“Secret Heroes: The Ritchie Boys” Traveling Exhibit Opens at the Holocaust Memorial Center, July 24
The exhibit, “Secret Heroes: The Ritchie Boys,” running through February 5, 2012, focuses on the lives and achievements of a special band of World War II soldiers fighting a psychological war against the Nazis.
Farmington Hills, MI, July 23, 2011 --(PR.com)-- A new traveling exhibit will be on display at the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus in Farmington Hills, beginning on Sunday, July 24, 2011. The exhibit, “Secret Heroes: The Ritchie Boys,” running through February 5, 2012, focuses on the lives and achievements of a special band of World War II soldiers fighting a psychological war against the Nazis.
The Holocaust Memorial Center is located at 28123 Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills.
The exhibit will mark the first in-depth exploration of the lives and achievements of these soldiers serving as specialists in various aspects of military intelligence. The Ritchie Boys, named after Camp Ritchie in Maryland where they received their military training, were a little known American Army Intelligence Unit comprised primarily of Jewish soldiers, mostly refugees who fled Nazi controlled Germany. They came to America, joined the U.S. Army and then went back to Europe with military training and a deep knowledge of the enemy and the landscape. The Ritchie Boys significantly contributed to the Allied war effort and were trained for military action in both the European and Pacific theatre of operations.
The exploits and the achievements of the Ritchie Boys will be detailed in the exhibit through war time photographs, original reports they authored, letters home, medals, uniforms and their weapons.
The exhibit was conceived by Stephen M. Goldman, Executive Director of the Holocaust Memorial Center and guest curator Dr. Guy Stern, Director of the Harry and Wanda Zekelman International Institute of the Righteous, himself a Ritchie Boy. Planning for the exhibit has been two years in the making. For many of these boys, joining the military was a major step in truly becoming “American.”
“This exhibit is a long overdue testament to these World War II heroes,” said Goldman. “It took great courage and conviction for these men to leave their families and homeland and then return to help defeat the Nazis.”
Reassigned from a variety of other units to Camp Ritchie, because of their linguistic skills and knowledge of the enemy’s psychology and culture, these Jewish immigrants and American Jewish soldiers received top secret training in German and Italian Army Organization, in Order of Battle, in Morse Code, terrain and aerial intelligence, document reading and in close combat. In the field, the Ritchie Boys interrogated prisoners, intercepted enemy communications, broadcast propaganda messages via radio or from the front lines. They engaged in psychological warfare and some did espionage behind enemy lines. Many teams received unit citations and many individuals were decorated.
One exhibit section will highlight three Ritchie Boys who became long time residents of Michigan. Walter Midener received the Silver Star while in service. In civilian life, he became a noted sculpture and fine arts teacher and rose to the presidency for the Center for Creative Studies at Detroit’s College of Art and Design.
Wayne State University Professor Ehrhard Dabringhaus was ordered, shortly after the war, to become American control officer to Klaus Barbie, the notorious war criminal. Dabringhaus went on to write a book about the experience, called “Klaus Barbie: The Shocking Story of How the U.S. Used this Nazi War Criminal as an Intelligence Agent.”
Dr. Guy Stern, decorated with the Bronze Star Medal, was cited for his detailed statistical analysis of enemy divisions facing the First Army which were of inestimable value to both higher and lower headquarters. He became a Distinguished Professor and Senior Vice President at Wayne State University and is currently a Director at the Holocaust Memorial Center.
Another section will feature a top-secret operation conducted by the Ritchie Boys, only recently brought to light. A park ranger at Fort Hunt, near Washington D.C., discovered that about 30 Ritchie Boys were assigned to a clandestine mission there and in complete seclusion they interrogated German scientists, including rocket scientist Werner von Braun and Reinhard Gehlen, a top ranking intelligence officer. This research laid the groundwork for intelligence gathering overseas.
In addition to the opening of the exhibit, some surviving members of the Ritchie Boys will be in attendance on July 24 for a first ever reunion, nearly 70 years after their wartime service.
“It will be an emotional reunion, definitely a once in a lifetime experience,” said Stern. “It will be wonderful to see these people again. This was our kind of war. We worked harder than anyone could have driven us. We were crusaders.”
The Ritchie Boys also were the subject of a 2004 film of the same name.
The Holocaust Memorial Center encourages visitors to tour this exhibit. The museum hours are: Sunday – Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 3:30 p.m.); and Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (last admission at 1:30 p.m.). The museum is closed on Saturday and public holidays. There is an admission fee.
For more information, call 248-553-2400, or visit www.holocaustcenter.org.
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The Holocaust Memorial Center is located at 28123 Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills.
The exhibit will mark the first in-depth exploration of the lives and achievements of these soldiers serving as specialists in various aspects of military intelligence. The Ritchie Boys, named after Camp Ritchie in Maryland where they received their military training, were a little known American Army Intelligence Unit comprised primarily of Jewish soldiers, mostly refugees who fled Nazi controlled Germany. They came to America, joined the U.S. Army and then went back to Europe with military training and a deep knowledge of the enemy and the landscape. The Ritchie Boys significantly contributed to the Allied war effort and were trained for military action in both the European and Pacific theatre of operations.
The exploits and the achievements of the Ritchie Boys will be detailed in the exhibit through war time photographs, original reports they authored, letters home, medals, uniforms and their weapons.
The exhibit was conceived by Stephen M. Goldman, Executive Director of the Holocaust Memorial Center and guest curator Dr. Guy Stern, Director of the Harry and Wanda Zekelman International Institute of the Righteous, himself a Ritchie Boy. Planning for the exhibit has been two years in the making. For many of these boys, joining the military was a major step in truly becoming “American.”
“This exhibit is a long overdue testament to these World War II heroes,” said Goldman. “It took great courage and conviction for these men to leave their families and homeland and then return to help defeat the Nazis.”
Reassigned from a variety of other units to Camp Ritchie, because of their linguistic skills and knowledge of the enemy’s psychology and culture, these Jewish immigrants and American Jewish soldiers received top secret training in German and Italian Army Organization, in Order of Battle, in Morse Code, terrain and aerial intelligence, document reading and in close combat. In the field, the Ritchie Boys interrogated prisoners, intercepted enemy communications, broadcast propaganda messages via radio or from the front lines. They engaged in psychological warfare and some did espionage behind enemy lines. Many teams received unit citations and many individuals were decorated.
One exhibit section will highlight three Ritchie Boys who became long time residents of Michigan. Walter Midener received the Silver Star while in service. In civilian life, he became a noted sculpture and fine arts teacher and rose to the presidency for the Center for Creative Studies at Detroit’s College of Art and Design.
Wayne State University Professor Ehrhard Dabringhaus was ordered, shortly after the war, to become American control officer to Klaus Barbie, the notorious war criminal. Dabringhaus went on to write a book about the experience, called “Klaus Barbie: The Shocking Story of How the U.S. Used this Nazi War Criminal as an Intelligence Agent.”
Dr. Guy Stern, decorated with the Bronze Star Medal, was cited for his detailed statistical analysis of enemy divisions facing the First Army which were of inestimable value to both higher and lower headquarters. He became a Distinguished Professor and Senior Vice President at Wayne State University and is currently a Director at the Holocaust Memorial Center.
Another section will feature a top-secret operation conducted by the Ritchie Boys, only recently brought to light. A park ranger at Fort Hunt, near Washington D.C., discovered that about 30 Ritchie Boys were assigned to a clandestine mission there and in complete seclusion they interrogated German scientists, including rocket scientist Werner von Braun and Reinhard Gehlen, a top ranking intelligence officer. This research laid the groundwork for intelligence gathering overseas.
In addition to the opening of the exhibit, some surviving members of the Ritchie Boys will be in attendance on July 24 for a first ever reunion, nearly 70 years after their wartime service.
“It will be an emotional reunion, definitely a once in a lifetime experience,” said Stern. “It will be wonderful to see these people again. This was our kind of war. We worked harder than anyone could have driven us. We were crusaders.”
The Ritchie Boys also were the subject of a 2004 film of the same name.
The Holocaust Memorial Center encourages visitors to tour this exhibit. The museum hours are: Sunday – Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (last admission at 3:30 p.m.); and Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (last admission at 1:30 p.m.). The museum is closed on Saturday and public holidays. There is an admission fee.
For more information, call 248-553-2400, or visit www.holocaustcenter.org.
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Contact
Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus
Mike Ingberg
248-855-6777
www.holocaustcenter.org
Mike Ingberg
248-855-6777
www.holocaustcenter.org
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