A WWII Elite U.S. Military Intelligence Unit
As Jewish persecution in Germany escalated in the late 1930s, many families made the heartbreaking decision to send their eldest sons out of the country in hopes of securing their survival. These young men, some with the help of relief agencies and others who managed to escape on their own, sought refuge in the United States. However, the United States government classified these German Jewish refugees as “enemy aliens” due to their origins. Ironically, it was precisely their German heritage—specifically their fluency in the language, deep cultural understanding, and familiarity with the geography—that made them uniquely valuable to the U.S. military. Recognizing their potential, the U.S. Army recruited these men to undergo top-secret specialized intelligence training at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. This elite group of more than 2,000 Jewish-American soldiers, known as the Ritchie Boys, played a critical role in military intelligence operations, using their skills to interrogate prisoners, gather intelligence, and ultimately aid in the defeat of the Nazi regime. In exchange for their service, these men gained U.S. citizenship, a new homeland and a chance to rebuild their lives.
In addition to fluency in German and English, most of the Ritchie Boys were proficient in other European languages. They are credited with providing key information that facilitated the D-Day invasion. They produced leaflets and broadcasts in German, aimed at persuading the Germans to surrender. They served on the front lines interrogating captured German soldiers where their fluency in German allowed them to extract crucial information from German POWs and defectors. They participated in liberating concentration camps and post-liberation spoke with survivors to document atrocities and assist in providing aid. Following the war, they served as interrogators of Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg trials and as policy advisors on the denazification of Germany.
Despite their tremendous contributions, many American soldiers, including high-ranking officers, remained hesitant to fully trust or arm the Ritchie Boys because of their accents and European backgrounds. Yet, these men proved their worth not only through their intelligence-gathering efforts but also on the battlefield, where they bravely faced immense danger. Their greatest risk came from the possibility of being captured by the Germans because if their Jewish identities were discovered, they would face immediate execution. To safeguard themselves, many altered their dog tags, changing the “H” for Hebrew to “P” for Protestant.
Unfortunately, many of the Ritchie Boys had a personal motivation to return to Europe during WWII as part of the U.S. military: to find the families they left in Europe. Sadly, most never did, and many could not even obtain confirmation or details of their deaths.
Even after the war, the contributions of the Ritchie Boys remained classified by the U.S. military because the unit was so successful that the army wanted to keep the methods secret. Most of the Richie Boys never spoke of their wartime work, even to family and friends. For decades, their remarkable service was largely unknown. It was only decades later, through books, memoirs, and documentaries that their valiant intelligence work became known, allowing these brave men to receive well-deserved recognition. Beyond their wartime heroism, most of the Ritchie Boys became American success stories, building new civilian careers in America as businessmen, academics, and professionals. Their legacy endures as part of military history for the freedoms they helped defend. In 2022, they were honored as a group by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with the Elie Wiesel Award, the museum's highest honor to recognize the unique role the Ritchie Boys played serving the United States and advancing Allied victory over Germany
Joseph Kestler
At the age of 10, Joseph Kestler was sent by his affluent Jewish family in pre-War Austria to live for a year with an aunt in Brooklyn, New York so that he could learn English and gain experience in a different environment to prepare him for a future career in business. His fluency in English, spoken without an accent, would later prove invaluable.
The aunt once again sponsored Joseph to return to the United States as a refugee in 1938. He joined the Army in 1943, training at Camp Ritchie in Maryland, where he became a part of the elite military intelligence unit. Notably, he graduated in half the time the normal training program required. His fluency in German, Italian, French, and English enabled him to interrogate prisoners, type reports, and translate intelligence in all of those languages, making him a valuable asset. He specialized in “Order of Battle”, memorizing the structure of enemy forces including units, weapons, uniforms, chain of command, and other detailed battlefield tactics.
Kestler landed in Normandy in August 1944, a few months after D-Day, and helped liberate concentration camps. Like many of the Ritchie Boys, he never spoke of his wartime experiences because the program remained classified until long after his death.
J.D. Salinger
J.D. Salinger was born on January 1, 1919, in New York City to an affluent Jewish family. Despite his life of privilege, he was not immune to the widespread antisemitism prevalent in American society in the 1920s and 1930s, which was often reflected in the media of the time.
Salinger was always passionate about literature and art, and New York City’s museums and Broadway provided an outlet for his creative ambitions. From an early age, he aspired to become a writer, and in the 1940s, he began finding success when his stories began appearing in national magazines including The New Yorker, Esquire, and Collier’s. He would ultimately secure his place in American literary history with the creation of the character Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye.
On April 27, 1942, Salinger joined the military and underwent specialized counterintelligence training at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. His fluency in Italian and French, in addition to English, allowed him to interrogate prisoners of war and to covertly procure intelligence from civilians within German-occupied territory. He forged lifelong friendships with several officers in his unit, alongside whom Salinger landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, enduring grueling combat that they later dubbed “85 Days of Hell.”
When Salinger landed on Utah Beach, he carried in his backpack the first seven chapters of The Catcher in the Rye. On August 25, 1944, he participated in the liberation of Paris, during which time he met Ernest Hemingway, who read one of his short stories and praised his talent.
Salinger remained on the frontline for a year. His regiment experienced heavy casualties during intense hedgerow warfare, losing 76% of its officers and 63% of its enlisted personnel—devastation he later described as “too horrific to express in words.” After returning to the United States after the war, Salinger struggled with post-traumatic stress and severe depression. His wartime experiences profoundly shaped both his personal life and creative work.
In 1951, The Catcher in the Rye, featuring the character Holden Caulfield, was published. The novel became Salinger’s defining work, and those close to him observed striking parallels between the author and his iconic character. With over 68 million copies sold, the novel provided J.D. Salinger with global recognition and financial security that enabled him to retreat to rural New Hampshire. There he lived reclusively until his death at the age of 91 in 2010, surrounded only by close family, friends, and his local community.
