Current Hours
Thursday - Saturday 10am - 4pm
Ritchie Boy Family Reunion
Sat, Jul 26
|Highfield-Cascade
The museum is excited to be hosting its first-ever Ritchie Boy Family Reunion! We are thrilled to provide an opportunity for Ritchie Boy families to come and share their loved ones' stories and connect with each other and the public! Come join us for a day of history and fun!
Time & Location
Jul 26, 2025, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM EDT
Highfield-Cascade, Box 699, 14324 Lake Royer Dr, Highfield-Cascade, MD 21719, USA
About the event
We are honored to provide a unique opportunity for Ritchie Boy families to come and tell their loved ones' stories. The day will be filled with guest speakers, a lunch, visits to the museum, guided tours, and the chance to check out the other businesses at Historic Fort Ritchie. We will finish the day with an evening Celebration of History dinner at Lakeside Hall. All proceeds from this event go towards construction and purchases for our future research center!
Speaker tickets are $10 a ticket per speaker, you may purchase a pass for $50 if you wish to attend all lectures, lunch tickets are $16 per person, and the fundraiser dinner from 6p to 8:30 pm is $100 per plate, including one drink from the bar in Lakeside.
Our special dinner speaker will be Dr. Amanda Rothschild, who recently authored the first children's book on a Ritchie Boy, "My Zayde…
Schedule (click see all )
45 minutesKaty Self
Main Tent
45 minutesDr. Roger Sabbadini
Main Tent
Tickets
Speaker: Jim Klein
Sale ends
Jul 17, 12:00 PM EDT
Encounters with Ernest Hemingway, Oskar Schindler, Hitler’s Chauffeur and an Event that Changed that Changed his Life: Kurt Klein’s Story.
$10.00
+$0.25 ticket service fee
Speaker: Jeffrey Kraus
Sale ends
Jul 17, 12:00 PM EDT
Jeff Kraus grew up in the 1960s with little knowledge of his father’s service in WWII. Although he knew his dad escaped Nazi Germany and served as an interrogator, his father shared no details. After his father’s death, Jeff discovered numerous materials from his military service in the attic. Today, Jeff will share these insights about his father, Herbert Kraus, a proud Ritchie Boy.
$10.00
+$0.25 ticket service fee
Lecture Pass
Sale ends
Jul 17, 12:00 PM EDT
The lecture pass provides access to all speaker events at a slightly discounted rate, you will not need individual tickets with the pass.
$50.00
+$1.25 ticket service fee
Lunch at Lakeside
Sale ends
Jul 05, 5:00 PM EDT
This lunch ticket is for our gathering at Lakeside Hall. Lunch will be served from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM. You can choose from a variety of wraps, along with the following sides: coleslaw, broccoli salad, macaroni salad, fresh fruit, brownies, and assorted cookies. Lunch will be served buffet style. Enjoy!
$16.00
+$0.40 ticket service fee
Dinner at Lakeside
Sale ends
Jul 05, 5:00 PM EDT
Join us for a semi-formal fundraising dinner featuring Dr. Amanda Rothschild, who has recently authored the first children's book about the Ritchie Boys, titled "My Zayde is a Superhero." This book is based on the true story of her grandfather, Ernest Rothschild—a German-Jewish refugee and U.S. Army intelligence soldier. He experienced the devastation of Kristallnacht in 1938 but stood proudly in a U.S. Army uniform at Eagle’s Nest in 1945. Dr. Rothschild, whose research focuses on presidential
$100.00
+$2.50 ticket service fee
Speaker: Dr. Roger Sabbadini
Sale ends
Jul 17, 12:00 PM EDT
Author of "Unavoidable Hope: A compelling true story of Italian Jewish refugee" Alessandro (Alex) Sabbadini, who escaped Fascist Italy to America on the eve of WWII only to join the fight in Italy with the U.S. 5th Army. He joined the fight for personal reasons – to liberate Italy and his Jewish family who were being pursued by the Fascists and the Nazis. Alex was one of the first “Ritchie Boys” to have received military intelligence training at the Military Intelligence School at Camp Ritchie.
$10.00
+$0.25 ticket service fee
Speaker: Christopher Galen
Sale ends
Jul 17, 12:00 PM EDT
Captain Galen led G2 intelligence teams during operations in Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy from 1943-45. A prolific letter writer during his 30 months overseas, this presentation will draw from his real-time observations about the people, places and experiences of Army intelligence forces during WW II.
$10.00
+$0.25 ticket service fee
Speaker: Katy Self
Sale ends
Jul 17, 12:00 PM EDT
Katy Self, the Director of the Ritchie History Museum, will share fascinating insights into the history of Fort Ritchie, particularly during the World War II era. Join us to learn about the historic buildings on Historic Fort Ritchie and walk in the footsteps of the Ritchie Boys.
$10.00
+$0.25 ticket service fee
Speaker: Kenneth Wald
Sale ends
Jul 17, 12:00 PM EDT
"In late February 1986, I heard a story about my father, Heinz Werner Schönwald, who served as a U.S. Army interrogator during World War II. While questioning a German POW from Saxony, the soldier was surprised by the interrogator’s perfect German and knowledge of their hometown. Eventually, the POW recognized my father as a former schoolmate, exclaiming, “You’re the Schönwald boy!” This revelation about my father's wartime service was something I didn’t fully believe until 40 years later."
$10.00
+$0.25 ticket service fee
Speaker: Linda De Roche
Sale ends
Jul 17, 12:00 PM EDT
$10.00
+$0.25 ticket service fee
Total
$0.00