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First lieutenant dress jacket, medals and shirt worn by German Jewish US soldier

Object | Accession Number: 2003.149.3 a-b

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    First lieutenant dress jacket, medals and shirt worn by German Jewish US soldier

    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Olive drab dress uniform jacket with shirt and medals worn by Rudolph Sichel, a Jewish refugee from Frankfurt, Germany, who was a US Army officer in Europe from July 1944-June 1946. In May 1936, unable to return to Germany from England because of anti-Jewish regulations, Sichel went to the US. His parents Ernst and Frieda joined him in 1940. In April 1943, Sichel enlisted in the Army and was sent to Camp Ritchie for military intelligence training. In July 1944, Sichel, Chief Interrogator, Interrogation of Prisoners of War Team 13, landed on Utah Beach in France, attached to the 104th Infantry, the Timberwolf Division. As the unit advanced through France, Belgium, and Germany, Sichel interrogated those captured. On April 11, 1945, the unit liberated Dora-Mittelbau/Nordhausen concentration camp. Sichel took photographs of the camp and other wartime events, which are part of this collection, 2003.149.1. After the war ended in May, 2nd Lt. Sichel was attached to the 9th Army. He interrogated prisoners of war and civilian witnesses and did fact finding missions for war crimes trials. In June 1946, 1st Lt. Sichel returned to the US. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.
    Date
    use:  1945 May 09-approximately 1946 June
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Howard S. Sichel and Linda Sichel Strohmenger
    Markings
    a. interior, label in breast pocket, printed and handwritten, black ink : Uniforms, Service, Officers / 2-Piece O.D., Dark (Coat) / Elastique / 39L / Contractors Code No. 348 / Cont. W-669-qm-23757 / Dated Dec. 1, 1942 / Q. M. C. Tent. Spec. / P. Q. D. No. 149B / Dated 11/4/42 / Stock No. 55-U-10489-10 / Phila. Q. M. Depot / 1092F1 / Inspector
    a. interior, label on breast pocket, embroidered, white thread : REGULATION / ARMY OFFICER’S UNIFORM
    a. large metal buttons, back, engraved in a circle : WATERBURY BUTTON CO. * CONN.
    a. small metal buttons, back, engraved in a circle : WATERBURY BUTTON CO. *
    b. collar, interior, tag, embroidered, brown and blue thread : OFFICERS SHIRT / FOR / BETTER / DRESSER / FORM FIT
    b. interior, below collar, stamped, black ink : 15 * 33
    Contributor
    Subject: Rudolph D. Sichel
    Manufacturer: Waterbury Button Co.
    Biography
    Rudolf (Rudolph) Daniel Sichel was born on January 2, 1915, in the Hesse district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to Ernst and Frieda Oppenheimer Sichel. Ernst was born on July 20, 1874, in Frankfurt am Main, to Seligmann and Sophia Seligmann Sichel. Frieda was born on April 24, 1876, in Rimbach, Germany, to a Jewish couple. Rudolf’s mother had one older sister, Georgine, and two younger ones, Ida and Cecelia, all of whom had immigrated to the United States by 1908. Rudolf’s father managed the family business, a haberdashery shop, S. Sichel, which had been established in 1874. Rudolf had an older brother, Walter (1905-1955.) In the early 1930’s, Rudolf worked as a sales clerk in his family’s store. Following his graduation from school, he began a course of study at the University of Frankfurt.

    Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. Anti-Jewish decrees were enacted to severely restrict Jewish participation in German society. In 1933, Frankfurt had a Jewish community of about 26,000, the second largest in Germany. In 1934, 19 year old Rudolf went to London, England, to study business. In 1936, Rudolf, unable to return to Germany because of the restrictions on Jews, left for the United States aboard the SS Berengaria. He arrived In New York City on May 26, and moved in with his aunt and uncle, Ida and Moe Blum. Later that year, Rudolph found work as a sales clerk at R.H. Macy & Co. He often went by Rudy, and, unofficially, seems to have changed the spelling of his name to Rudolph. In October 1937, Rudolph’s brother Walter and his wife, Elizabeth, arrived in New York City. On November 9 or 10, 1938, during the Kristallnacht pogrom, Rudolph’s father, Ernst, was arrested, marched down the street with his hands up in the air, and taken to Buchenwald concentration camp. He was assigned prisoner number 4173. On November 27, Ernst was released and returned home. Soon after his return, Ernst was forced to sell the family store to a non-Jew for less than it was worth. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and World War II began. In early 1940, Rudolph moved out of his aunt and uncle’s apartment and found his own apartment. In March, Rudolph’s brother, Walter, helped sponsor their parents’ emigration, and Ernst and Frieda left Germany, and sailed from Liverpool, England, on the SS Britannic. When they arrived in April, Rudolph’s parents moved in with him. By 1941, Rudolph, had been promoted to an assistant buyer at R.H. Macy & Co.

    Soon after the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II. On April 29, 1943, Rudolph enlisted in the US Army and was selected for the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, to learn interrogation techniques. On October 23, he graduated from Camp Ritchie. On June 24, 1944, the Military Intelligence Service designated Rudolph as Chief Interrogator and second in command of Interrogation of Prisoners of War Team 13. In July 1944, Rudolph landed on Utah Beach in France. In October, his team was attached to the 104th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Timberwolf Division, as they advanced into Belgium. By November, the Division was approaching Aachen, Germany, as part of the 12th Army Group. From December 1944 to February 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge, the 104th defended territory near Duren, Germany. In March, the Division captured Cologne, crossed the Rhine River, and continued eastward. Rudolph interrogated prisoners in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Rudolph, an avid photographer who owned several cameras and accessories, photographed many wartime events, landscapes, and his fellow soldiers. On April 11, soldiers from the 104th Division liberated Dora-Mittelbau/Nordhausen concentration camps and Rudolph photographed the horrific conditions. The Division continued to advance until April 26, when they met allied Soviet forces near Pretzsch, Germany. On May 7, Germany surrendered.

    On May 9, Rudolph, now a Master Sergeant, was discharged from the Army. He received a field commission and was immediately reenlisted as a Second Lieutenant. On May 29, Rudolph was attached to the 9th Army as an interrogator. He was responsible for interrogating prisoners of war and war criminals in order to discover and document wartime activities and events for use as evidence for the war crimes trials scheduled for Nuremberg. He also served as an interpreter and made fact finding visits to former concentration camps to gather additional information. In mid-June 1946, Rudolph returned to the US and was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. Rudolph received many medals for his service, including a Bronze Star, and a US Army Commendation. He returned to New York City and his former position at R. H. Macy & Co. On January 18, 1948, Rudolph married Sylvia Ruth Eisenkraft (1916-2007) and the couple had 2 children. Rudolph’s father Ernst, age 88, died in 1962, in New York. Rudolph’s mother, Frieda, age 87, died in 1963, in New York. Rudolph, age 63, died in April 27, 1978, at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Classification
    Clothing and Dress
    Object Type
    Dress uniforms (aat)
    Physical Description
    The a1 - a10 component designations are for cataloging purposes only.
    a. Olive drab, long-sleeved, single-breasted, heavyweight elastique wool jacket with epaulets. It is hip-length with a notched collar and lapels, a ribbon hanging loop, and an integrated cloth belt with a brass buckle and 3 belt loops. The front opening has 4 large buttons: 3 brass and 1 brown plastic, with small, plastic, interior reinforcement buttons. There are 4 exterior, front flap pockets with 1 small brass button: the 2 upper have a box pleat and 2 flap snaps; the 2 lower, lined welt pockets have a hidden plastic button and ribbon loop closure, with a small slot pocket in the lining of the lower left pocket. An olive drab officer braid is sewn around each cuff. Above the right sleeve band is an overseas service bar patch with 4 gold embroidered bars. The jacket back has an upper box pleat and 2 overlapping flaps. The interior is partially lined. Inside the right breast is a double welt pocket with 2 labels. The epaulets have 2 small, brass buttons and 2 bar pins (a1 & a2). The lapels have 4 pins: 2 U.S. (a3 & a4) and 2 infantry (a5 & a6). Above the upper right pocket are 2 ribbon bars with 3 ribbons each (a7 & a8).
    a1., a2. 1st Lieutenant’s insignia pin: small, shiny, silver-colored metal bar with beveled edges, on the left and right epaulet.
    a3., a4. U.S. lapel pin: shiny, gold colored, die-cast metal pin in the shape of 2 squared-off, connected, uppercase letters, U.S., on the upper left and right lapel point.
    a5., a6. Infantry insignia pin: shiny, gold colored, die-cast metal pin in the shape of 2 flintlock muskets crossed diagonally with barrels pointing upward, on the lower left and right lapel point.
    a7. One ribbon bar pin with 3 ribbons: Army of Occupation ribbon with 4 vertical stripes: white, wide black, wide red, white; Army Commendation ribbon with 13 vertical stripes: a set of 9 narrow alternating white and green stripes flanked by wide green bordered with white; Bronze Star ribbon with 7 vertical stripes: white, red, white, blue, white, red, white, on the upper right chest, top bar.
    a8. One ribbon bar pin with 3 ribbons: World War II Victory Medal ribbon with 3 sets of vertical stripes: wide red center flanked by narrow white and a set of very narrow purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon with 5 black metal star pins and 13 vertical stripes: a narrow center set of blue, white, red, flanked by wide green flanked by set of narrow stripes: green, white, red to the left and white, black, white to the right, flanked by wide brown; American Campaign ribbon with 15 vertical stripes: 3 sets of narrow stripes separated by wide light blue stripes: the center set is red, white, blue with a set of white, black, red, white stripes to the left and right, on the upper right chest, bottom bar.
    a9. Infantry insignia pin: shiny, gold colored, die-cast metal pin in the shape of 2 flintlock muskets crossed diagonally with barrels pointing upward, inside the lower right front pocket.
    a10. 2nd Lieutenant’s insignia pin: small, shiny, gold-colored metal bar with beveled edges, inside lower right front pocket.
    b. Hip-length, olive drab, wool shirt with a high stand pointed collar and a reinforced front placket with 7 small, dark brown plastic buttons. It has 1-button shoulder boards, long barrel sleeves with gussets, and 2 button cuffs. There are 2 patch breast pockets with 1-button flaps. The right pocket is stitched into 2 pockets: 1 narrow, 1 wide. It has side slits with gussets. The inner collar band has a tag and size stamp, and it is reinforced with light brown satin-like cloth.
    Dimensions
    a: Height: 32.625 inches (82.868 cm) | Width: 18.000 inches (45.72 cm)
    b: Height: 30.000 inches (76.2 cm) | Width: 17.750 inches (45.085 cm)
    Materials
    a : wool, cloth, metal, ribbon, plastic, thread, ink
    b : wool, cloth, plastic, thread, ink

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The uniform jacket, medals, and shirt were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Howard S. Sichel and Linda Sichel Strohmenger, the children of Rudolph Daniel Sichel.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2023-08-28 07:51:55
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn46743

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