Secret Heroes: Camp Ritchie and the Making of The Ritchie Boys


Their Unique History and Demographics

The Battle of The Bulge: A Failure of Intelligence? 

No, a Failure to USE Intelligence!

We are saddened to report that Daniel Gross, who originally created this website and dedicated much of his retirement into researching the history and demographics of the Ritchie Boys, passed away peacefully on May 22, 2024. 

May his memory be for a blessing.

Author and filmmaker Steven Karras wrote "The Enemy I Knew: German Jews in the Allied Military in World War II" which is a collection of twenty-seven first-person accounts from European-born Jewish combat veterans of World War II. All were refugees from the Nazi regime who fled Germany and Austria in humiliation and fear, then faced down their persecutors by joining the Allied military to fight against the country of their birth. Among the twenty-seven chapters, there are seven veterans who were Ritchie Boys. 

The Ritchie Boys in the book are: William Katzenstein, Karl Goldsmith, Ralph Baer, Manfred Steinfeld, Fred Fields, John Brunswick, Kurt Klein. Click here to read the chapters. 

Author J. B. Cartwright has compiled a book titled "The Quiet Contingent: An Addendum on WWII: The Boys of Camp Ritchie" consisting of over 400 biographies of various Ritchie Boys. All of J. B. Cartwright's research came from first hand sources, interviews and obituaries compiled into a single book. It is available on Amazon as a paperback for delivery, or as a Kindle eBook for instant reading. 

Notable Ritchie Boys, such as Guy Stern, Paul Fairbrook, Hans Tuch and Werner Angress are included, as well as many you may have never heard of, but led long lives with many different distinguished careers in everything from lawyers, politicians, artists and CIA agents. 

Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook Page

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