Arthur J. Mainzer diary
Extent and Medium
oversize box
1
Creator(s)
- Arthur J. Mainzer
Biographical History
Arthur J. Mainzer was born in 1923 in Illinois to William and Rose Mainzer and had three siblings, Bill, Willie and Merle. Arthur enlisted in the Air Force in 1942 and became a cameraman in the 4th Combat Camera Unit of the 9th Air Force. The Combat Camera Unit was tasked with creating Air Force training films at Hal Roach Studios. After completing training at the Air Force Photo Technical School in Denver, Colorado and the First Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California, he was deployed to Europe in 1944. Arthur was filming bomb damage by the Allied Air Forces with Captain Ellis Carter when they received information about the liberation of Buchenwald. They drove to Buchenwald on April 13, 1945 and filmed conditions of the camp. The footage was sent to headquarters in London.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Arthur J. Mainzer
Funding Note: The accessibility of this collection was made possible by the generous donors to our crowdfunded Save Their Stories campaign.
Arthur J. Mainzer donated the Arthur J. Mainzer diary to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2010.
Scope and Content
The collection consists of a diary issued to American soldiers during World War II that was used by Arthur J. Mainzer of the United States Army Air Force. The diary includes enlistment information, family history, autographs from friends, promotion information, photographs, and diary entries of his activities from 1942 October-1944 February as well as a train ticket and two unmarked postcards from an enclosure in the back of the diary.
System of Arrangement
The Arthur J. Mainzer diary is arranged as a single series.
People
- Mainzer, Arthur.
- Arthur J. Mainzer
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army. Air Corps Air Force, 9th
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives.
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Europe.
Genre
- Diaries.
- Document