Walter William Horn

Walter William Horn
Personal details
Birth name	Walter William Horn
Born	18 January 1908 Waldangelloch, Germany
Died	26 December 1995 Berkeley, California
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Protestant
Known for	Medievalist art historian; UC Berkeley; Plan of St. Gall
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	01326328
Rank	Captain
Rank at Ritchie	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 13 (30 October – 23 December 1943)
Section	7A (13); E (13)
Specialty	Military intelligence; investigation of looted art

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Walter William Horn (18 January 1908–26 December 1995) was a German-born art historian and Camp Ritchie trainee (Class 13) who served in Third Army intelligence on looted-art investigations and later taught at UC Berkeley.

Biography

Walter William Horn was born on 18 January 1908 in Waldangelloch, Baden, Germany, son of a Lutheran minister. He studied art history at Heidelberg, Berlin, and Hamburg, completing a 1937 Hamburg dissertation on the façade of Saint-Gilles under Erwin Panofsky, and worked at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence. Opposed to National Socialism, he entered the United States on 28 February 1938 (visitor), re-entered from Havana on an immigration visa on 3 August 1938, and joined the University of California, Berkeley faculty (visiting lecturer 1939, then assistant professor). He married Ann Elizabeth Binkley on 3 February 1941 and was naturalized in San Francisco on 28 June 1943.

Inducted on 7 July 1943 (enlisted ASN 39136473), he trained at Camp Roberts and transferred to Camp Ritchie on 24 September 1943 (Class 13). In November 1943 NYU’s Walter W. S. Cook recommended him for historic-monuments preservation work. Horn served with Third Army intelligence in Europe on looted-art investigations and was discharged as a captain (officer ASN 01326328) in 1946.

Returning to Berkeley, he became a professor and co-founded the History of Art department; with Ernst Born he published The Plan of St. Gall (1979). He retired emeritus in 1974 and died on 26 December 1995 in Berkeley, California.

Research notes

• Dictionary of Art Historians entry is the main secondary summary cited below (Monuments Men–related intelligence work).
• Also enlisted ASN 39136473 (Camp Ritchie personal record); canonical officer page 01326328.

Gallery

• 
  NYU Institute of Fine Arts recommendation (Walter W. S. Cook to Huntington Cairns, 30 Nov 1943) for Pvt Walter W. Horn — Monuments / historic preservation committee.
• 
  Personal record: Pvt Walter W. Horn, ASN 39136473, Co F 2nd Tng Bn, Camp Ritchie; naturalization and induction summary.
• 
  Miscellaneous personnel correspondence — Walter W. Horn (NARA; RB Archive).
• 
  Miscellaneous personnel correspondence — Walter W. Horn (NARA; RB Archive).

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	87
Class_ASN	39136473
Class_Name	HORN, Walter W.; Horn, Walter W.
match_method	pass2_unique_name
row_source	both

Timeline

• 18 January 1908 — Born in Waldangelloch, Baden, Germany.
• 28 February 1938 — Enters U.S. (visitor); immigration re-entry 3 August 1938.
• 3 February 1941 — Marries Ann Elizabeth Binkley.
• 28 June 1943 — Naturalized, San Francisco.
• 7 July 1943 — Inducted (ASN 39136473); Camp Roberts; to Camp Ritchie 24 Sep 1943 (Class 13).
• 30 November 1943 — Recommended for historic monuments preservation work (Cook letter).
• 1944–1946 — Third Army intelligence / looted-art investigations; discharged captain.
• 1979 — The Plan of St. Gall (with Ernst Born).
• 26 December 1995 — Died in Berkeley, California.

Sources

• Fold3 — Horn miscellaneous correspondence (Camp Ritchie terms)
• Camp Ritchie personal record (ASN 39136473)
• Cook recommendation letter, 30 Nov 1943
• Walter William Horn portrait / 1943 naturalization certificate (Wikimedia Commons; U.S. Department of Justice, public domain)
• Dictionary of Art Historians — Horn, Walter W.
• 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)