Richard Sonnenfeldt
Encyclopedia
Richard W. Sonnenfeldt-(d. Oct 9, 2009 Port Washington, New York
) was a Jewish-American engineer
and corporate executive most notable for being the U.S. prosecution team's chief interpreter in 1945 prior to the Nuremberg Trial after World War II
.
. In 1938, his mother was able to deliver Richard and his brother Helmut
to Bunce Court, a boarding school in England. After Germany attacked England in 1940, he was interned in England as an enemy alien
. Sonnenfeldt was sent to a prison in Australia
, then released. On arrival in Australia he gave his name as Wolfgang Heinz Israel Sonnenfeldt. He emigrated to India and then the USA, arriving in April 1941 and reunited with his family in Baltimore. (His brother, not treated as an enemy alien because he was under age 16, obtained passage from England to the U.S. Their parents escaped from Germany to Sweden and made it from there to the U.S.)
In the U.S., Sonnenfeldt finished high school, was drafted into the U.S. Army, became a U.S. citizen was sent back to Europe as a U.S. soldier. In 1945 following the Battle of the Bulge
, he was in combat action. In April 1945, he briefly entered the liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany and saw many dead bodies and near-dead survivors. After Germany's surrender, he was working in an Army motor pool in Austria when General William J. (“Wild Bill”) Donovan, head of the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS), recruited Sonnenfeldt to be his personal interpreter because he spoke both German and English fluently. Donovan soon became the first deputy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson
, who had been appointed by President Truman to serve as U.S. Chief of Counsel for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals. Sonnenfeldt moved with Donovan into that project, first to Paris and then to Nuremberg.
In 1946, Sonnenfeldt left Nuremberg and the Army and returned to the United States. He studied electrical engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, graduating first in his class. In his subsequent careers, he was part of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) team that invented color television, involved in work for NASA on the moon landing
s, a senior executive at the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the dean of a business school, and inventor and holder of many patents, among other things.
Sonnenfeldt's memoirs, first published in Germany, were published in English in 2006 as Witness to Nuremberg (Arcade Publishing). Sonnenfeldt was interviewed for the 2006
BBC
docudrama
Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial
and many other documentaries.
Richard Sonnenfeldt died on October 9, 2009 from complications of a stroke
at his home in Port Washington, New York
at the age of 86.
Port Washington, New York
Port Washington is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the community population was 15,846....
) was a Jewish-American engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and corporate executive most notable for being the U.S. prosecution team's chief interpreter in 1945 prior to the Nuremberg Trial after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Life
Born Heinz Wolfgang Richard Sonnenfelt to Jewish parents in Berlin in 1923, Richard was eventually driven from his homeland by the harshness of the Nuremberg LawsNuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
. In 1938, his mother was able to deliver Richard and his brother Helmut
Helmut Sonnenfeldt
Helmut Sonnenfeldt is an American foreign policy expert.Born in 1926 in Berlin, Germany to Drs. Walther and Gertrud Sonnenfeldt, he spent his childhood in Gardelegen, Germany, where his parents had a family medical practice. In 1938, Sonnenfeldt was sent to Anna Essinger's Bunce Court School in...
to Bunce Court, a boarding school in England. After Germany attacked England in 1940, he was interned in England as an enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
. Sonnenfeldt was sent to a prison in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, then released. On arrival in Australia he gave his name as Wolfgang Heinz Israel Sonnenfeldt. He emigrated to India and then the USA, arriving in April 1941 and reunited with his family in Baltimore. (His brother, not treated as an enemy alien because he was under age 16, obtained passage from England to the U.S. Their parents escaped from Germany to Sweden and made it from there to the U.S.)
In the U.S., Sonnenfeldt finished high school, was drafted into the U.S. Army, became a U.S. citizen was sent back to Europe as a U.S. soldier. In 1945 following the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, he was in combat action. In April 1945, he briefly entered the liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany and saw many dead bodies and near-dead survivors. After Germany's surrender, he was working in an Army motor pool in Austria when General William J. (“Wild Bill”) Donovan, head of the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS), recruited Sonnenfeldt to be his personal interpreter because he spoke both German and English fluently. Donovan soon became the first deputy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson
Robert H. Jackson
Robert Houghwout Jackson was United States Attorney General and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court . He was also the chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials...
, who had been appointed by President Truman to serve as U.S. Chief of Counsel for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals. Sonnenfeldt moved with Donovan into that project, first to Paris and then to Nuremberg.
In 1946, Sonnenfeldt left Nuremberg and the Army and returned to the United States. He studied electrical engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, graduating first in his class. In his subsequent careers, he was part of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) team that invented color television, involved in work for NASA on the moon landing
Moon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
s, a senior executive at the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the dean of a business school, and inventor and holder of many patents, among other things.
Sonnenfeldt's memoirs, first published in Germany, were published in English in 2006 as Witness to Nuremberg (Arcade Publishing). Sonnenfeldt was interviewed for the 2006
2006 in television
2006 in television may refer to:*2006 in American television*2006 in Australian television*2006 in British television*2006 in Canadian television*2006 in Japanese television...
BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial
Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial
Nuremberg: 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...
and many other documentaries.
Richard Sonnenfeldt died on October 9, 2009 from complications of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
at his home in Port Washington, New York
Port Washington, New York
Port Washington is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the community population was 15,846....
at the age of 86.