Martin Ernest Dannenberg (November 5, 1915 – August 18, 2010) was an American insurance executive who served as chairman of the Sun Life Insurance Company for five decades. While serving as a counterintelligence officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with the

U.S. Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

, Dannenberg discovered an original copy of the

Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of th ...

signed by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. The document was in the personal possession of General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

and held by

The Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Ma ...

until it was turned over to the

United States National Archives The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

days after Dannenberg's death.

Biography

Dannenberg was born on November 5, 1915, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, where his family had been part of the founding of

Har Sinai Congregation Har Sinai Congregation ("Mount Sinai Congregation") is a Reform Jewish synagogue located in Owings Mills, Maryland. Originally established in 1842 in Baltimore, it is the oldest congregation in the United States that has used a Reform prayer rite ...

in 1842.Shapiro, T. Rees
"Martin E. Dannenberg dies at 94; uncovered Hitler document known as the Nuremberg Laws"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', August 28, 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2010. After completing high school, he worked for the Sun Life Insurance Company as a clerk in the records department and earned his bachelor's degree from

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

.Rasmussen, Frederick N
"Martin E. Dannenberg dies at 94: Insurance company chairman found rare copy of Hitler's Nuremberg Laws as a sergeant in World War II"
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'', August 27, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010. He later attended

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

and the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

at night, but dropped out after his boss showed him former lawyers who were forced to sell fruit on the street during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

.Martin, Douglas
"Martin Dannenberg Is Dead at 94; Found Nuremberg Laws Document"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 28, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010. After completing his military service, Dannenberg returned to work for Sun Life, becoming the company chairman until his retirement in 1987. During his tenure, he undertook a number of acquisitions that turned the company into a major national insurance industry competitor. He was active with the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

and had been honored as the oldest living

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

in Maryland. A resident of

Guilford, Baltimore Guilford is a prominent and historic neighborhood located in the northern part of Baltimore, Maryland. It is bounded on the south by University Parkway, on the west by North Charles Street, Warrenton and Linkwood Roads, on the north by Cold Spri ...

, he was active in community organizations and served as president of Har Sinai Congregation. Dannenberg died at age 94 on August 18, 2010, of complications from a fall. He was survived by his second wife, as well as a daughter, two sons, a stepdaughter, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Nuremberg Laws document

Dannenberg attempted to enlist in the United States Army after World War II broke out, hoping to do counterintelligence duty, but was told he would be contacted after he was drafted. In April 1945, he visited the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

, where he recounted that he had seen bodies stacked liked cordwood. He was approached in a beer hall by Hans Ruch, an employee of the finance ministry who was on the run from the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

after telling his bosses that he believed that Germany had lost the war. Ruch told him that "I know the whereabouts of a document I think you Americans would like to have" and Dannenberg followed the lead to a bank vault in the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n town of

Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...

. On April 28, together with interpreter

Frank Perls Frank Richard Perls (October 23, 1910 – February 9, 1975) was a German-born American art dealer who was best known for uncovering a series of fraudulent art works. As an interpreter with the United States Third Army, Perls worked together wi ...

, Dannenberg found a manila folder sealed with red wax embossed with swastikas. Inside was an original four-page copy of the Nuremberg Laws signed by Adolf Hitler in September 1935, which stripped German Jews of their citizenship and prohibited Jews from marrying "Aryans". He said that he and Perls immediately realized the significance of what they had found and were moved by the fact that it had been uncovered by two Jewish soldiers. Dannenberg had thought of retaining the document as a keepsake, and passed it on to Third Army headquarters where it came into the possession of General George S. Patton. Ignoring orders from General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

to turn all such material over to prosecutors preparing for the

Nuremberg Trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

of Nazi war criminals, Patton kept the document for himself. After returning to the United States, Patton gave the document to The Huntington Library, which had been established by Henry E. Huntington, a friend of his father's who had helped Patton get admitted into

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

.Platt, Tony
"The Luck of the Historian"

History News Network History News Network (HNN) at George Washington University is a platform for historians writing about current events. History History News Network (HNN) is a non-profit corporation registered in Washington DC. HNN was founded by Richard Shenkman ...

, April 24, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2010. The document remained there for decades in its most secure bombproof vault, out of public view. Its existence first came to public attention when it was placed on loan to the

Skirball Cultural Center The Skirball Cultural Center, founded in 1996, is a Jewish educational institution in Los Angeles, California. The center, named after philanthropist-couple Jack H. Skirball and Audrey Skirball-Kenis, features a museum with regularly changing e ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

starting in 1999, where it was viewed by millions of visitors before it was removed from display in 2009 due to concerns about continued exposure to light. On August 25, 2010, one week after Dannenberg's death, The Huntington Library donated the document to the United States National Archives, which plans to put it on display in Washington, D.C. in advance of the 75th anniversary of the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws.via

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

"California: Nazi Papers Turned Over to Archives"
''

'', August 25, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dannenberg, Martin 1915 births 2010 deaths Accidental deaths from falls Jewish American military personnel United States Army personnel of World War II Baltimore City College alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Businesspeople from Baltimore United States Army officers University of Baltimore School of Law alumni Businesspeople from Maryland American businesspeople in insurance 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews