Irving Sablosky (March 5, 1924 – August 3, 2016) was an American

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, lecturer, and teacher.

Biography

Sablosky was born on March 5, 1924, in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

, and went to

Shortridge High School Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate and arts and humanities programs of the Indianapolis Public Schools district.(IPS). Original ...

in 1941. After high school, he attended the

Indiana University School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

. In 1943, he joined the army and was initially sent to

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, and then England for training. Sablosky was in the 106th Infantry Division. His unit was overrun during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

and Sablosky was taken prisoner by the Germans and was sent to

Stalag IV-B Stalag IV-B was one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps in Germany during World War II. Stalag is an abbreviation of the German ''Stammlager'' ("Main Camp"). It was located north-east of the town of Mühlberg in the Prussian Province of ...

, 60 miles south of

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. He was liberated on April 23, 1945 by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

. Once he returned to the United States, he reenrolled at Indiana University School of Music and wrote for the school paper, '' The Indiana Daily Student''. After graduating in 1947, he became a music critic with the

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...

. In 1957, he joined the

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bil ...

. In 1958, he was sent to his first diplomatic post in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

. He was then sent to Hamburg, Germany to be a cultural affairs officer. He went to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

for American Studies from 1963 to 1964. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1980 and became an international lecturer. He was the author of ''American Music''. Irving Sablosky died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

on August 3, 2016, at his home in Washington, DC.

References

External links

Irving Sablosky Oral History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sablosky, Irving 1924 births 2016 deaths American prisoners of war in World War II Jacobs School of Music alumni Shortridge High School alumni United States Army soldiers World War II prisoners of war held by Germany People of the United States Information Agency University of Chicago alumni United States Army personnel of World War II