I watched a documentary. The documentary was about the German refugees, many Jewish, that made it to America; more specifically the refugees in Camp Ritchie, Maryland, a military intelligence training center. They were enlisted into the war by America and were against Germany. The camp was remote and was a school for psychological warfare. They thought the enemy would be helpful in this way. Some men interrogated enemy POW for up to 48 hours straight. Speaking German would get you a better position because they would be able to interrogate the Germans easily. The men in this camp were “intellectuals” that had left Germany either before or during the war and came to America. They were intense instructions and ranged from leaning Morse code to deciphering photography to German prder of battle. They learned some physical combat too like how to kill a man quickly. They practiced combat on sparing partners and interrogation techniques on each other. Training began in the summer of 1942. By 1943 the Ritchie boys were sent to Europe to fight. Their dog tags had Js of Hs on them indicating their religious preference, Jew/Hebrew. Many changed their letters so they wouldn’t get captured by the Germans.
When they landed in Normandy the officers got a map printed on silk so that nothing could happen to it. Most operated separate from their units once they got their assigned tasks. IPOW means interrogators of prisoners of war which is what they were trained to do. There were men of many backgrounds that worked together. They learned not to take notes because it made them nervous. After a while they would say they have to turn them in and they would start talking. The Germans were captured by Americans in Normandy. The Ritchie boys got a reputation of delivering important information fast. They were supposed to interrogate the front lines such as peasants. While over there some of them went to their childhood homes and towns. Crowds would gather around them and give them things such as wine. They were under fire almost every where they’d go. The officers were assigned guards to protect them when they were out about.
The war seemed to have come to a stand still for a while with the liberation of Paris. This didn’t last long. The Ritchie Boys had information and evidence of massive build up of troops. They interrogated 100-150 people and all said the Germans had a massive amount of troops ready to attack. They were dismissed and sent home. That night the Germans attacked and they had to escape. It was basically every man for himself now. The Germans found the IPOW headquarters and one American IPOW. The American Soldiers started asking questions to determine whether they were real Americans or not, but they didn’t know the answers since they were immigrants. Any non-American caught wearing an American uniform was sentenced to death.
After the war ended some of the soldiers went into the concentration camps. Many were appaled at what they saw. One man said he was worried about knowing one of them. Once in the camp he realized that even if he knew one he wouldn't recognized them because they were unrecognizable as human beings.
I thought this documentary was pretty boring. Parts were interesting though. I learned some things too. For example I didn’t even know psychological warfare was used. I also didn’t realize how many made it over to America when the war started. Hearing first hand reports was pretty cool also. The several different men they covered each had a different and unique story to tell which was somewhat interesting to hear. Some Ritchie Boys
Painting of Camp Ritchie
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