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Holocaust and Genocide Studies 19.2 (2005) 362



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Obituary

In Memoriam: Professor Henry Mason

The staff of Holocaust and Genocide Studies notes the passing of Professor Henry Mason on June 22, 2003, at the age of 81. Dr. Mason taught political science at Tulane University for forty years, and continued to teach his annual course on the Holocaust as an emeritus professor. He was deeply committed to the cause of civil rights.

A native of Vienna, Austria, Dr. Mason emigrated to the United States with his Jewish father and Catholic mother in 1938. He served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army during World War II, debriefing captured German soldiers. In 1952, after completing an undergraduate degree in history at Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in political science at Columbia University, Dr. Mason began teaching at Tulane.

In just nine years, he rose to the position of chair of the Department of Political Science. He served as president of the Tulane and state chapters of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and became the first vice president of the national association. In 2000, the AAUP named an award for Dr. Mason in recognition of his contributions to the organization and to higher education in general.

In 1962, Dr. Mason was involved in the federal suit that led to the integration of the university. As a member of the board of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, he liased between the faculty and administrators, relaying faculty views that the segregation of a progressive university constituted a grievous hypocrisy.

Dr. Mason wrote about modern European historyóand particularly the Holocaustóin numerous articles and books including The Purge of the Dutch Quislings: Emergency Justice in the Netherlands (1952) and Mass Demonstrations against Foreign Regimes: A Study of Five Crises (1966). He also addressed university governance in his published writings.



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