David Frey: There were Ritchie Boys that were in the first wave on the first day at D-Day. He was shot right away and killed. The Ritchie Boys train at Camp Ritchie, Md., sometime during World War II. At a time when the U.S. military urgently needed foreign language speakers, the Ritchie Boys offered a key resource. Approximately 20,000 menmany of whom were immigrants and refugees from more than 70 countries, including 2,800 German and Austrian refugees who fled The Ritchie Boys: The Jewish U.S. Soldiers Who Helped And they were impressed with that. And so I fell back behind because I didn't want to be seen crying to a hardened soldier and then he looked around to look where I was, how I was delayed, and he, this good fellow from middle of Ohio was bawling just as I was. Dabringhaus went on to write a book about the experience, called "Klaus Barbie: The Shocking Story of How the U.S. Used this Nazi War Criminal as an Intelligence Agent. Max Lerner: Or they had an effort to erase it. As the world observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day, some may remember the so-called "Ritchie Boys," who greatly aided allied forces in their fight against Germany and other Axis nations in World War II. The unit got its name from where they did their training, Camp Ritchie, Maryl Cast & Crew Read More Christian Bauer Director / CBS News. Jon Wertheim: Because you were Jewish you were ostracized? I can't recommend this book enough! Jon Wertheim: What is it like when you get together and reflect on this experience going on 80 years ago? Jon Wertheim: This-- This is a remarkable story. The very aspect of these SOBs now being at my command (laugh) gave me also some personal satisfaction. After recruiters found out he spoke four languages, they dispatched him to Camp Ritchie, where strenuous classroom instruction was coupled with strenuous field exercises. Knowing how to shape that appeal was pretty critical to the success of the mobile broadcast units. Jon Wertheim: Why were the Ritchie Boys so successful? Paul Fairbrook: I was proud to be in the American Army and we were able to do what we had to do. Sometimes, not even information about their fate: it was the 1990s before Werner Angress could confirm his father perished in Auschwitz. Jon Wertheim: I imagine all of a sudden no one wants to admit to being a Nazi. He added that the military chose intelligent people because they had to process a tremendous amount of information." Established in 2011, the Elie Wiesel Award recognizes individuals whose actions embody the Museums vision of a world where people confront hate, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Since the story of the Ritchie Boys remained relatively unknown for a half-century or more, it was often left to their children and grandchildren to bring their accomplishments to light. Jon Wertheim: And you were able to confront the people that had caused this this trauma. Guy Stern: I had an immediate visceral response to that and that was this is my war for many reasons. Guy Stern: Yes, that carried weight and the belief in the printed matter was very great. Max Lerner: They were all justifying themselves. And if you get up early enough, you might catch him working out at his local park in the suburbs of Detroit. Your average commander in the field might not. Jon Wertheim: What was it like for you, leaving Nazi Germany, escaping as a Jew, and the next time you go back to Europe it's to fight those guys? The Ritchie Boys consisted of approximately 15,200 servicemen who were trained for U.S. Army Intelligence during WWII. And it was not until a few years ago that the son of Italian-Jewish Ritchie Boy. Elie Wiesel, the Museums founding chairman, was the first recipient of the award, which was subsequently named in his honor. That was the mantra. (See Victor Brombert was with the first American armored division to land on Omaha Beach. This particular edition is in a Hardcover format. Jon Wertheim: Why did you want to enlist initially? Striecher was later tried and convicted at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, where concentration camp survivors who bore witness to the mass murder faced down their Nazi tormentors. Besides their language ability, these soldiers were familiar with the culture and thinking of enemy soldiers, which would aid them in their efforts. Jon Wertheim: As a former German who understood the psychology and the mentality. I know all about you. They all rose to the top of their fields, as did a number of other Ritchie Boys. It was here that over 19,000 Ritchie Boys, many of them German-Jewish immigrants from Europe Embedded in every Army unit, they interrogated tens of thousands of captured Nazi soldiers as well as civilians extracting key strategic information on enemy strength, troop movements, and defensive positions. Recruits were chosen based on their knowledge of European Language and culture, as well as their high IQs. What was that like? G. Guy Ritchie's The Covenant is an intense action movie, full of gunfire and explosions that make you feel caught in the midst of danger. Eight Week Classes - Dates & Graduation Numbers. David Frey: They were in fact. Jon Wertheim: So physical combat training as well as intelligence? WebOne can readily point to the case of Ritchie Boy William R. Perl who outwitted Adolf Eichmann and saved an estimated 40,000 lives. There were at least 30 languages spoken at Camp Ritchie, but the preference obviously was for German speakers because most of the enemy forces would be German, Frey says. Jon Wertheim: And you think because it had that signature, somehow that certified it. Among them were the Ritchie Boys, some 15,200 men who attended the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Md. Web34K views 1 year ago. HistoryNet I can look anybody straight in their eye and say I think I've earned the right to be an American. David Frey: Many of those who trained at Camp Ritchie actually did go on to the OSS the precursor to the CIA, That meant that the people who learned their craft at Camp Ritchie played a significant role in setting up what eventually became the CIA. Readers may be amazed to learn that the Ritchie Boys included five Marines who died on Iwo Jima, including two who graduated with a specialty of Terrain Intelligence) and were killed in action on the day the Marines stormed Iwo Jima (19 February 1945). According to the Holocaust Museum, two Jewish soldiers were taken captive and executed after being identified as German-born Jews, and there were about 200 Ritchie Boys alive as of May 2022. Jon Wertheim: You work 6 days a week, you swim every morning, you lecture, any signs of slowing down? Guy Stern, a Bronze Star Medal recipient who attended, said: Ritchie Boy Dr. Guy Stern: None of my family survived. This was our kind of war. 97-year-old Max Lerner, an Austrian Jew fluent in German and French, served as a special agent with the counterintelligence corps, passing information to French underground resistance groups. Singer. They became known as the Ritchie Boys. Their enormous contributions to defeating Nazismone Army study concluded they were responsible for obtaining nearly 60 percent of the actionable intelligence gathered in Europe during the warand their postwar justice efforts remain little known to Americans even today. Of the approximately 19,000 Ritchie Boys who served during the war, about 200 are still living, ranging 95 107 years old. Many of them about 14% were Jewish refugees like Kantor. Another bit of indispensable Ritchie Boy handiwork: the order of battle of the German army. Choose which Defense.gov products you want delivered to your inbox. USO Tour Veteran. Naturally, I turned to Dan Gross, the unofficial archivist for the Ritchie Boys. Although Ritchie Boy Private Henry Kolm did not have the opportunity to serve overseas, he was able to make a significant contribution as an interrogator at Fort Hunt and as the principal facilitator in the integration of German Paperclip scientists and engineers such as Wernher von Braun into our society. Still, if they were captured, they knew what the Nazis would do to them. When Hitler came to power, the Bromberts fled to France, and then to the U.S. Jon Wertheim: Give us a sense of the kinds of courses they took. And I said "Well, huh, in slang, there ain't nothing special about you, but if you were saved, you got to show that you were worthy of it. And I made sure he knew that it was a Jew who controlled him. Washington, DC 20024-2126 Sons and Soldiers concentrates on six of them, two deadincluding Selling, who passed away at 86 in 2004but who left detailed memoirs, and four still flourishing There were two who were actually captured at the Battle of the Bulge. Dozens of Ritchie Boys worked at the Nuremberg Trials as prosecutors, interrogators and translators. "By highlighting those individuals who, in the midst of evil, stood for the best, rather than the worst of human nature, the Holocaust Memorial Center seeks to contribute to maintaining an open and free society," he added. Immigrant Soldier, The Story of Ritchie History Museum Links. After Pearl Harbor brought America into the war, many of those sons were eager to return to Europe and find their families. And that's what the key to the success was. And I gave myself the name Commissar Krukov. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. He is a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, and has also written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Politico Magazine, and CNN.com. Jon Wertheim: What do you suspect might have happened? Ritchie Boys Image by Sons and Soldiers. This is Guy Stern 80 years ago. G. Guy Ritchie's The Covenant is an intense action movie, full of gunfire and explosions that make you feel caught in the midst of danger. Who helped shape what it meant to be American and who in some cases gave their lives in service to this country. The case of Hans Habe stands out in my mind as the essence of the reason why the Ritchie Boys were able to use their intelligence (and motivation) to make an enormous difference. Guy Stern: We were on a PT boat taking off from Southampton. Guy Stern: Yes, that's my interrogation tent. That is the key to being a good interrogator. And that's why civilians could be useful and soldiers could be useful, "where is the minefield?" The Allies liberated Paris in August and drove Nazi troops out of France. The story of Camp Ritchie and the men (and women) who came there is a story that needs to be broadcast more widely.