Erich (Eric) Feiler

• Born on: 3.4.1915
• Birthplace: Vienna (Wien),
• Category: Diploma program
• Right of domicile: Wien (Wien),

The English version is based on a translation by Artificial Intelligence. The authentic version is the German version.

Erich was the son of Schloma (Fritz) Feiler and Rosalia (Rosa), née Muschel. The parents married in 1913 at the synagogue Leopoldsgasse ('Polish School'), which was built in 1892/93 at Leopoldsgasse 29 (2nd district of Vienna) and was destroyed in the November pogrom of 1938. The mother passed away on February 14, 1932, at the age of 43 in an outpatient clinic in the 6th district; two days later, she was buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery.

After attending high school in the second district of Vienna, Erich was enrolled for two semesters at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the University of Vienna. Between the summer semester of 1936 and the winter semester of 1937/38, he completed five semesters of the diploma program at the University for World Trade. Although he had completed the required six semesters of the diploma program, counting one semester of his previous law studies, the Jewish student was not allowed to take the diploma examination after the 'Anschluss' of Austria. The last examination that Feiler could take was the mandatory colloquia after the fourth semester. On September 12, 1938, he left the apartment at Kegelgasse 35/3/19 (3rd district of Vienna), where he had lived with his widowed father, and emigrated to the USA.

Here, Feiler, who Americanized his first name to Eric, initially worked as a dispatcher for cargo shipments. After acquiring American citizenship, he joined the US Army in November 1942. Initially, he underwent basic training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson (Arkansas). In March of the following year, he was transferred to the 110th Infantry Battalion, and from May 1943, he served in the 375th Medical Battalion, a special unit of the 75th Infantry Division. Starting in October, he underwent training as part of the Army Specialized Training Program at Stanford University (California). From January 1944, he underwent training at Camps Ritchie and Sharpe (Maryland and Pennsylvania), which specialized in interrogating German and Austrian prisoners of war, as well as propaganda and psychological warfare. As part of the Mobile Radio Broadcasting Company, Feiler, now holding the rank of Corporal, was deployed in France and Germany starting in September 1944. Thus, Eric Feiler belonged to the 'Ritchie Boys' alongside other displaced members of the University for World Trade, who contributed to the liberation of Europe from National Socialism.

Apparently, Feiler remained with the American Army even after the war. For example, in 1956, he held a military rank as Master Sergeant in the non-commissioned officer ranks of the US Army.

Eric Feiler passed away in Miami (Florida) at the age of 93 on July 20, 2008.

His father (born October 30, 1887) was the owner of the shoe store "Martha" at Landstraßer Hauptstraße 7 (3rd district of Vienna). Until 1941, Fritz Feiler was registered at the apartment in Kegelgasse; from 1942, his trace is lost. Immediately after the 'Anschluss', Erich's father, like all other Jews, was forced by a relevant regulation from the Nazi regime to disclose his financial circumstances. Apparently, the Nazi regime subsequently took away his business because, from 1940 onwards, Fritz is no longer mentioned in the Vienna address book as the owner of the shoe store at Landstraßer Hauptstraße.

Author: Johannes Koll
Support in research: Robert Lackner

Source material

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Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Universitätsarchiv, Studierendenkarteikarte und Alte Prüfungsliste.
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Florian Traussnig: Die Psychokrieger aus Camp Sharpe. Österreicher als Kampfpropagandisten der US-Armee im Zweiten Weltkrieg, Wien/Köln/Weimar 2020, S. 388.
E-Mails von Dr. Robert Lackner (Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies, Graz) an PD Dr. Johannes Koll (WU Wien) vom 8. und 30. Juni 2021.
Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Archiv der Republik, Bundesministerium für Finanzen, Vermögensverkehrsstelle, Vermögensanmeldung 45886.
Wiener Adreßbuch. Lehmanns Wohnungsanzeiger, Ausgaben 1938 bis 1942.
AncientFaces, http://www.ancientfaces.com/person/eric-feiler-birth-1915-death-2008/8606629 [11. August 2021].