Richard Schifter

After Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 (an event known as the Anschluss), Paul and Balbina Schifter knew that their family would be in danger if they stayed in Vienna. They made the difficult decision to send their only son, 15-year-old Richard, to live with relatives in the United States.

Richard Schifter with his mother Balbina, shortly before Richard immigrated to the United States on his own., ca. 1938.

Richard Schifter with his mother Balbina, shortly before Richard immigrated to the United States on his own., ca. 1938. US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Deciding to Leave

Immigrating to the United States was not a simple process. It required navigating difficult bureaucratic hurdles as well as having personal connections, good timing, and a certain amount of luck. Paul Schifter asked an uncle in New York, Harry Brettholz, to provide a financial affidavit for his son, Richard. Affidavits guaranteed that the immigrant would not become a financial burden (or “public charge”) and were necessary documents required for immigrating to the United States. As he sought sponsorship from a relative, Paul also began to gather identity documents, medical certificates, his military discharge papers from World War I, tax documents, and all the other official documents the family needed to present at the US consulate in Vienna to obtain immigration visas to the United States.

US immigration law classified and limited potential immigrants by their country of birth, which further complicated the Schifters’ efforts: Paul and Balbina were born in Poland, while their son Richard was born in Austria. Richard was eligible for one of the 27,370 visas per year which the United States could issue to people born in Germany or Austria, while Paul and Balbina had to seek two of the only 6,524 visas available for people born in Poland.

Since it would be easier for Richard to obtain a visa, Paul and Balbina decided to send Richard to the United States on his own while they remained behind in Europe. Richard sailed from Rotterdam on the SS Nieuw Amsterdam on December 8, 1938, and arrived in New York seven days later. He traveled alone.

’Richard wrote to his father’s friend, Frank Jungwirth, who had immigrated to Rochester, New York, and explained that his parents were well, but were having difficulty immigrating to the United States, June 27, 1941.

’Richard wrote to his father’s friend, Frank Jungwirth, who had immigrated to Rochester, New York, and explained that his parents were well, but were having difficulty immigrating to the United States, June 27, 1941. US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Letters to His Parents

After he arrived in the United States, Richard lived with extended family in the Bronx. He exchanged letters with his parents and tried his best to gather the necessary paperwork and money to bring them to the United States. Paul and Balbina fled Austria for Poland, where they split up and lived with relatives in different towns, waiting to receive US immigration visas.

In 1940, Richard wrote to Frank Jungwirth, an old friend and business associate of Paul’s who lived in Rochester, New York. Jungwirth tried to help with Paul and Balbina’s immigration, corresponding with Richard about his parents’ whereabouts and the status of their immigration paperwork. Yet as the war expanded and US consulates closed in Nazi-occupied territories, it became impossible for Paul and Balbina to escape.

Paul and Balbina gave up hope of emigrating and reunited in Lublin, in Nazi-occupied Poland. They sent their final letter to Richard in July 1942. After the war, Richard learned that both of his parents were killed in late 1942, either in the Majdan Tatarski ghetto or in the Majdanek concentration camp.

US Army Soldier

Richard declared his intent to become a US citizen as soon as he turned 18, nearly three years after his arrival in the United States. He graduated from high school and enrolled in City College of New York. After graduating in spring 1943, he joined the US Army.

In October 1943, Richard was assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and sent to Stanford University to train for the planned US capture and occupation of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). In early 1944, he was reassigned to Camp Ritchie in Maryland, where the US Army trained many German refugees in counter-intelligence, including interrogation techniques to be used on captured German soldiers. Richard’s native German-language skills were essential for this work.

Staff Sergeant Schifter deployed to the European Theatre in late spring 1944 and served in Great Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. After the war ended and Schifter was discharged from the Army, he served as a civilian employee of the US military government in Germany until 1948.

This card verified that Staff Sergeant Schifter had permission to enter European buildings to collect intelligence on behalf of the US Army, September 9, 1944.

This card verified that Staff Sergeant Schifter had permission to enter European buildings to collect intelligence on behalf of the US Army, September 9, 1944. US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Life After the War

After returning to the United States, Richard Schifter attended Yale Law School. He graduated in 1951 and practiced law for the next several decades. During his long career, he often served in the federal government, including as assistant secretary of state for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs and as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton. Schifter also represented the United States at the United Nations in various capacities.