Burton Curtis Andrus (1892-1977) attended the State University at Buffalo and worked for the Standard Oil Company of New York from 1910 until he was called to active duty through the Officer Reserve Corps (ORC) in 1917. By June 1942 he had advanced to the rank of Colonel, and by 1944 he was commanding officer of the 10th Traffic Regulation Group (TRG) and a Combat Observer for the G-3 (Operations) Branch, Headquarters, European Theater of Operations in World War II.
His most significant military duty, however, came after the war when Colonel Andrus served as Commandant of the 6850th Security Detachment. This unit was responsible for guarding the accused Nazi war criminals who were tried by the International Military Tribunal in 1946, also known as the Nuremberg Trials. After Nuremberg, Andrus served as attaché to Israel in 1950 and Brazil from 1950 - 1952, at which point he retired from military service. Colonel Andrus taught at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington from 1955 - 1968 and was appointed Professor Emeritus in 1968. He was the author of two books; The Infamous of Nuremberg, and I Was the Nuremberg Jailer. His Military decorations include The Bronze Star, The Legion of Merit, Order of Leopold with palm, Croix de Guerre with palm (Belgium), Order of the Oak Wreath Crown (Luxembourg), and the Military Medal (Brazil).
The Barton C. Andrus Collection consists of five boxes of original materials from Andrus’ personal files, all of which are unique to Clark Special Collections. These items relate to Andrus’ military career, the 6850th Security Detachment, and their role in the Nuremberg Trials. In addition to guarding the prisoners before and during the trials, the 6850th protected the prisoners themselves from harm, interviewed tribunal witnesses, produced psychological profiles of the prisoners, and provided security and administration services for the trial itself.
