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WHAT THEY DID FOR US The Ritchie Boys consisted of approximately ,200 servicemen who were trained for U.S. Army Intelligence during WWII at the secret Camp Ritchie training facility. Approximately %, or 2,200, of them were Jewish refugees born in Germany and Austria. Most of the men sent to Camp Ritchie for training were assigned there because of fluency in German, French, Italian, Polish, or other languages needed by the US Army during WWII. They had been drafted into or volunteered to join the United States Army and when their ability to speak the language of an enemy was discovered, they were sent to Camp Ritchie on secret orders. Some of the Jewish refugees who were part of this program had originally arrived in the US as , many without their parents, and were also among the Thousand . You will recognize many of them. There was Ambassador Richard Schifter, Archibald Roosevelt Jr, J.D. Salinger and Robert Rodenberg, founder of the Baltimore Colts. Notable instructors at Camp Ritchie included Rex Applegate] and professional wrestler Man Mountain Dean. They were trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie in Maryland, later officially known as Fort Ritchie, and closed in 98 under the 95 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. They were specially trained in methods of intelligence, counterintelligence, interrogation, investigation and psychological warfare. (900 of these men also attended special training at Camp Sharpe, Pennsylvania.) The Jewish refugees were qualified for these tasks because they knew the German language and understood the German mentality and behavior better than most American-born soldiers. The role of these soldiers was therefore to work in the front lines, at strategic corps and army levels, at interrogation, analyzing German forces and plans, and also to study and demoralize the enemy. The majority of them went on to work as members of the US Counter Intelligence Corps. After the German declaration of war against the United States on Dec , 41, the Ritchie Boys became an important weapon for the Allies. Many of them entered Europe on D-Day, 6 June 44. Others followed over time. Shortly after reaching land, they left their units and pursued their special tasks. They were able to feed the Allies valuable information. Gen. Oscar Koch (Gen. Patton's G-2) acknowledged that the advance warning of the German Bulge offensive was made possible by information gathered by their MIS units. Moreover, the Ritchie Boys helped break German resistance by demoralizing them in both open and covert operations. They interrogated POWs and defectors to obtain information about German force levels, troop movements, and the physical and psychological state of the Germans. A common interrogation tactic was to use the Germans' fear of transfer into Soviet custody. By means of targeted disinformation via newspaper announcements, flyers, radio broadcasts, and sound trucks, the German population and military were encouraged to cease their resistance to the Allied invasion. A classified postwar report by the U.S. Army found that nearly 60 percent of the credible intelligence gathered in Europe came from the Ritchie Boys. After the war, many of the Ritchie Boys served as translators and interrogators, some during the Nuremberg Trials. Many of them went on to successful political, scientific, or business careers. |
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Perhaps they saved my father's life, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and came home safe and sound... at least physically.
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Very informative, Thank you Daylili
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God bless them all. I ran across the named group when researching a painting hoard found in a salt mine and you "triggered" my memory and filled in the blanks.
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I had never heard of the Ritchie Boys/Camp Ritchie training facility - an absorbing read, thank you. How pivotal the skills and dedication of the refugees towards the success of US Army Intelligence operations - yes, God bless them all.
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There are many anecdotal stories about the US Armed servicemen who fought in WW2. My personal favorites are tales of the 442nd infantry who was made up entirely of Japanese-American soldiers. The unit was sent to the European theater because their loyalty was still questioned because of their ancestry. The late Sen Dan Inyoue (sic?) of Hawaii fought with them and lost his arm in Italy. They were reputed to be the highest decorated unit that fought in Europe. Anyway, here is the story. From time to time, they would take German prisoners. The Germans were dubious about being captured by asian ( and particularly Japanese) soldiers. It was commonplace to tell the prisoners that japan had surrendered and now was part of the Allies. l
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  NBA PLAYOFFS New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers .
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You are very welcome TX. I posted it thinking of Charlottesville Virginia and the terrorist's ugly march by.
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God bless them all. I ran across the named group when researching a painting hoard found in a salt mine and you "triggered" my memory and filled in the blanks.
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I had never heard of the Ritchie Boys/Camp Ritchie training facility - an absorbing read, thank you. How pivotal the skills and dedication of the refugees towards the success of US Army Intelligence operations - yes, God bless them all.
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God bless them all. I ran across the named group when researching a painting hoard found in a salt mine and you "triggered" my memory and filled in the blanks.
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