", Jon Wertheim: Did you ever confront a Nazi who said "this was morally reprehensible? One can readily point to the case of Ritchie Boy, who outwitted Adolf Eichmann and saved an estimated 40,000 lives. Their job: to provide battlefield intelligence. And I gave myself the name Commissar Krukov. It's important for people everywhere to remember those who perished and those who survived the Holocaust and, in a world increasingly faced with sectarian strife and intolerance, to set forth the lessons of the Holocaust as a model for teaching ethical conduct and responsible decision-making, Stern said. Guy Stern: I think it was the continuous flow of reliable information that really helped expedite the end of the war. 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Jon Wertheim: You have a smile on your face when you think back. It has been edited for USO.org. Guy Stern: Yes and it's theatrics in a way yes. After the war, Guy Stern, Victor Brombert, Paul Fairbrook and Max Lerner came home, married, and went to Ivy League schools on the G.I. Training was designed to be as realistic as possible. On the front lines from Normandy onwards, the Ritchie Boys fought in every major battle in Europe, collecting tactical intelligence, interrogating prisoners and civilians, all in service of winning the war. And they were motivated like few other American soldiers. Recruits were chosen based on their knowledge of European language and culture, as well as their high IQs. Max Lerner: Because I remembered my parents. One of these was. Hundreds of Ritchie Boys were attached to divisions that liberated concentration camps and interviewed former prisoners to document the atrocities that took place. Marlene Dietrich was many things, but to soldiers in World War II, she was a morale-boosting entertainer willing to go right to the front lines to support our nations military. History professor David Frey runs the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Guy Stern: Well I think not (laugh) but I don't run as fast, I don't swim as fast but I feel happy with my tasks. Produced by Katherine Davis. David Frey: Right. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Maryland it was away from prying eyes and prying spies but close enough to decision makers at the Pentagon. Guy Stern: We were on a PT boat taking off from Southampton. And it was not until a few years ago that the son of Italian-Jewish Ritchie Boy. Because they would know this information. We were briefed that the Germans were not going to welcome us greatly. They chose their eldest son. Or is it just a habit or habit of obedience or dignity? Paul Fairbrook: You can learn to shoot a rifle in six months but you can't learn fluent German in six months. Fortunately, a book written by historian Beverley Eddy tells the story of Camp Ritchie and the Ritchie Boys in great detail and with professional skill. Web"The Ritchie Boys" is the untold story of a group of young men who fled Nazi Germany and returned to Europe as soldiers in US-uniforms. (See Even after the Pentagons change of heart about handing weapons to enemy aliens, suspicion of their bearing and accents remained widespread among regular American soldiers, sometimes reaching higher ranks. 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. Contact. Wayne State University Professor Ehrhard Dabringhaus, another attendee, was ordered, shortly after the war, to become the American control officer to Klaus Barbie, the notorious war criminal. The Ritchie Boys earned a reputation for delivering important tactical information fast, making a major contribution to every battle on the Western Front. Actress. In August 2021, the bipartisan US Senate Resolution 349 officially recognized the bravery of those troops. Many of the Jewish refugees lost family members, and at the end of the war, they searched for them. Jon Wertheim: This had a real material impact on World War II. The Ritchie Boys landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and helped liberate Paris. Guy Stern: They were killed either in Warsaw or in Auschwitz. From that point on, Ritchie Boys were involved in every major battle in Europe, using their language skills to gather intelligence, interpret enemy documents, and engage in psychological warfare encouraging German soldiers to surrender by dropping leaflets, through radio broadcasts, and in trucks equipped with loudspeakers. Now in their late 90s, these humble warriors still keep in touch, swapping stories about a chapter in American history now finally being told. Most chose the eldest son, to carry on the family name. A childhood friend described to Stern how his parents, younger brother and sister had been forced from their home and deported. Jon Wertheim: That's the kind of thing you would know. Most of the guys in basic training were Southerners who hated the Jewish boys from New York and busted our chops most of the time, George Sakheim, who had fled to the United States by way of Palestine, told POLITICO Magazine. Guy Stern: None of my family survived. In the Ardennes region of Belgium, the Germans mounted a massive counteroffensive, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge. Besides their language ability, these soldiers were familiar with the culture and thinking of enemy soldiers, which would aid them in their efforts. And if you get up early enough, you might catch him working out at his local park in the suburbs of Detroit. In trying to assess the contribution of a single participant to an endeavor as gigantic as World War II, the question is often asked How much difference can one man make? Considering how remarkable Ritchie Boys were as individuals, does it make sense to try to find just one or perhaps two Ritchie Boys whose individual contributions stand out in terms of the difference it made? They knew the psychology and the Web34K views 1 year ago. They were asked, in some cases, to memorize battle books, which told soldiers about the enemys organization, structure, capacity, leadership and experience. And I needed to get my own back. Jon Wertheim: And you were able to confront the people that had caused this this trauma. The unit got its name from where they did their training, Camp Ritchie, Maryl Cast & Crew Read More Christian Bauer Director Museum to Confer its Highest Honor, The Elie Wiesel Award, Secret Unit Formed 80 Years Ago Was Instrumental in Nazi GermanysDefeat and Included Many Who Had Fled the Regime. Sixty-plus percent of the actionable intelligence gathered on the battlefield was gathered by Ritchie Boys. Making such a distinction in this case is very difficult. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! And there's nothing that forges unity better than having a common enemy. Fort Ritchie, as it later became known, closed in 1998. But it gave me great deal of satisfaction. This group became known as The Ritchie Boys, who were the basis of a documentary film of the same name. They all rose to the top of their fields, as did a number of other Ritchie Boys. 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). Jon Wertheim: Sixty percent of the actionable intelligence? Guy Stern: I had my whole uniform with medals, Russian medals. Guy Stern, a Bronze Star Medal recipient who attended, said: "It was an emotional reunion, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was not only that short term impact on the battlefield. The Ritchie Boys were one of World War IIs greatest secret weapons for US Army intelligence, said incoming Museum Chairman Stuart E. Eizenstat. Victor Brombert: And at great effort we found people, we arrested them, we were proud of doing that. After Hitler's defeat, many of them took on a challenging new assignment using their language and interrogation skills to find and arrest top Nazi war criminals. Max Lerner: Or they had an effort to erase it. Jon Wertheim: What is it like when you get together and reflect on this experience going on 80 years ago? Jon Wertheim: SS men, you're saying, have a tattoo under their left arm with their blood type? An African-American Ritchie Boy William Warfield If you have ever heard a recording of William Warfield singing Ol Man River, from the musical Showboat by Jerome Kern, you will not have forgotten his deep, rich, bass-baritone voice. You know a lot about them already. After the war, a number served as translators and interrogatorsespecially during the Nuremberg Trials. The largest set of graduates were 2,000 German-born Jews. Jon Wertheim: Did the Ritchie Boys redefine what it means to be a soldier and contribute to a military? Victor Brombert: It was very, very hard, very difficult and very rare to have a German denounce another German at that point. Guy Stern speaks at the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Centers Ritchie Boys exhibit and reunion at Farmington Hills, Michigan in 2011. But Hitler was determined to continue the war. And we were strafed and I said to myself, uh, "now, it's the end' because I could you could feel the machine gun bullets. After recruiters found out he spoke four languages, they dispatched him to Camp Ritchie, where strenuous classroom instruction was coupled with strenuous field exercises. The soldiers were sent for training to We now know that this perception needs to be broadened. 98-year-old Victor Brombert says they relied on their Camp Ritchie training to get people to open up. K. Lang-Slattery, Katie Lang-Slattery. / CBS News. Guy Stern: And some we didn't break but 80% were so darned scared of the Russians and what they would do. You want to convince them that you're trustworthy. He added that the military chose intelligent people because they had to process a tremendous amount of information." It was wonderful to be part of them. very important because you save life if you know where the mine "where is the machine gun nest?" Their subjects ranged from low-level German soldiers to high-ranking Nazi officers including Hans Goebbels, brother of Hitler's chief propogandist, Joseph Goebbels. David Frey teaches history to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Jon Wertheim: What do you think is the greatest contribution of the Ritchie Boys? In a different way, the contributions made by a small team or by a large group of individuals may also save lives and deserve to be called heroic. David Frey: The purpose of the facility was to train interrogators. Stern also said that its important for people everywhere to remember those who perished and those who survived the Holocaust and, in a world increasingly faced with sectarian strife and intolerance, to set forth the lessons of the Holocaust as a model for teaching ethical conduct and responsible decision-making. Jon Wertheim: Did you ever ask yourself why me? For decades, they didn't discuss their work. I don't think we're heroes. Many of the German and Austrian Jewish refugees reported to Camp Ritchie while still designated as "enemy aliens." But certainly what did not work was violence or threat of violence. You're in Belgium? But there were the odd grace notes among the wreckage of a continent. Guy Stern: We were walking along and you saw these emaciated, horribly looking, close to death people. If a German POW wouldn't talk, he might face Guy Stern dressed up as a Russian officer. Among them were the Ritchie Boys, some 15,200 men who attended the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Md. This was our kind of war. The soldiers were sent for training to Camp Ritchie, Md., beginning June 19, 1942, where they trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center thus their nickname, the Ritchie Boys. Jon Wertheim: And you're saying that some of that originated at Camp Ritchie? His Jewish family left Germany in 1933 when he was 10. Just two weeks shy of turning 100, Guy Stern drips with vitality. Jon Wertheim: So this is you on the job. Washington, DC 20024-2126 That was the biggest weakness that the army recognized that it had, which was battlefield intelligence and the interrogation needed to talk to sometimes civilians, most of the time prisoners of war, in order to glean information from them. Early on in World War II, the Army realized it needed German- and Italian-speaking U.S. soldiers for a variety of duties, including psychological warfare, interrogation, espionage and intercepting enemy communications. A mighty onslaught of more than 160,000 men, 13,000 aircraft, and 5,000 vessels. The Ritchie Boys connected with prisoners on subjects as varied as food and soccer rivalries but they weren't above using deception on difficult targets. Mr. That information is of critical importance because it tells you where certain units are, and if you know where certain units are, you know where the weak spots are. That was the mantra. Jon Wertheim: Why were the Ritchie Boys so successful? We now know that this perception needs to be broadened. They were members of a secret group whose mastery of the German language and culture helped them provide battlefield intelligence that proved pivotal to the Allies' victory. Did your dog tag identify you as Jewish? This is Guy Stern 80 years ago. It was his service in the military during World War II. Download our app to find events, locations and programs near you. On June 6, 1944, D-Day the Allies launched one of the most sweeping military operations in history. Jon Wertheim: 60% of the actionable intelligence? The 10 digit ISBN is 0811769968 and the 13 digit ISBN is 9780811769969. Wayne State University Professor Ehrhard Dabringhaus, another attendee, was ordered shortly after the war to become the American control officer to Klaus Barbie, the notorious war criminal. The Ritchie Boys, a group of more than 19,000 refugees trained in Maryland to be U.S. intelligence specialists during World War II, are being honored in a Ritchie Boy Dr. All Rights Reserved. I have some that were shot. David Frey: There are a whole variety of prominent Ritchie Boys. Wehrmacht Captain Curt Bruns, convicted by a military tribunal of ordering the murder of those two Ritchie Boys, was executed by a firing squad in June, 1945. Photo credit DoD/Holocaust Memorial Center, Why Marlene Dietrich Was One of the Most Patriotic Women in World War II, In World War I, African American 'Hellfighters from Harlem,' Fought Prejudice to Fight for Their Country, VE Day Marked End of Long Road for World War II Troops, Programs for Service Members and Their Families. Still, if they were captured, they knew what the Nazis would do to them. WebThe surviving Ritchie Boys are in their eighties now. The Allies liberated Paris in August and drove Nazi troops out of France. Max Lerner: Wear civilian clothes, pass messages, kill. Max Lerner: It gave me a great deal of satisfaction. And, it is thanks to them (their native speaking German skills, knowledge of the German culture, and patriotism), that America and her allies were able to defeat Hitler. We worked harder than anyone could have driven us. Victor Brombert: There were long and demanding exercises and close combat training. Germany surrendered on May 8th of that year. So to get that kind of information, particularly from those you capture on the battlefield, you need people who are trained to get that information. Nina Wolff Feld told her fathers story in Someday You Will Understand: My Fathers Private World War 2. There were two who were actually captured at Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Courtesy of the Holocaust Memorial Center, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil, https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/WWII/. Sometimes entire German towns were forced to pay respects to the dead. Guy Stern became a professor and taught for almost 50 years. Jon Wertheim: What do you remember feeling that day? I think that's quantifiable. David Frey: Well the most important part of the training was that they learned to do interrogation, and in particular of prisoners of war. Victor Brombert, now 98 years old, is a former professor of romance languages and literature at Yale and then Princeton. Engraved on the award are the words from Wiesels Nobel Prize acceptance speech, One person of integrity can make a difference., About the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 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. Walter Midener, an attendee, was awarded the Silver Star. David Frey: Part of what the Ritchie Boys did was to convince German units to surrender without fighting. Of the approximately 19,000 Ritchie Boys who served during the war, about 200 are still living, ranging 95 107 years old. The story of Camp Ritchie and the men (and women) who came there is a story that needs to be broadcast more widely. It was Sunday, May 13, 1945, Henderson marvels. Fortunately, some of the Ritchie Boys are still around to tell their tales, and that includes the life force that is Guy Stern, age 99. Jon Wertheim: What do you remember from that? Mothers Day.. The Ritchie Boys: Americas Secret Weapon Against the Nazis | by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Memory & Action | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. Dr. Jon Wertheim: I understand you you had sparring partners. Guy Stern: I went to my father one day and I said, "classes are becoming a torture chamber". Jon Wertheim: That's how you looked at it. They fought with the American military in the lands they had recently escaped, helping to turn the course of the war. Paul Fairbrook helped write this compact manual, known as the red book, which outlined in great detail the makeup of virtually every Nazi unit, information every Ritchie Boy committed to memory. Many of them were Jewish refugees from Europe, who fled their homeland, came to America and joined the U.S. Army. Jon Wertheim: Was it your knowledge of the language or your knowledge of the psychology and the German culture? Jon Wertheim: You let him know you were Jewish? The Ritchie Boys train at Camp Ritchie, Md., sometime during World War II. The knowledge that his adopted country would not let him fight their common enemy was bitterly frustrating.