Ritchie Boys

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The Ritchie Boys were a group of approximately 10,000^[1] young, mostly Jewish, Germans ousted from their country of birth by the Nazi regime, who chose to join the United States Army and were trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center, also known as Camp Ritchie, in Maryland. They were especially trained in methods of psychological warfare. They were suitable for this kind of task because they knew the German language and mentality better than any American-born soldiers. The role of these soldiers was therefore to study the enemy, and demoralize him in order to achieve an unconditional surrender.

After the US declared war on Germany, the Ritchie Boys became a decisive weapon for the Allied powers. They entered Europe on D-Day on June 6, 1944 along with the other Allied troops. Shortly after reaching land they left their units and pursued their special tasks. They were able to feed the Allies valuable information. Moreover, the Ritchie Boys helped break German resistance by demoralizing them in both open and covert operations. They interrogated POWs and defectors to ascertain information about German force levels, troop movements, and the physical and psychological state of the Germans. By means of targeted disinformation via newspaper announcements, flyers, radio broadcasts, and sound trucks, the German population and military was prompted to cease their resistance against the Allied invasion.

After the war, many of the Ritchie Boys served as translators during the Nuremberg Trials. 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. Many of them had successful political, scientific, or business careers.

The Ritchie Boys included several prominent men such as Hans Habe, Klaus Mann, Stefan Heym, Hanus Burger, and David Robert Seymour.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• (German) Baron, Ulrich: Wir waren nicht mehr wehrlos in Die Welt. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
• The Ritchie Boys Comprehensive website with history, media and contact information. Retrieved 2007-02-17

[edit] Notes

• This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of February 12, 2007.