During the height of World War II, when thousands of troops were learning intelligence craft at Camp Ritchie in central Maryland, a much smaller corps of several hundred was being trained for something far more dangerous.
Within the facility’s Military Intelligence Training Center that produced 19,600 intelligence agents known as the “Ritchie Boys,” a group of several hundred were practicing to embed with the Nazis as spies.
A revealing training manual suggested that some practiced playing German dictator Adolf Hitler, Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goring, top German political leaders, and everyday troops. They even wore uniforms captured in war and drove vehicles taken after battle victories.
This week, the “Composite School Unit” manual and photos showing troops in training are hitting the auction block, a possible show stopper included among several other period artifacts from Alexander Historical Auctions.
“During WWII we took German Jews, Japanese, anyone who could be trained as a spy, interrogator, and so on, and submersed them at Camp Ritchie. There, we had trained Germans, Japanese, [prisoners of war], even actors in real-life combat, political, and social setting in ‘combat’ with the trainees where they could be ‘captured’ and ‘interrogated’ for practice! Actors dressed up as soldiers, Hitler, Goring, etc. We have a training manual for the actors and it’s amazing,” said the auction house’s president, Bill Panagopulos.
The manual is part of a larger online auction of historical items taking place on Wednesday and Thursday that Panagopulos said includes an “incredibly rare” copy of Hitler’s anti-Jewish laws, a banknote signed by Mao Zedong, and an NFL football signed by six presidents, including Donald Trump.
While part of the manual has been seen online before, Panagopulos said it is unusual for it to be offered for sale to WWII collectors.
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Alexander’s description said that it includes examples of “Mock up simulations and drills … held to prepare students for their deployment in Europe or Japan, including enemy bunkers, trenches, [Anti-Air] emplacements, booby traps, armor, and much more.”
It also includes examples of troops training to take on Japanese forces and how to root out the “spider holes” they dug on Pacific islands.
