
Nara DOE	110441
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	0
Term of enlistment	Unknown
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	N1
Nara Year of Birth	16
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	0
Nara Civilian Occupation	118
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	74
Nara Weight (lbs)	177
Class_ASN	39007411
Class_Name	MICHAELS, Rudolf H.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• Born 28 July 1916 in Germany.
• 1938 — Emigrated alone to the United States.
• After Kristallnacht (1938) — Family escaped to England.
• 1941 — Drafted into the U.S. Army (name changed to Michaels).
• 31 August 1942 — Became naturalized citizen.
• 5 April 1944 — Graduated Class 16 (Asst Interrogator, German).
• Fall 1945 — Returned to the United States; began law studies.
• Assigned to IPW Team 78 attached to 5th Armored Division.

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 Rudolf H. Michaels for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Michaels, Rudolf H. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: RUDOLF H. MICHAELS.doc)
• The Ritchie Boys: Rudolf Michaels
• The Ritchie Boys film site — Life in Camp Ritchie (Rudy Michaels quotes)
• The Stories/Life in Camp Ritchie (Bauer film excerpts)
• The Ritchie Boys film site — press photos (© TANGRAM; high-res https://ritchieboys.com/DL/photos-highq/boys/michaels.jpg)