Ritchie Boys The Ritchie Boys was a US special military intelligence unit in World War II comprising mainly German - speaking immigrants to the USA . They were predominantly Jews , most of whom had fled Nazi persecution . They were primarily utilised for interrogation of prisoners on the front lines and counter - intelligence in Europe because of their knowledge of the German language and culture . About the group . The Ritchie Boys consisted of approximately 9 , 000 young Germans and Austrians , who were mostly Jewish , and who had escaped from their countries of birth and immigrated to the US as refugees . Most had been drafted or volunteered into the United States Army . Some had originally arrived in the USA as children , many without their parents so that these were also One Thousand Children . ( One such OTC was Ambassador Richard Schifter . ) They were trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie in Maryland , now officially known as Fort Ritchie . They were specially trained in methods of intelligence , counterintelligence , interrogation , investigation and psychological warfare . They were suitable for these tasks because they knew the German language , and importantly the German mentality and life behaviours , better than most American - born soldiers . The role of these soldiers was therefore to work in the front lines ( or even behind them ) , at strategic corps and army levels , at interrogation , analyzing German forces and plans ; and also as members of the U . S . Counter Intelligence Corps ; and also to study the enemy , and demoralize him in order to achieve an unconditional surrender . After the US declared war on Germany , the Ritchie Boys became a decisive weapon for the Allied powers . Many of them entered Europe on D - Day on June 6 , 1944 along with the other Allied troops . Others followed over time . Shortly after reaching land they left their units and pursued their special tasks . They were able to feed the Allies valuable information . Gen . Oscar Koch ( Gen . Patton ' s G - 2 ) acknowledged that the advance warning of the German Bulge offensive was made possible by information gathered by their MIS units . Moreover , the Ritchie Boys helped break German resistance by demoralizing them in both open and covert operations . They interrogated POWs and defectors to obtain information about German force levels , troop movements , and the physical and psychological state of the Germans . By means of targeted disinformation via newspaper announcements , flyers , radio broadcasts , and sound trucks , the German population and military was prompted to cease their resistance against the Allied invasion . After the war , many of the Ritchie Boys served as translators and interrogators . Some had these roles during the Nuremberg Trials . Many of them went on to successful political , scientific , or business careers . The Ritchie Boys included several prominent men such as Hans Habe , Klaus Mann , Stefan Heym , Hanus Burger , George Mandler , Richard Schifter , Guy Stern , Walter Schwarz and David Robert Seymour . In 2004 , the group and its work was the subject of the documentary movie " " The Ritchie Boys " " by film - maker Christian Bauer , featuring ten Ritchie Boys . ( See external links below . ) The first - ever reunion of the Ritchie Boys took place from July 23 - July 25 , 2011 , at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills , Michigan .