Memorial Hall Library

Sons and soldiers, the untold story of the Jews who escaped the Nazis and returned with the U.S. Army to fight Hitler, Bruce Henderson

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 385-391 ; 411-418) and index

contains biographical information

illustrationsportraits

index present

non fiction

Sons and soldiers

bibliography

960709002

Bruce Henderson

the untold story of the Jews who escaped the Nazis and returned with the U.S. Army to fight Hitler

As Jewish families were trying desperately to get out of Europe during the menacing rise of Hitler's Nazi party, some chose to send their young sons away to uncertain futures in America, perhaps never to see them again. As these boys became young men, they were determined to join the fight in Europe. Known as the Ritchie Boys, after the Maryland camp where they were trained, these army recruits knew what would happen to them if they were captured. Yet they leapt at the opportunity to be sent in small, elite teams to join every major combat unit in Europe, where they collected key tactical intelligence on enemy strength, troop and armored movements, and defensive positions. A post-war army report found that nearly 60 percent of the credible intelligence gathered in Europe came from the Ritchie Boys. Drawing on original interviews and extensive archival research, Henderson vividly re-creates the stories of six of these men in an epic tale of heroism, courage, and patriotism that will not soon be forgotten.--, from dust jacket

Prologue: Germany 1938 -- Saving the children -- Escaping the Nazis -- A place to call home -- Camp Ritchie -- Going back -- Normandy -- The breakout -- Holland -- The forests -- Return to Deutschland -- The camps -- Denazification -- Going home