19345 - Mysteries of World War II: The Richie Boys

Course Overview

From 1934 to 1945, approximately 1,400 Jewish children were rescued from Nazi Germany and other occupied or threatened European countries.  They were taken directly to the United States leaving their parents in Europe. Nearly all these parents were murdered by the Nazis.  As adults, approximately ten percent of these children returned to Europe as soldiers to defeat the regime that had killed their parents. Trained in counter intelligence and using their fluency in German, French, Italian, and Polish, they uncovered information that saved the lives of thousands of American soldiers. After the war they served as prosecutors and translators in the Nuremberg trials. Until recently, their story was a secret of World War II. Join us as we uncover other secrets including “Operation Manna-Chowhound.” On May 8, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered. The same day British and American planes began airdropping food to the starving Dutch. It would be a precursor to the Berlin Airlift.