Morris B. Parloff papers
Extent and Medium
folders
oversize folder
4
1
Creator(s)
- Morris B. Parloff
Biographical History
Morris B. Parloff (1918-2011) was born on October 29, 1918, and was a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated with a degree in psychology from what is now Case Western Reserve University in 1940, and later obtained a doctorate in clinical psychology from the same university in 1953, as well as a master's in psychiatric social work from the University of Chicago in 1942. He served in the Counter Intelligence Corps of the United States Army during World War II, and because of his fluency in German, he trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, with German-Jewish emigres who later became known as the "Ritchie Boys," and Parloff was also featured in the 2004 documentary of the same name. While in the Army, he landed in Europe in July 1944, and one of his earliest missions involved going to Aachen, Germany, where he interrogated German soldiers and civilians, and subsequently he worked in various locations in Germany, including Nordhausen, where he investigated the factories that built V-2 rockets. He returned to the United States in November 1945, and after obtaining his doctorate, he worked for thirty years at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, retiring as a branch chief there in 1983. He had a private clinical practice after that, and was an adjunct professor at American University in Washington. He moved to Teaneck, New Jersey in 2005, and died there on April 2, 2011. [Source: Obituary, Washington Post, April 12, 2011; plus correspondence in Morris Parloff papers].
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Gloria Parloff
Gloria Parloff donated the Morris B. Parloff papers to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.
Scope and Content
Correspondence, scrapbook pages, and documents, related to the service of Morris B. Parloff in the Counter Intelligence Corps of the U.S. Army, from 1942-1945, including his service in occupied Germany in 1944-1945, and his training in counter intelligence at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. Includes some original correspondence sent from Parloff to his wife, Gloria, during the time he served in the Army, primarily from 1944, as well as a later (circa 2001), typescript compilation of all correspondence Mrs. Parloff received from her husband, for much of which the originals are no longer extant. Also includes personnel documents related to Parloff's service in the Army; a report authored by Parloff about the interrogation of German civilians and captured military personnel in Aachen, January 1945; and scrapbook pages taken from an album, containing photographs of Parloff taken while he served in Europe, circa 1944-1945, and images of Aachen. The correspondence is divided into two folders: the one titled “Correspondence, selected, 1944-1945” consists of the remaining original letters sent by Parloff to his wife, whereas the folder titled “Correspondence: compilation” consists of the typescript version of the correspondence as assembled by Gloria Parloff in 2001, and includes the text of many letters that are not included as originals in the present collection. The folder titled “Military Service of Morris Parloff” contains letters of commendation, transfer orders, and similar documents which trace the chronology of Parloff’s military career. The folder titled “Reports” consists primarily of the report, dated January 1945, that Parloff wrote describing the activities of the Counter Intelligence Corps in the interrogation of captured German civilians and military personnel in the newly-liberated city of Aachen. The photographs are housed in the folder titled “Scrapbook pages,” in which are housed images of Parloff during his military service, including an image of Parloff with the Jeep that he used in the Army, which he named “Gloria,” after his wife. Also included in this file is a menu from the ship that he traveled on to reach Europe in 1944.
System of Arrangement
Collection is arranged as a single series.
People
- Parloff, Morris B., 1918-2011.
- Parloff, Gloria.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army. Counter Intelligence Corps
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Western Front.
- World War, 1939-1945--Military intelligence--United States.
- Aachen (Germany)
- Military interrogation--United States.
Genre
- Scrapbook.
- Correspondence.
- Document