Career
Jewish extermination and persecution had already begun in the mid-1930s and by 1937 the family escaped the Nazis (thanks to Thekla"s dual Swiss citizenship) and fled to the United States. Eric was placed in Military Field Intelligence with the airborne troops. In the 18th corporations, he fought with the 101st, the 82nd and 17th divisions.
He parachuted as a pathfinder at Normandy on the night of June 5, 1944 and participated in the Battle of the Bulge, as well as other conflicts.
Toward the end of the war, his battalion took Essen. As the senior officer of the Management Information System team he was put in charge of the industrial city until he was called to serve near Oberursel.
He returned to the United States the day before Christmas Eve, 1945.
