Richard W. Sonnenfeldt
Richard Wolfgang Sonnenfeldt (born July 3, 1923 in Berlin , † October 9, 2009 in Port Washington , New York ) was an American engineer and author. Sonnenfeldt was the chief interpreter for the American prosecution in the Nuremberg trials in 1945 and 1946 . As an electrical engineer , he was instrumental in the development of color television.
Life
Sonnenfeldt was born the son of a Jewish doctor. He grew up in Gardelegen in the Altmark until 1938 . In August 1938 he and his brother Helmut Sonnenfeldt went to the English boarding school of Anna Essinger's New Herrlingen / Bunce Court School . As a German citizen, Sonnenfeldt was interned in the United Kingdom after the outbreak of war in 1939 and transported to an internment camp in Australia . The ship was attacked by a German submarine during the 37-day crossing. In 1940 he was supposed to return to Great Britain, but then migrated from Bombay to the United States in 1941 . He volunteered in the US Army , where he held various positions during World War II and was ultimately involved in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp .
In 1945, when he was only 22 years old, Sonnenfeldt was recruited by the OSS as an interpreter for the indictment at the Nuremberg trial of the main war criminals due to his excellent language skills . Following his work at the Nuremberg Trials, Sonnenfeldt, who had accepted US citizenship , returned to the United States, where he studied engineering at Johns Hopkins University and graduated in 1949.
As an electrical engineer Richard Sonnenfeldt was in the development of color television and in the preparation of the first moon landing by the NASA involved. In his later career, Sonnenfeldt worked in management . He was a senior executive at Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and executive vice president of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).
Autobiography
- More than a lifetime. Scherz, Bern 2003, ISBN 3-502-18680-4
Individual evidence
- ^ Gabriele von Arnim: A happy temporary man online
- ↑ Anna's children at theguardian.com, accessed June 9, 2016
- ↑ a b The Nuremberg Trials at Die Zeitzeugen on arte.tv ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
Web links
- Works by and about Richard W. Sonnenfeldt in the German Digital Library
- Bernd-Volker Brahms, "It was a strange feeling ...", visiting Richard W. Sonnenfeldt, Lausitzer Rundschau, November 18, 2005
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sonnenfeldt, Richard W. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sonnenfeldt, Richard Wolfgang (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American engineer and interpreter at the Nuremberg Trials |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 3, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 9, 2009 |
| Place of death | Port Washington , New York |