Talk:Ritchie Boys

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The page says: "After that there were no veteran reunions or similar events, as World War II had only been a short period in the lives of most of the soldiers." which strikes me as rather foolish as WWI was a short period in the lives of other groups of soldiers, too, but there have been veteran reunions for many other divisions.```` Steph

I am very familiar with the story of Camp Ritchie and the Ritchie Boys. The reason that there were not reunions of veterans of Camp Ritchie was that they were not necessarily part of a single military unit or division during the course of the war and they had been trained for very specialized duties. Because of their specialized training in military intelligence at Camp Ritchie, Ritchie Boys were assigned to different divisional headquarters to work with the G-2 staff on various activities such as document translation, photo interpretation, psychological operations, interrogations of POWs, mobile field communications, etc. As such they frequently moved to different divisions according to the needs for these specialized services.

Let me share an example with you. My late Father trained at Camp Ritchie and arrived in the ETO shortly before the Battle of the Bulge where he joined the 84th Infantry Division. The 84th was formed with recruits mostly from Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Arkansas and California. My Dad was a German-Jewish immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania. He served with the 84th Infantry on IPW Team 141 until March 1945 when their team was transferred to the 16th Armored Division for service in Germany and Czechoslovakia. While he was very proud of his military service, most of his time was spent with his small IPW team.

Incidentally, there was a reunion of Ritchie veterans in Farmington Hills, MI, in July 2011 (http://patch.com/michigan/farmington-mi/new-holocaust-center-exhibit-honors-world-war-iis-ritchie-boys) and again in Washington, DC in 2012 (http://www.npr.org/2012/06/18/155308622/ww-iis-ritchie-boys-were-a-key-intelligence-group). There are a lot of stories and articles about the two reunions. Bernielubran (talk) 21:51, 5 May 2015 (UTC)Bernie

"ousted by the Nazis"?

While Jewish emigration was permitted by the Nazis until 1941, in fact, virtually all fled Nazi Germany, not because the Nazis "ousted" them, but because they were escaping the escalating threat against them (such as the "Nuremberg" laws or Reichsbürgergesetz and Kristallnacht, which occured 70 years ago last night). Mikebe (talk) 13:57, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Proposed Revision

According to records at the National Archives, approximately 20,000 servicemen took courses at Camp Ritchie (11,637 graduated the main 8-week course). Based on my years of researching the records and talking to Ritchie Boys, I believe a more accurate and informative Wikipedia page is needed. Revision Follows. (Note: I'm posting this for my father who is the researcher.)72.81.191.97 (talk) 14:44, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

THE RITCHIE BOYS

About the Group

For the purposes of this article, a ‘Ritchie Boy’ is defined as: Any member of the U.S. Armed Services who was ordered to report for training at Camp Ritchie (or Camp Sharpe) and who entered a training course, whether or not he graduated. The “Ritchie Boys” comprised over 20,000 men who were trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie in Maryland during World War II. Many served in Europe as interrogators of prisoners on the front lines and in prisoner of war enclosures; others served in all aspects of intelligence and as a group they played a key role in the U.S. war effort against Nazi Germany. Roughly 21 percent of the Ritchie boys were recent German and Austrian immigrants. Of these, approximately 60 percent were Jews who had fled Nazi persecution. Their knowledge of the German language, customs and culture made them a decisive asset in intelligence-gathering efforts. In 2005, ten surviving Ritchie Boys were featured in the critically acclaimed documentary film "The Ritchie Boys" by German film-maker Christian Bauer. Included in the records at the National Archives is the unpublished ‘official’ history prepared at the end of the war. Additional information concerning the training conducted at Camp Ritchie is available at the National Archives in Record Groups 165, 238 and 389.

The Camp

Camp Ritchie, located northeast of Hagerstown, Maryland, was founded in 1926 on 638 acres as a National Guard Camp. After the U.S. entered World War II in late 1941, the camp was leased by the state of Maryland to the U.S. Army which recognized the urgent need for a center to train intelligence officers. The Army decided that Camp Ritchie was an ideal location for the purpose because of its proximity to Washington, DC, and because the surrounding terrain resembled many a western European landscape. In a simple ceremony on June 19, 1942, the camp was formally established. When construction was completed, facilities provided housing and training for up to 6000 servicemen and women -- and even included a mock German village for training exercises. Though the camp was officially under the jurisdiction of the Deputy Chief of Staff of G-2, it was camp commander Colonel Charles Y. Banfill who instituted and oversaw the military intelligence training program for the duration of the war. After the camp was established, Army brass was asked to recommend officers needed for intelligence training, and to locate men with foreign language skills. Many Army recruits taking basic training were suddenly given orders to report to Camp Ritchie. Upon arrival, recruits were ordered not to divulge the fact that they were now part of a military intelligence training program.

The Courses

The most important courses at Camp Ritchie included the 31 basic 8-week courses, (15,253 students were entered and 11,637 graduated). The first 8-week training regimen began in late July 1942 and involved an 8-day week consisting of 7 days of study and one day of rest. The rest day was known as ‘Ban Day’ after camp commander Banfill. The last course ended on September 22, 1945. The number of students in each course typically ranged between 300 and 600, averaging 492, with officers comprising almost 30 percent of the total. Students were assigned to a given specialty depending on their language skills and other abilities.

Specialties

Camp Ritchie graduates served as interrogators of prisoners of war (IPW), order of battle (OB) specialists, military interpreters (MII), photo interpreters (PI), in counterintelligence and terrain intelligence, and also engaged in psychological warfare. In order to be assigned to an IPW team in the field, a candidate had to demonstrate not only the requisite language skills, but also the ability to engage enemy POWs face-to-face. Otherwise, they would be used for interpretation or translation assignments. The Order of Battle teams were staffed by graduates who had language skills and completed additional special 4-week courses in Order of Battle. While Camp Ritchie was designed ostensibly for the purpose of training Army personnel, other military and civilian personnel were also accepted for training, including 300 members of the U. S. Marine Corps, along with members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC). Approximately 80% of Camp Ritchie graduates went overseas; most served in the European Theater of Operations. When they arrived in the ETO, typically in Great Britain, they were given additional training, sometimes by veteran team members with direct field experience. There were 223 six-man IPW Teams, 134 six-man MII Teams, 214 six-man PI Teams, and 89 four- or three-man OB Teams. Members of these teams were predominantly Ritchie Boys; remaining members were servicemen whose language and intelligence skills came to light in the field. Ritchie Boys who were not on teams were assigned to Military Intelligence work and attached usually to HQ companies with units such as Armies, Corps, Divisions, etc. Interrogations were carried out in the field as well as in the very large POW camps (‘cages’) operated by Armies and Army Groups. Ritchie Boys were involved in thousands of interrogations, all written up for later review and action. Similarly, Ritchie Boys with OB and PI teams prepared reports that were used for making tactical field decisions, such as selection of specific bombing targets.

Accomplishments

Many Ritchie Boys received battlefield commissions and were placed in supervisory positions. Ritchie Boys also served bravely as infantry when needed and were awarded at least 50 Silver Star medals and a great many more Bronze Star medals. Dozens volunteered and at least 120 served with the five Airborne Divisions. Their names are found among the heroes of OSS, CIA and in the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. Their interrogation of prisoners of war and defectors enabled the U.S. Army to acquire invaluable information about German troop strength, movements, and the status of the German morale. They also engaged in all types of psychological warfare against the enemy, including the distribution of flyers and broadcasting by radio as well as using mobile trucks with loudspeakers. The training of servicemen for psychological warfare was carried out mainly at Camp Sharpe in Gettysburg, PA where over 800 specialists were formed into five Mobile Radio Broadcasting Companies. Thousands of German troops were persuaded to surrender. The overall success of the work of the MITC may perhaps be gauged by a report by Brig. Gen. G. Bryan Conrad, (Acting Deputy ACof S, G-2, ETO) who wrote: “About 62% of all Combat Intelligence gathered by units of the United States Army in the European Theater of Operations, World War II, was the product of Military Intelligence Service Specialist Teams, IPW, PI, MII, OB and French and German Documents Sections.”

Notable Ritchie Boys

Dozens of Ritchie Boys served as translators and interrogators during the Nuremberg Trials. Many Ritchie Boys went on to successful careers in a variety of areas. A partial list of Camp Ritchie graduates includes literary notables Stefan Heym, Hans Habe, Leon Edel, and J.D. Salinger, music notables George Jellinek and William Warfield, Princeton president Robert Goheen, inventor Ralph Baer, columnist Igor Cassini, polyglot and linguist Archibald B. Roosevelt Jr, as well as peace activist William Sloane Coffin, travel guru Eugene Fodor, architect Philip C. Johnson, Rhode Island Governor John Chafee, diplomats Richard Schifter, John E. Dolibois and Vernon A. Walters, and billionaire philanthropists David Rockefeller, John W. Kluge and Eric F. Ross.

Reunions

The first-ever reunion of Ritchie Boys took place from July 23-July 25, 2011, at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan. It was made possible through the efforts of Ritchie Boy Guy Stern who was featured in the documentary movie. A larger reunion on June 18-19, 2012 involved 34 Ritchie Boy veterans who attended a symposium in Washington, DC and traveled back to Camp Ritchie to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the camp’s formal opening. A recently formed Facebook page. “Ritchie Boys of World War II,” serves as a forum for individuals seeking further information about Camp Ritchie and its students. AWikiUpdates4Life (talk) 01:40, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

References

/* External links */

I have spent more than 10 years researching the Ritchie Boys and have written a historical novel that closely follows the true story of one Ritchie Boy. I now give talks about the Ritchie Boys at museums, libraries, and for veterans' organizations. I also have an information page about the Ritchie Boys on my web-site and a regular blog that sometimes posts articles that share information about specific Ritchie Boys and their training at Camp Ritchie. For this reason, I feel my website, especially the Ritchie Boy page, should be added to the list of references at the bottom of the Ritchie Boy article on Wikipedia. http://www.klangslattery.com/ritchie-boys

I also feel the article could use much improvement, especially as per the message above from the son of Dan Gross, an expert on all that pertains to the Ritchie Boys, who they were and what they did in WWII. What can be done to improve this article. Why has it not yet been improved since the message above was posted a year ago? I did make a few edits, but am not sure how to add references and am loath to make major changes without a better understanding of how to do it to meet Wikipedia guidelines. How can I get help with this process? I would be willing to upgrade the article if I can get some editorial help on how to go about it.

LangSlattery (talk) 01:52, 5 December 2016 (UTC)Kathryn Lang-Slattery

Philip Johnson

I've removed Philip Johnson's name. Despite David Rockefeller's sighting of him at Ritchie, the U.S. Army excluded Johnson from any intelligence work -- or any significant work at all -- because of his Fascist activities. Full details in the standard Schulte biography. To call him a Ritchie Boy would not be accurate. --Lockley (talk) 21:59, 29 July 2021 (UTC)

Link issue

I have no experience editing Wikipedia beyond an ill-advised edit at age 12. However, I noticed that the link on this page for Gardner Botsford leads to the page of Janet Malcolm. I thought it would be appropriate to mention it here. 2601:41:4381:4820:AC46:E27:17AA:1F64 (talk) 03:35, 7 January 2022 (UTC)

​Fixed, thanks. Dan Bloch (talk) 04:29, 7 January 2022 (UTC)

Interview with Paul Fairbrook (German)

Paul Fairbrook (Paul Schönbach): taz vom Freitag, 31.3. (Seite 4-5), „Sieger, aber nicht auf dem Schlachtfeld“ von Klaus Hillenbrand, „Paul Fairbrook war nach seiner Flucht vor den Nazis Teil einer geheimen US-Armeeeinheit“: https://www.taz.de/!5921532 Mobil-Sockenpuppe (talk) 06:54, 1 April 2023 (UTC)