Henry Alter papers

Henry Alter (1918-1999), was born Heinrich Andreas Karl Alter in Vienna, Austria, on June 14, 1918 to Heinrich Alter (1879-1935) and Karoline Genschik Alter (1883-1963). He had one younger brother, Karl (b. 1920, later Charles Alter). Henry’s father was born Jewish and converted to Catholicism before marrying Karoline. The family spent several years in Volosca-Abbazia, Italy after World War I, where Heinrich worked as a dentist. Henry’s father committed suicide in Vienna in 1935.

Henry emigrated from Austria to the United States in June 1939. He settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania to attend the University of Scranton. He moved to California in 1940 to attend the University of California. In 1942 he became the private secretary for Austrian actor Paul Henreid. In October 1943 he was recruited into the United States Army, graduating as a private from the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, MD (Fort Ritchie), in April 1944. He was sent to England in July 1944, and was later stationed in France, Berlin, and Austria as a Film Theater and Control Officer for the Information Services branch until 1946. He was honorably discharged in October 1946, and then worked for Paramount Pictures in the censorship offices. His brother survived World War II in Australia, and his mother survived in Vienna. They both later immigrated to the United States.