Harry Ettlinger

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Heinz Ludwig Chaim "Harry" Ettlinger (born January 28, 1926 in Karlsruhe ; † October 21, 2018 in Rockaway , New Jersey ) was a German-American veteran of World War II .

Life

Ettlinger came from a family of respected Jewish businessmen. His grandfather was the Bruchsal textile wholesaler Otto Oppenheimer . In 1938 the family, exposed to the Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany, emigrated to the USA .

After graduating from high school, Ettlinger was drafted into the US Army in August 1944 and became a citizen of the United States . He was initially to be deployed in the 99th Infantry Division against the German Ardennes Offensive , but because of his knowledge of German, he was appointed to the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFA & A), whose task it was to protect cultural assets from theft and destruction . Ettlinger discovered Rembrandt's self-portrait in a salt mine near Heilbronn , where works of art from the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe had been stored , which he had wanted to see years earlier as a boy in the Kunsthalle, but which, as a Jew, he was not allowed to enter.

After his discharge from military service in 1946, Ettlinger completed a degree in aerospace engineering at Newark College of Engineering , which he graduated in 1950. In this profession he worked for several companies. In old age he became increasingly committed to keeping memories alive, for example by lecturing in front of young people.

Monuments Men

The MFA & A became known in 2014 through the feature film Monuments Men - Unusual Heroes (original title The Monuments Men ) with George Clooney as director and leading actor. Ettlinger (in the film 'Sam Epstein') was played by Dimitri Leonidas . Ettlinger appeared in public with Clooney at the 2014 Berlinale .

Awards

In 2014 Ettlinger received the Staufer Medal from the State of Baden-Württemberg . On October 22, 2015, Ettlinger was awarded the Gold Medal of Honor of the US Congress .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Monuments Man" Harry Ettlinger receives gold Staufer medal. Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg , February 5, 2014, accessed on October 26, 2018 .
  2. ↑ WWII 'Monuments Men' get their due: a Congressional Gold Medal. In: The Stars and Stripes . October 23, 2015, accessed October 26, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Ettlinger, Harry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ettlinger, Heinz Ludwig Chaim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German American veteran of World War II and aeronautical engineer
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Karlsruhe
DATE OF DEATH October 21, 2018
Place of death Rockaway, New Jersey