The Ritchie Boys

I watched this wonderful and illuminating documentary about hundreds and perhaps thousands of young refugees from Germany and France in the later 1930's. They returned in the Normandy invasion time period to aid the U.S Army by interrogating prisoners and working with civilians in the war shattered countries to get government and services up and going again. There is a great deal of documentary film here and the story is told by several young men who went. They became successful businessmen, judges, ambassadors. and professors and artists. The experience enriched all of their lives and many of them who trained at Camp Ritchie became lifelong friends. I watched the movie on Netflix and rated it a five because it seemed so well done and told the mens' stories with such emotional and sometimes wrenching truth, and even humor.

"The Ritchie Boys" were a group of young refugees from Hitler's Europe pressed into service because of their language skills by U.S. Army intelligence. Unless you knew one of them (I knew at least two), it's unlikely you would be aware of the critical contribution this operation made to the American war effort. Indeed, if the documentary film is accurate, the Battle of the Bulge -- Hitler's last desperate effort to break through Allied encirclement == could have been foiled before it began, because the Ritchie Boys had collected intelligence about the massing of German troops prior to the offensive.

All of the Ritchie Boys interviewed for this film were Jews. Each had a personal stake in the war. And each had the personal satisfaction of interrogating enemy soldiers in their own language and extracting information through techniques learned at Camp Ritchie, MD, which contributed important, often crucial intelligence about the actions and plans of the foe.

The interviews were conducted roughly 60 years after the fact, and the reliability of memories may be questionable. Film clips, many documenting events not quite related to the narrative, comprise the rest of the film. Missing entirely is any real overview of the Camp Ritchie enterprise. Nevertheless, the individuals interviewed have compelling personal stories to tell -- both why and how they came to the U.S. and what they did during the war.

It's a fascinating group of people in or approaching their 80's: professors, an American diplomat, a distinguished psychologist, an artist, a successful businessman, reliving their experiences for the camera, acknowledging both the pain of separation from their childhood homes and their satisfaction at having given something extremely useful back to the country which had taken them in. Unlikely soldiers to be sure but youngsters with precious knowledge that the United States put to effective use. One would have liked to know more about how it came to be organized and what happened to all the other Ritchie Boys who weren't "available" to be interviewed because they died on the field of battle.

Unique, sweet documentary about a mostly Jewish group of refugees who had fled to America, and, wanting to do something to fight Hitler, became an intelligence unit for the Army.

While occasionally very sad and moving, more than most WW II documentaries there is a big dose of ironic Jewish humor in these men, as well as a very positive life force.

Simple in its construction -- mostly talking heads intercut with photos and newsreel footage -- it manages to capture the awful insanity of war and the power of refusing to give up a sense of humor at the same time.

A rare and powerful combination.

I just read the book yesterday so I can compare every single story from the book to the documentary. It holds up for sure, no doubt. They interview American Jews who spoke German and therefore worked as prison interrogators during WW2 near the battle lines. They didn't fight, but they got a ton of useful info for the army that saved thousands of lives and even made some German prisoners helpful to the Allies like finding mines from them. This doc doesn't go into any interview or info gained. Quite a shame as they actually did a hell of a lot for the US army. The work they did is extremely impressive. Rather the doc is about the sad and funny personal stories and experiences they had. They were Jews who were eager to fight Germans as they were forced to flee Germany and leave their families behind as USA had strict immigration laws. And USA figured out the best use for them. They also have high IQ so even these interviews many years later are with Jews with their high wits intact which makes the doc work. Usually interviews with regular people are boring. As this was an intelligence unit they know how to explain everything in proper detail. Of course we only get stories from people still alive and we don't get an overview over what info what used where as it's about the people not the missions or battles.

Largely they retell stories from the book. But 20% of stories are completely new, which surprised me. All the stories are great. And the doc is just a fun watch even though it's a shame they don't use more WW2 footage or show maps. Largely they film current locations and the interview subjects. It obviously could have been stronger if it focused on single battles one at a time and what info was used when. But I'm shocked about how few ratings this doc has online and how overlooked it is. Come on people, this is an extremely important part of WW2. Jews fighting Nazis in France, Holland, Germany. While never firing a shot. Of course the doc is just a short intro. It will leave you lacking crucial info. But they basically mention all the big events. For example, in the book a Jew says he found a girlfriend in Paris and therefore wanted to stay. Hence he tanked his interview for a super cozy and important job in London. Yet they found out they could use him in Germany and sent him close to the battle lines meaning that he went to hell for lying. In the doc he of course just says he was sent to Germany never explaining the background story that's likely the most cowardly story in the book as they get to tell their own stories. So the doc misses a lot of these deeper points. But even the book is surely lacking on a lot of details as they wouldn't exactly mention war crimes or great cowardice. It's a great doc to go along with the book. But yeah, when a TV show is made I hope they focus on battles and interviews. For war nerds how they conducted interviews and how they gained and used info is the most interesting part and that part is largely unexplained.

This documentary gathers together many of the surviving members of a group nicknamed "the Ritchie Boys"---named after the training facility in Maryland that was set up to train soldiers to do intelligence work. And, since these particular soldiers spoke the languages (such as French and German) needed for the invasion of Europe in 1944, they were a very valuable asset. Not surprisingly, many of these men were Jews that had fled Germany during the rise of the Nazis.

While there is some narration, mostly the movie consists of just letting the men talk--giving their experiences and background, recounting little stories and reminiscing about their work. I actually liked this, as their lives were interesting enough and needed little embellishment other than some stock clips, photos and incidental music. I am very thankful the film was made, as these men are now quite elderly--and it's a chapter of the war seldom mentioned. It reminds me of a man who had flown in a B-17 during the war who volunteered at the Wright-Patterson Air Museum--just to answer questions and but sure that younger generations do not forget--and we are blessed to hear their stories and sacrifices.