Henry Martyn Noel Jr. was a former American citizen who moved to

Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and voluntarily made himself stateless in order to protest "a climax of nationalism" he saw rising around him in the United States. His actions inspired

Garry Davis Sol Gareth "Garry" Davis (27 July 1921 – 24 July 2013) was an international peace activist best known for renouncing his American citizenship and interrupting the United Nations in 1948 to advocate for world government as a way to end nation ...

to follow a similar course.

Early life

Noel was born in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

to Henry Martyn Noel and Dorothy (née Lawson) Noel. Henry Sr. was a native of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and served with the 103rd Infantry Division in World War I. He later became a chemical engineer at

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

Bayway Refinery Bayway Refinery is a refining facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey, owned by Phillips 66. Located in Linden and Elizabeth, New Jersey, and bisected by Morses Creek, it is the northernmost refinery on the East Coast of the United State ...

in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Henry Noel Jr. attended the New Hampton School in

New Hampton, New Hampshire New Hampton is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,377 at the 2020 census. A winter sports resort area, New Hampton is home to George Duncan State Forest and to the New Hampton School, a private prepara ...

, followed by

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(beginning 1940), where he studied philosophy. His major influences there included professors such as

Alfred North Whitehead Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found applicat ...

and Raphael Demos. However, after the outbreak of World War II, Noel and his friends became increasingly disturbed over what was happening in the world; Noel's unease culminated with his withdrawal from the school in 1943. He was living in

East Andover, New Hampshire East Andover is an unincorporated community in the town of Andover in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The center of the community forms the East Andover Village Center Historic District. The village is located on the east shore ...

at the time of his enlistment.

Travels and renunciation

After his withdrawal from Harvard, Noel, unable to enlist in the Army due to his poor eyesight, joined the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) as an ambulance driver, in which capacity he served in India and Italy. Noel arrived in Germany in September 1947 after working for American Aid to France, Inc., in Paris and in the field. He found work with a German construction firm at

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

. He earned a wage of 25 marks per week, and lived in a tiny room with no electricity. He subsisted on German rations of 1550 calories per day. In February 1948, he renounced his U.S. citizenship. By October, he had successfully integrated into his new home, and stated he felt "accepted" by the community there. However the following month, Noel was arrested by the French army in Neustadt,

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

Reactions to renunciation

''The Montreal Gazette'' described Noel's action as "a gesture bound to be in vain ... his personal error is in supposing that an individual protest of this nature can be effective".

Paul Gallico Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictu ...

described Noel as part of a trend of "youthful U.S. citizens with bleeding hearts who renounce family ties, our way of life, and depart these shores to snuggle up to a gang of brutes". In contrast, ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' wrote a largely supportive editorial.

also described Noel as one of his inspirations for his own renunciation of citizenship and subsequent creation of the

World Service Authority The World Service Authority (WSA), founded in 1953 by Garry Davis, is a non-profit organization that claims to educate about and promote "world citizenship", "world law", and world government. It is best known for selling unofficial fantasy do ...

. Soon after Noel and Davis' renunciations, Arthur W. Taylor, an African-American from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, also renounced his citizenship at the United States Embassy in Paris, making him the third former American to become stateless that year.

Marriage

In 1961, he married Cecile Francoise Gillet De Thorey (born September 24, 1921, Paris – died March 20, 2008, Evreux, Eure, France). Cecile Francoise Gillet De Thorey in the Web: France, Death Records, 1970-2018
Accessed August 25, 2022.

References

External links

Picture of Noel
in ''Life'' magazine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Henry Martyn 1923 births 1995 deaths American social activists American expatriates in Germany People from Elizabeth, New Jersey Place of death missing People who renounced United States citizenship Stateless people