SOCIAL SCIENCES

Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army To Fight Hitler

by Bruce Henderson
Morrow. Jul. 2017. 448p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780062419095. $28.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062419118. HIST
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Discriminatory laws and increasing violence forced many Jews to flee Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Families made heart-wrenching decisions to split up, knowing they might never see one another again. Henderson (And the Sea Will Tell) tells the untold story of the sons of these families who joined the U.S. Army after the outbreak of World War II. Recruited for their knowledge of German language, culture, and psychology, these Camp Ritchie boys, as they came to be known in their training center in western Maryland, endured intense instruction in order to gather intelligence. They fought in every major battle from D-Day until the defeat of Germany in 1945. According to an army estimate, 60 percent of all credible intelligence during World War II resulted from work done by the Camp Ritchie boys.
VERDICT An inspiring story about a group of men who took up arms for their adopted country against their former countrymen. Fans of Stephen Ambrose and World War II histories will enjoy this look into a little-known aspect of U.S. Army operations. [See Prepub Alert, 2/6/17.]
Reviewed by Chad E. Statler, Lakeland Community Coll., Kirtland, OH , Jun 01, 2017
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