Mayer, Arno J. (42139253)

Arno Joseph Mayer
Personal details
Born	19 June 1926 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Died	18 December 2023 Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Nativity	Luxembourg
Religion	Jewish
Known for	Modern European history; Holocaust and diplomatic history
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	42139253
Camp Ritchie	Class 29 (13 April – 12 June 1945)
Enlisted	New York City, New York

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Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Arno Joseph Mayer (19 June 1926 – 18 December 2023), born Arno Joseph Mayer in Luxembourg City, was a Jewish Ritchie Boy (Camp Ritchie class 29) and later a Luxembourgish-born American historian specializing in modern Europe, diplomatic history, and the Holocaust. He was the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History at Princeton University.

Biography

Arno Joseph Mayer (June 19, 1926 – December 18, 2023) was a Luxembourgish-born American historian who specialized in modern Europe, diplomatic history, and the Holocaust. Mayer was born into a middle-class family in Luxembourg City on June 19, 1926. Arno worked as clerk in office. His dissertation, “The Politics of Allied War Aims,” was written under the supervision of Hajo Holborn, the eminent historian. He was professor at Wesleyan University (1952–53), Brandeis University (1954–58) and Harvard University (1958–61). He taught at Princeton University beginning in 1961. He was the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History at Princeton University. Roster notes also show enlisted at New York City New York; education listed as 4 years of high school. Mayer died in Princeton on December 18, 2023, at the age of 97.

Research notes

• Ft Hunt 6/9/45
• 1926-A
• Professor Emeritus, Princeton; Marxist historian
• Author, "Why Did the Heavens Not Darken?"
• Portrait and summary from Notable Ritchie Boys slides (source).

Gallery

• 
  the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's May 2, 2022 National Tribute Dinner, which honored the Ritchie Boys
• 
  the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's May 2, 2022 National Tribute Dinner, which honored the Ritchie Boys
• 
  the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's May 2, 2022 National Tribute Dinner, which honored the Ritchie Boys

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Nara ASN	42139253
Nara Name	MAYER ARNO J
Nara State	23
Nara County	061
Nara POE	2364
Nara DOE	311044
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
row_source	demographics

Timeline

• 9 June 1945 — Assigned (X-1482) to temporary duty at Fort Hunt.
• March 1945 — Assigned to Camp Ritchie. Languages: French, German, Luxembourgian.

Sources

• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-05-30 (1 post)
• Wikipedia: Arno J. Mayer
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Arno J. Mayer for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Mayer, Arno J. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: ARNO J. MAYER (2022).doc)