Remembering the Ritchie Boys
by Keith Jeffreys
originally published in Dec. 2005/Jan. 2005 Venice Magazine
"The Ritchie Boys were not victims, they were victors.
That was very important for me to show," writes German documentary
filmmaker Christian Bauer in an e-mail from Germany about why he made
his standout documentary detailing the extraordinary determination and
accomplishments of German Jews in the United States who joined the
Army's Military Intelligence Service (MIS) during WWII to defeat
Hitler's military machine.
In telling the story of the Ritchie Boys, Bauer focuses
on the lives of a handful of the approximately 10,000 soldiers sent by
the U.S. Army to train for the MIS at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. In doing
so, Bauer humanizes the individual efforts of those contributions during
the war, but he is also careful to refrain from over-inflating their
sacrifice.
"The Ritchie Boys did not really see themselves as
heroes," Bauer continues. "They were happy that the country which had
given them refuge offered them the opportunity to fight with what they
knew best: The language, their culture, and the psychology of the
enemy."
Bauer, who spent 15 years trying to make The Ritchie
Boys, was able to bring the project together after a meeting in Germany
with Guy Stern, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of German and Slavic
Studies at Wayne State University who was in Germany to give a lecture.
The documentary, made for German television, grew from their initial
meeting to provide little-known evidence about the lives of the Camp
Ritchie soldiers and their ensuing relationships during and after WWII.
Among the men profiled were Werner Angres, a former
history professor, Sy Lewen, an artist working in New York, and Fred
Howard, a New York-based designer who was teamed with Guy Stern as Army
Interrogators of Prisoners of War (IPWs) in Europe after the Allied
Invasion in June, 1944.
Together, their stories bring a sense of the spirit,
determination, and humor the young soldiers carried to the fight knowing
full-well the on-going horror they would encounter as a result of Nazis
policies.
"I wanted to show the enthusiasm and the determination
of these guys," says Bauer. "I also wanted to let the audience feel that
they were young, foolish at times, and that they are proud of what they
did."
Venice: What year were you assigned to Camp Ritchie
and how did that come about?
Fred Howard: I came into the Army in late '42. Based on my
professional life as an industrial designer, and I was technically very
capable and I wound up in the engineers. It was put out that the Army
needed people that spoke German for interrogation purposes and
intelligence work at all levels. I was at Ft. Belvoir and I was picked
out and wound-up at Camp Ritchie.
Describe the atmosphere at Camp Ritchie. It has been
described as a camp full of intellectuals.
I'm not sure that is correct. I would have to include myself in
that. We were a cross-section of bright young men. There were a lot of
smart people, there is no question about it. And the training was very
intense. More intense than I think we realized at the time. Guy
described it. It was very tough training and it had to be done very
quickly.
The film details the work done at Camp Ritchie as the
early development of Psychological Warfare or Psy-Ops. Did you realize
at the time that you were at the forefront of U.S. war strategy to
defeat the Nazis?
I did not. You have to remember, we were given the basic
instruments. How you used it and how you developed it, was in large
measure developed individually. Nobody else told us at Ritchie what we
finally did -- the methodology we developed. The thing that was so stark
was the fact that the Germans were so afraid of the Russians and weren’t
afraid of us at all. The fear of the Russians was so enormous because of
the atrocities they had committed against them. If the individual German
soldiers didn’t participate themselves, they certainly knew about the
atrocities.
What was the strategy that you and Guy Stern
developed to get information from the Germans?
We played with our knowledge of the situation. We decided that Guy
would become a Russian and that we would identify him a Commissar Krukov
and that he would be a liaison officer. There was a sign in his tent
that identified him as that. And it worked to get information out of the
Germans.
When you participated in the invasion of Europe, did
you feel you were adequately prepared?
I was very prepared. But I'll tell you, the advantage I had, first of
all had something to do with my own family background. The desire to do
something against the Nazis combined with the desire to help this
country was overwhelming. And again, as the film points out, with the
work we put in, we were relentless. We didn’t need to be coaxed to do a
good job, if you can imagine a bunch of guys like that. Everyone was
well motivated.
Venice: Can you provide some background about your
life before you arrived in the United States?
Guy Stern: My father was a clothing merchant, my mother a housewife
and I had two siblings. In school I did particularly well in German and
German essays which came in handy later. In 1934 I was a member of a
German athletic club and was removed by orders from the highest (levels
of Government) because all Jews had to be eliminated from German sports. I learned English in my high school and I also had a private teacher
who had lived in the United States and was a fanatic baseball lover. So,
I came here well-prepared knowing the national pastime.
How was the decision made for you to come to the
United States?
In 1937 my parents had ample evidence that we could not stay in
Germany. My father's clientele was shrinking because of boycotts (of
Jewish businesses). So they solicited my mother's brother, who lived in
the United States, to give me an affidavit (for entry into the U.S.).
Later, I found myself standing in front of Malcolm C. Burke, the Consul
in Hamburg who let me through in very quick order. I found out years
later from a book called Why Six Million Died, by Arthur Morse, that
Burke used every loophole to let people through.
Tell us about the process of joining the Army and
being assigned to Camp Ritchie.
I finished high school here; worked for one year in restaurants; and got
a job across from the university in a hotel. I tried to enlist in Naval
Intelligence but they only took (native-born) Americans. In 1942 I got
my draft orders. I was sent for basic training in Texas. When I was
nearly through basic training I got confidential orders to report to
Camp Ritchie.
How did you become an IPW (Interrogator of Prisoners
of War)?
I had taken German Stenography in high school as an elective. I was
given a refresher course in German Stenography so that if any documents
written in shorthand came to the MIS, we would be able to read them. One
thing I don't know if Fred Howard remembers vividly, is the final MIS
examination at Ritchie which was to identify German Army items. It was
one of the toughest I have ever taken even though I ultimately acquired
a Ph.D.
As an aside, did it seem surreal to have left Germany
and then find yourself in the Army, preparing to return to fight the
Nazis?
Yes, but my acculturation was much faster than that of others. I was
sent to Soldan High School when I arrived in St. Louis and the reception
at that high school was so cordial. I was put in the advisory of the
German teacher and was placed into the journalism program and within
days I was a fledgling journalist. I started writing for a college
newspaper and had two scoops. I became Americanized because I fell in
love with jazz, and St. Louis was right for that. I managed two
interviews: one with Benny Goodman and one with Thomas Mann and that
made me a hero at my high school.
Why do you think the United States prevailed in a war
where other nations might have failed?
I have never seen our nation as united in one spirit. I'll give you
two examples. Number one, if I went into a bar on pass into Baltimore, I
never paid for a drink. Invariably, somebody would come up to me and
say, "Hey, what are you having, soldier?" Secondly, during maneuvers in
Louisiana we were allowed to go to services. When we came out of the
synagogue, every one of the soldiers was told to go home with a family
for Passover meal and ceremony. Sure, there was solidarity with Jews,
but it happened in all aspects of life. There was such solidarity.
Home
|
Saints and Soldiers
|
Ritchie Boys
|
Jessie Nelson
Adrian Lyne |
Mountain Meadows |
Waco
e-mail
Keith
