Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Rafael D. Hirtz Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Army Signal Corps; Operational Forces, Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/94
With his privileged upbringing--he was born to a wealthy French family, educated by private tutors, and grew up as a teenager around 1930s Hollywood--Rafael Hirtz might have found a way to coast through World War II. Instead, he volunteered for the fledgling Office of Strategic Services, even after he was told that field operatives had only a fifty percent chance of survival. Hirtz worked on three intelligence missions abroad, using his ability to speak fluent French in service to his adopted country.
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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More Resources
Interview / Recording
Transcript
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PlayThe French Catholic Church and the Nazis. 00:05:11.0 - 00:07:32.0
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PlayMission in China; training paratroopers. 00:08:05.0 - 00:10:48.0
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PlaySecond mission in France as a liaison with Underground. 00:11:56.0 - 00:15:26.0
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PlayDifficult living conditions in China. 00:16:42.0 - 00:18:31.0
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PlayBarely making it out of China; the morality of wartime. 00:18:33.0 - 00:20:19.0
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PlayHow the contemporary CIA differs from the OSS. 00:20:29.0 - 00:24:30.0
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PlayContemporary terrorism's ability to disrupt. 00:27:41.0 - 00:29:14.0
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PlayTroubles with readjustment; meeting his future wife. 00:29:24.0 - 00:33:08.0
About this Item
Title
- Rafael D. Hirtz Collection
Names
- Hirtz, Rafael D.
- College of Notre Dame of Maryland
- Brown, Clinton C.
Headings
- - Hirtz, Rafael D.
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army
- Unit of Service: Army Signal Corps; Operational Forces, Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
- Location of Service:
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Dates of Service: 1940-1946
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran started his service in the Army Signal Corps as an Infantry paratrooper where he parachuted behind enemy lines in France twice and once with the Chinese 2nd Commandos in China. Hirtz's last three years were spent with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Operational Forces of the OSS.
Materials
- Video: Digital Betacam [2 items] -- Digitized Copy (collected unknown)
- Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [10 items] -- Photograph (collected 1943-1945)
- Video: S-VHS-C [3 items] -- Oral history interview (collected 1995-1998)
- Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2006-02-20; 2006-02-20)
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2006-02-20)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/94
Cite as
- Rafael D. Hirtz Collection (AFC/2001/001/94), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- online text
- video