Klemens Wilhelm Von Klemperer

Klemens Wilhelm Von Klemperer
Personal details
Birth name	Klemens Wilhelm von Klemperer
Born	2 November 1916 Berlin, Germany
Died	23 December 2012 Easthampton, Massachusetts
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Protestant
Known for	Historian of German resistance to Nazism; Smith College
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	31296519
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Rank at Ritchie	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 6 (13 March – 11 May 1943)
Section	2
Enlisted	Boston, Massachusetts
Specialty	Military intelligence; SHAEF G-2
Team	IPW 2

Teammates

Team — IPW 2

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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Klemens W. von Klemperer (2 November 1916 – 23 December 2012) was a German-born historian and Camp Ritchie graduate who served in SHAEF G-2 and later taught for decades at Smith College, writing major studies of resistance to Hitler.

Biography

Klemens Wilhelm von Klemperer was born in Berlin on 2 November 1916. He attended the Französisches Gymnasium, briefly Balliol College, Oxford, then studied in Vienna and took part in anti-Nazi student circles before fleeing to the United States by November 1938 after the Anschluss (family property seized; relatives were later killed at Auschwitz). He enrolled at Harvard under a refugee-scholar program.

Army service (1942–1946) interrupted his studies: after Camp Ritchie (Class 6; IPW 2) he served with Eisenhower’s G-2 at SHAEF in London, Versailles, and Berlin, and later worked at the Berlin Document Center. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1949 and joined Smith College, where he taught for thirty-seven years (L. Clark Seelye Professor of History from 1979). His scholarship on Central Europe and the German resistance—including German Resistance Against Hitler: The Search for Allies Abroad, 1938–1945—made him a leading interpreter of opposition to the Nazi regime. His memoir Voyage Through the 20th Century appeared about three years before his death. He died at his home in Easthampton, Massachusetts, on 23 December 2012.

He was married for 59 years to Elizabeth Gallaher; they had a son, James, and a daughter, Catharine Utzschneider.

Research notes

• Full New York Times obituary text on wiki as PDF (editor-supplied scan).

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	96
Nara ASN	31296519
Nara Name	VON KLEMPERER KLEMENS W
Nara State	13
Nara County	17
Nara POE	1306
Nara DOE	100243
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	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	16
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	5
Nara Civilian Occupation	992
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	71
Nara Weight (lbs)	163
Class_ASN	31296519
Class_Name	von KLEMPERER, Klemens W.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 2 November 1916 — Born in Berlin.
• 1934–1938 — Gymnasium; Oxford / Vienna studies; anti-Nazi student activity.
• 1938–1939 — Flees to the United States; Harvard refugee scholar.
• 1942–1946 — U.S. Army; Camp Ritchie Class 6; SHAEF G-2 (London, Versailles, Berlin); Berlin Document Center.
• 1949 — Ph.D., Harvard (History).
• 1949–1986 — Smith College faculty; Seelye Professor 1979.
• 23 December 2012 — Died in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Sources

• Dennis Hevesi, “Klemens von Klemperer Dies at 96; Wrote of Nazi Era,” The New York Times, 7 January 2013 (online)
• The New York Times, “Klemens von Klemperer Dies at 96; Wrote of Nazi Era,” 7–8 January 2013
• Daily Hampshire Gazette / Legacy — Klemens von Klemperer obituary
• 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)