Theodore Christian Helmreich, University of Illinois

Theodore Christian Helmreich was born on March 23, 1910 in Crescent City, Iroquois County, Illinois to parents Rev. Christian Helmreich (1866-1945) and Augusta Sophia Emilie Brueckner (1872-1958). He had siblings Agnes Johanna (1892-1989), Felix Herman (1896-1942), and Ernest Christian Helmreich (1902-1997). He was a high school graduate of Watseka High School in Illinois and earned his Doctorate from the University of Illinois (Champaign, Illinois, USA) in 1935. There, he was part of the mens glee club, a Bronze Tablet Scholar, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Theodore studied abroad in Frankfurt, Germany from 1933-1934 and studied the unemployment policies of Adolf Hitler. Dr. Helmreich taught for a year at DePauw University and St. Louis College of Commerce and Finance 1935-1943. He later was a professor of economics at Purdue University teaching economic principals, current economic problems, and labor and personnel relations at the Krannert School of Industrial Management. Theodore enlisted on July 20, 1943 in Jefferson Barracks Missouri. He was an Army veteran and served with a special language unit in the Signal Corps and served as a chaplain's assistant in the European Theatre. Helmreich served in the US Army until September 12, 1945. He enjoyed studying German culture, as his father was from Germany, and traveled to Germany several times.