The Ritchie Boys (2004) User Reviews

The interrogators

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 22 October 2006]

Watching this wonderful Christian Bauer documentary we couldn't help drawing a parallel to the present area of conflict, Iraq, in which some of our soldiers have been accused of abuse of the prisoners they were interrogating. "The Ritchie Boys", in contrast, offers an excellent account of a group of young men, recently arrived to the United States that were enlisted in a special division of the US Army that dealt with the interrogation of captured enemy soldiers. These newly arrive immigrants had an unique talent in that they were fluent in their language, and in English, thus making them perfect to get the most out of the prisoners they came in contact with.

The documentary speak volumes about these men who recount their story for our benefit. They survived the horrors in their native countries out of the sacrifice of their parents, who decided to send them abroad, rather than see them die, a fate most of those that stayed behind would suffer.

We are introduced to some of the survivors of the group that were known affectionately as "The Ritchie Boys", as they look today. After having been inducted in the Army, as WWII was being fought in Europe, most of the men who had a European background and could help in the process of talking to the captured enemy in their native languages, were sent to Fort Ritchie in rural Maryland to prepare them for their jobs.

Most of these fellows were of Jewish background and they had a real reason for coming down hard on the captured soldiers, but instead, they acted with the most incredible restraint, in what must have been a horrible situation. After all, most of them ended up going back to a Germany that was exterminating their families, friends, and culture. It is to the credit that most of these men went to make something out of themselves and contributed to their adopted country in ways no one could have imagined.

Mr. Bauer, and his editor, David Kazala, have done a wonderful job of mixing the narrative of the Ritchie Boys with documentary footage of WWII.

Amazing Documentary

[jacques67 · 9/10 · 9 June 2005]

Fleeing Nazi Germany in their youth, and returning there as US soldiers, these unlikely sorts, trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, formed a specialized intelligence unit.

given that they knew the language of their enemy well, these heroes broke German prisoners-of-war in WWII with psychological warfare, providing the US Army valuable information, and ultimately saving lives. The film is filled with amusing stories. These men should be celebrated with the highest honors. As the documentarian interviews the Ritchie Boys, it's difficult not to feel present with these soldiers - all of them basically Everyman. Their recollections are fascinating, informative, and educational. It should be shown to all high school history classes.

A super-important historical document.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 14 February 2011]

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.

A Largely Unknown WWII Story

[[e-mail] · 12 July 2010]

"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.

The story of brave refugees who left Germany before the beginning of WWII and aided their new adopted country by gathering intelligence after the Normandy Invasion.

[felliott1 · 10/10 · 7 June 2012]

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.

Great doc, but overlooks the single battles and the info the intelligence unit gained

[JurijFedorov · 8/10 · 23 July 2022]

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.

Adds a new chapter to 20th century history documentaries

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 17 February 2019]

"The Ritchie Boys" is a Canadian/German co-production from 2004, so it has its 15th anniversary this year and it is one of the most known, maybe the number one, films by late German writer and director Christian Bauer. It runs for 90 minutes, slightly over and focuses on the people named in the title, which could also work well for a comedy movie and even if there is a lighter moment here and there in their anecdotes, it is still a serious documentary most of the time, when these now old men tell us about their experiences from World War II when they in the most dangerous fashion tried to infiltrate the SS and cause a change in the minds of its members. A really interesting chapter. I am not entirely sure if this documentary did complete justice to it, but it was a fine watch from begining to end, even if I am probably a bit biased with my preferred interest in the subject of the 3rd Reich and everything linked to it. So yeah, a lot of this documentary is not just German, but English too in here. That shouldn't be a problem though if you get a good set of subtitles depending on which language you (don't speak). Of course in the mix are also old recordings and footage that are perhaps the heart and soul of the film, even if they not always fit 100% to what is told at the same time. The emotional component is good, especially towards the end. It is not just a basic collection of memories or historic events, but there is some heart in it, even if maybe not as much as it could have been. Also for me personally, it was difficult to really keep the boys apart from each other. They did feel a bit interchangable I must admit overall. But yeah like I said earlier, looking at how many documentaries and films have been done in the past about this era, it is always nice and refreshing to find new chapters and nuances that provide information and characters I have not come across before and this is what this little movie and Bauer definitely succeed to do. It is also important it was made because honestly by now the Ritchie Boys are probably not alive anymore I am not sure, so it would have been too late and this should also inspire other filmmakers to make films like this one regardless about which subject because if those who experienced it live are gone, then there is also huge loss involved for all of us who came afterwards. To finish my review, I would also like to say it would be nice to watch a non-documentary movie about this subject at some point. It could be a gritty historic thriller or just something lighter à la Clooney's Monuments Men. But I think it would be interesting enough and I certainly would check it out. This one here gets a thumbs-up from me and I suggest you watch it.

An engaging WWII documentary.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 6 August 2011]

Michael Hanrahan narrates this relatively unknown story of 10 primarily German-born Jews expelled from Nazi Germany, who would become true heroes. These scholarly gentlemen used their wealth of knowledge by joining the U.S. Army and being trained at the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie in Maryland. Becoming known as the Ritchie Boys they would return to Europe and help break German resistance in covert operations. Their interrogations of POWs would physically demoralize Hitler's troops, but even more psychologically. The Ritchie Boys knew that the main fear of German soldiers was being turned over to the Russians. The Ritchie Boys never claimed to be fighters...but intellectuals; and most had no idea that after fleeing Germany they would play a major role in the Allied war effort. In total these young immigrants were about 10,000 strong. The cast features several prominent members of the Ritchie Boys: Guy Stern, Fred Howard, Morris Parloff, Hans Spear, Si Lewen, Hans Habe, Werner Angress and Stefan Heym.

Hitler & his party were MORONS

[eric-1501 · 1/10 · 22 June 2009]

Not only was it stupid to strike out militarily and try to conquer the world, not only was it moronic for the leader of a nation to cast himself in the role of messiah, not only was it idiocy of the first order to practice a religion of racial superiority, the Nazi's and their fuehrer were incredibly foolish to expel and kill the Jews! This little documentary demonstrates how effectively German Jews were able to help bring down the Third Reich during WWII by effectively interrogating German POW's the allies had captured, getting Wermacht soldiers to surrender and such. Had Hitler had the Jews on his side, had he cultivated them for the loyal citizens they were and mined their fantastic intellect, he may have built a better Germany. But, meglo- maniacs never use logic nor practice humility.

This movie was sobering in some of the vivid descriptions of combat and other realities of war, just as much as it made you realize that there are some wars that cannot be avoided if we wish to maintain civilization. More wars like that will come.

It was also great fun to see so many of these old guys enjoying life and having kept sharp mentally after all these years and all those experiences.

Fascinating historic documentary, laced with ironic humor

[runamokprods · 13 November 2011]

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.