Ernest Wallach photograph collection

The collection consists of photographs in the possession of Ernest Wallach, a Jewish German immigrant who served overseas during World War II as one of the “Ritchie Boys.” The photographs depict Buchenwald after liberation, German soldiers, Nazi flags, general war and militiary scenes, and Nazi personnel including Baldur von Schirach and Eva Braun. Ernest Siegfried Wallach (1915-1993) was born on June 15, 1915 in Hannover, Germany to Moses (Moritz) and Lina Rosenbaum Wallach (d. 1970). He had one sister, Senta Kronheim. Ernest arrived in the United States on September 29, 1938 on the S.S. Manhattan. He was met in New York by his cousin Julius Abraham. His sister’s husband, Rabbi Enoch Kronheim (Hans) had already immigrated to the U.S. and Senta and their two daughters joined him in June 1939, also arriving on the S.S. Manhattan. His parents arrived in the U.S. on September 2, 1941 aboard the S.S. Mouzinho. Ernest briefly lived in Knox, Indiana where he worked as a traveling salesman. He was drafted on October 16, 1940 and enlisted on May 20, 1943 in Indianapolis. He trained at Fort Ritchie in Maryland and served as a “Ritchie Boy” interrogating German prisoners of war. He was discharged on April 16, 1946, and moved to Cleveland where his sister’s family lived. Ernest continued his career in sales. He married Lore Jakob (1923-2018) in 1947 and they had two children: Miriam and Kenneth.