Erich Boehm

Erich Boehm was born in the town of Hof, Germany, on July 15, 1918 - a World War I "furlough baby." World War I was still raging in its final tragic months, and Erich's father was a German soldier at the front. Though wounded twice, Erich's father returned safely after the war to run a retail textile business, like many of his ancestors before him.

Coming to America in 1934 was clearly the defining experience in Erich's life. During and shortly after the war, he was an Army Air Corps officer in intelligence. He ended up in Germany, and helping to dissolve the supreme command of the German Luftwaffe.

Boehm said, "as victorious armies we were of course in a state of exhilaration - the war was over and we won. To this feeling can be added the personal satisfaction of our having defeated the Nazi juggernaut and wiped the Nazi evil from the face of the earth. Moreover, I enjoyed the personal satisfaction as a Jew from Germany. But I was very careful anyway. Nevertheless, it was very gratifying to be saluted by Admiral Doenitz, the then head of the German government."