Burton C. Andrus
Encyclopedia
Colonel Burton C. Andrus (April 15, 1892 - February 1, 1977) was a career U.S. Army Officer who served from 1917 through 1952. He was an armor officer for most of his career and his most noted assignment was as the Commandant of the Nuremberg Prison which housed the accused during the Nuremberg Trials after World War II.
, Washington on 15 April, 1892 to Hermine (née Hill) and Major Frank B. Andrus, a United States Military Academy
graduate, Class of 1881, who participated in the Philippine–American War in the Philippine Islands
. He attended Buffalo University in 1914 and married Katherine Elizabeth Stebbins on 12 April, 1916. He worked for the Standard Oil Company of New York from 1910 until he was called to active duty through the Officer Reserve Corps (ORC) in 1917.
began. On 25 October 1917 he was accepted in the Regular Army at Madison Barracks, New York, with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He was transferred to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia and commanded Troop F, 11th Cavalry. On 20 March 1918 was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, Cavalry and in July 1919 he was promoted to Captain and sent to the Presidio of Monterey, California where he performed in various duties such as Prison and Intelligence Officer.
On 1 January 1924 he was sent to the Philippine Islands in Command of Troop A, 26th Cavalry. In July 1926 he returned to the United States as a student at the United States Army Cavalry School
, Fort Riley, Kansas. In 1927 he was the Adjutant of the United States Army Cavalry School and in the 1928 school year he was a student of the Air Corps Tactical School. After completing his studies he was assigned as an Air Corps Instructor at the United States Army Cavalry School concurrent with assignments as Liaison Officer to the 16th Observation Squadron and Officer in Charge of Air Corps Observation Course.
In 1933 Andrus commanded a Civilian Conservation Corps
Camp in Oregon and on 1 January 1934 he was assigned as Plans and Training Officer, 13th Cavalry until July 1934. Andrus was promoted to Major on 1 August 1935 with the 7th Cavalry Brigade and then served with the 1st Armored Regiment.
Bureau in Tyrone, Pennsylvania and in July 1940 was transferred to Washington D.C. On 18 August 1940 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) and placed in charge of air-ground cooperation. On 1 November 1940 he was assigned to be an Instructor at the Armored Forces School.
In September 1941 LTC Andrus was sent to Great Britain to study its air-ground operations. He observed Royal Air Force maneuvers and installations and returned to the United States in December. He then served as a board member at the United States Army Infantry School to develop and implement a cohesive air-ground cooperation, and aerial recognition and identification programs.
On 13 January 1942 LTC Andrus was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division
as G-3, Air and then as a Tank Commander. He was promoted to Colonel (COL) on 6 June 1942. On 10 October 1942 COL Andrus was transferred to Caven Point Terminal, New Jersey as Commandant and on 1 January 1943 to Brooklyn Army Base as the Officer in Charge of the Control Branch. After one week, on 8 January 1943, Andrus was reassigned as the Executive Officer at Fort Hamilton, New York. He held this position until 28 August 1943 when he was reassigned to be Director of Intelligence, Security Division, New York Port of Embarkation.
Transferring to Europe, Andrus was assigned on 27 January 1944, as Commanding Officer of the 10th Traffic Regulation Group (TRG). While assigned to the 10th TRG he was on detached duty as Liaison Officer with the 21st Army Group (British) from 22 August through 10 December 1944.
On 26 December 1944 he was reassigned to the G-3 (Operations) Branch, Headquarters, European Theater of Operations as a Combat Observer. He remained a Combat Observer until the war in Europe was over.
, Luxembourg. Mondorf-les-Bains was codenamed “Ashcan” by the United States Army and was an interrogation center for German Nazi war criminals. On 12 August 1945 the prisoners were moved to a new prison in Nuremberg, Germany. The Nuremberg prison was adjacent to the courts where the Nuremberg Trials were held. The security detachment at the prison, with COL Andrus as commandant, was established as the 6850th Internal Security Detachment (ISD), under the International Military Tribunal, United States Forces, European Theater (USFET).
Colonel Andrus was a strict disciplinarian who made no distinction between those Nazi leaders who were military or civilian, treating them all as war criminals. Andrus was instantly visible in his immaculate uniform and shellacked helmet and swagger stick. Albert Speer
commented (in his book Inside the Third Reich) that Andrus cordially greeted him when he arrived at Nuremberg Prison and also briefly mouthed an apology for having to maintain strict discipline.
He spent long hours with his staff planning every last detail of the Nazi prisoners' life. After the suicide of Dr. Robert Ley
, Andrus arranged anti-suicide cells in which even the tables were designed to collapse under a man's weight. He posted 24-hour guards before each cell and insisted that the prisoners sleep with hands outside the blankets. He required prisoners to take exercise periods during which their cells were searched. He had designed interview booths in which prisoners and visitors could converse with one another without being able to touch hands. However, this system was not foolproof as Hermann Göring
managed to commit suicide two hours before his scheduled execution. Andrus always felt cheated by this action of Göring's.
Andrus did not witness the executions himself, as he felt that he had spent too much time with the prisoners to watch them die.
On 31 October 1946, due to the health of his wife, Andrus returned to the United States and was reassigned to Headquarters, Military District of Washington and then as Executive Officer of 2559th Army Service Unit. He then attended the Strategic Intelligence School, graduating in 1948. He was assigned as Military Attaché to Israel for the rest of 1948 through 1949. He returned to Washington, D.C. and was reassigned as the Military Attaché to Brazil on 16 December 1949. Andrus returned to the United States in April 1952 and was officially retired from the U.S. Army on 30 April 1952.
in Business Administration and was asked to remain at the College of Puget Sound as a professor. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America and as a lay preacher for a local church. He died on 1 February 1977.
Professor of Geography and Business Administration at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.
Biography
Burton Curtis Andrus was born in Fort SpokaneSpokane
Spokane is a city in the U.S. state of Washington.Spokane may also refer to:*Spokane *Spokane River*Spokane, Missouri*Spokane Valley, Washington*Spokane County, Washington*Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War*Spokane * USS Spokane...
, Washington on 15 April, 1892 to Hermine (née Hill) and Major Frank B. Andrus, a United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
graduate, Class of 1881, who participated in the Philippine–American War in the Philippine Islands
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He attended Buffalo University in 1914 and married Katherine Elizabeth Stebbins on 12 April, 1916. He worked for the Standard Oil Company of New York from 1910 until he was called to active duty through the Officer Reserve Corps (ORC) in 1917.
WWI through 1930s
Burton C. Andrus was a 1st Lieutenant in the Officer Reserve Corps when World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
began. On 25 October 1917 he was accepted in the Regular Army at Madison Barracks, New York, with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He was transferred to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia and commanded Troop F, 11th Cavalry. On 20 March 1918 was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, Cavalry and in July 1919 he was promoted to Captain and sent to the Presidio of Monterey, California where he performed in various duties such as Prison and Intelligence Officer.
On 1 January 1924 he was sent to the Philippine Islands in Command of Troop A, 26th Cavalry. In July 1926 he returned to the United States as a student at the United States Army Cavalry School
United States Army Cavalry School
The United States Army Cavalry School was part of a series of training programs and centers for its horse mounted troops or cavalry branch.-History:...
, Fort Riley, Kansas. In 1927 he was the Adjutant of the United States Army Cavalry School and in the 1928 school year he was a student of the Air Corps Tactical School. After completing his studies he was assigned as an Air Corps Instructor at the United States Army Cavalry School concurrent with assignments as Liaison Officer to the 16th Observation Squadron and Officer in Charge of Air Corps Observation Course.
In 1933 Andrus commanded a Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
Camp in Oregon and on 1 January 1934 he was assigned as Plans and Training Officer, 13th Cavalry until July 1934. Andrus was promoted to Major on 1 August 1935 with the 7th Cavalry Brigade and then served with the 1st Armored Regiment.
1940s and WWII
On 1 January 1940 Major Andrus was transferred to the Pennsylvania National GuardPennsylvania National Guard
The Pennsylvania National Guard is composed of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. It is one of the largest National Guards in the nation. It has the largest Army National Guard of all the states and the fourth largest Air National Guard. These forces are...
Bureau in Tyrone, Pennsylvania and in July 1940 was transferred to Washington D.C. On 18 August 1940 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) and placed in charge of air-ground cooperation. On 1 November 1940 he was assigned to be an Instructor at the Armored Forces School.
In September 1941 LTC Andrus was sent to Great Britain to study its air-ground operations. He observed Royal Air Force maneuvers and installations and returned to the United States in December. He then served as a board member at the United States Army Infantry School to develop and implement a cohesive air-ground cooperation, and aerial recognition and identification programs.
On 13 January 1942 LTC Andrus was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division
U.S. 2nd Armored Division
The 2nd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played an important role during World War II in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and the liberation of France, Belgium, and Holland and the invasion of Germany...
as G-3, Air and then as a Tank Commander. He was promoted to Colonel (COL) on 6 June 1942. On 10 October 1942 COL Andrus was transferred to Caven Point Terminal, New Jersey as Commandant and on 1 January 1943 to Brooklyn Army Base as the Officer in Charge of the Control Branch. After one week, on 8 January 1943, Andrus was reassigned as the Executive Officer at Fort Hamilton, New York. He held this position until 28 August 1943 when he was reassigned to be Director of Intelligence, Security Division, New York Port of Embarkation.
Transferring to Europe, Andrus was assigned on 27 January 1944, as Commanding Officer of the 10th Traffic Regulation Group (TRG). While assigned to the 10th TRG he was on detached duty as Liaison Officer with the 21st Army Group (British) from 22 August through 10 December 1944.
On 26 December 1944 he was reassigned to the G-3 (Operations) Branch, Headquarters, European Theater of Operations as a Combat Observer. He remained a Combat Observer until the war in Europe was over.
Post WWII and Nuremberg
On 20 May 1945 he was assigned as Commandant, Prisoner of War Enclosure #32 in Mondorf-les-BainsMondorf-les-Bains
Mondorf-les-Bains is a commune and town in south-eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Remich, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher. Mondorf-les-Bains is a spa town , and has the only casino in Luxembourg....
, Luxembourg. Mondorf-les-Bains was codenamed “Ashcan” by the United States Army and was an interrogation center for German Nazi war criminals. On 12 August 1945 the prisoners were moved to a new prison in Nuremberg, Germany. The Nuremberg prison was adjacent to the courts where the Nuremberg Trials were held. The security detachment at the prison, with COL Andrus as commandant, was established as the 6850th Internal Security Detachment (ISD), under the International Military Tribunal, United States Forces, European Theater (USFET).
Colonel Andrus was a strict disciplinarian who made no distinction between those Nazi leaders who were military or civilian, treating them all as war criminals. Andrus was instantly visible in his immaculate uniform and shellacked helmet and swagger stick. Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
commented (in his book Inside the Third Reich) that Andrus cordially greeted him when he arrived at Nuremberg Prison and also briefly mouthed an apology for having to maintain strict discipline.
He spent long hours with his staff planning every last detail of the Nazi prisoners' life. After the suicide of Dr. Robert Ley
Robert Ley
Robert Ley was a Nazi politician and head of the German Labour Front from 1933 to 1945. He committed suicide while awaiting trial for war crimes.- Early life :...
, Andrus arranged anti-suicide cells in which even the tables were designed to collapse under a man's weight. He posted 24-hour guards before each cell and insisted that the prisoners sleep with hands outside the blankets. He required prisoners to take exercise periods during which their cells were searched. He had designed interview booths in which prisoners and visitors could converse with one another without being able to touch hands. However, this system was not foolproof as Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
managed to commit suicide two hours before his scheduled execution. Andrus always felt cheated by this action of Göring's.
Andrus did not witness the executions himself, as he felt that he had spent too much time with the prisoners to watch them die.
On 31 October 1946, due to the health of his wife, Andrus returned to the United States and was reassigned to Headquarters, Military District of Washington and then as Executive Officer of 2559th Army Service Unit. He then attended the Strategic Intelligence School, graduating in 1948. He was assigned as Military Attaché to Israel for the rest of 1948 through 1949. He returned to Washington, D.C. and was reassigned as the Military Attaché to Brazil on 16 December 1949. Andrus returned to the United States in April 1952 and was officially retired from the U.S. Army on 30 April 1952.
Post Military
After retiring from the Army he lived in Tacoma, Washington. He earned a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Business Administration and was asked to remain at the College of Puget Sound as a professor. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America and as a lay preacher for a local church. He died on 1 February 1977.
Professor of Geography and Business Administration at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.
Portrayal in popular culture
Burton C. Andrus has been portrayed by the following actors in film, television and theater productions;- Michael IronsideMichael IronsideMichael Ironside is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed...
in the 2000 Canadian/U.S. T.V. production NurembergNuremberg (2000 film)Nuremberg is a 2000 Canadian/United States television docudrama, based on the book Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial by Joseph E. Persico, that tells the story of the Nuremberg Trials.-Part one:... - Des McAleer in the 2006 British television production Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand
- Anthony Valentine in the 2006 British television docudrama Nuremberg: Nazis on TrialNuremberg: Nazis on TrialNuremberg: Nazis on Trial, is a BBC documentary film series consisting of three one-hour films that re-enact the Nuremberg War Trials of Albert Speer, Hermann Göring and Rudolf Hess...