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George Arnstein Obituary

Born September 20, 1924, George E. Arnstein died on April 2, 2024 after a short illness. A retired educator, Dr. Arnstein had specialized in educational evaluation, especially accreditation and licensing.
Dr. Arnstein and his family escaped from Germany to San Francisco in 1939. He served in the U.S Army starting with the Battle of the Bulge, after which, thanks to the GI Bill, he received his BA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
After moving to Washington in 1955, Dr. Arnstein worked as an administrator with the National Education Association, and later was deputy director of the President's
Council on Youth Opportunity under then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey. He subsequently worked for the National Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and the Veterans Administration. He was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served on its Council. Among his many publications was an exposé of diploma mills, useful to the VA for the administration of the GI Bill.
Dr. Arnstein lived at Watergate East. His wife of 45 years, Sherry Arnstein, died in 1997. There are no immediate survivors. Memorial service to be arranged.

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Published by The Washington Post from Apr. 20 to Apr. 22, 2024.

Memories and Condolences
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6 Entries

Anne Howard

September 25, 2024

George was my godfather. He and my father, Jack Howard, were friends for 72 years. I remember as a child George and his wife Sherry would drive us around in their convertibles (they loved them.) My last visit (of all places, I´m now living in Germany) was last year at his apartment. I always loved visiting him there, and would tell my friends about his Watergate apartment. I will always remember his big laugh and smile. He was the best and I will miss him terribly.

Joerg Breitmaier

September 18, 2024

The children and grandchildren of one of his earliest childhood friends from Stuttgart will keep remembering him as a dear friend of our family of many years. Thank you!

Michael Schwemmle

May 30, 2024

I had the honor and pleasure of meeting George 30 years ago on a trade union delegation trip to the U.S., where he acted as translator. During the Nazi era, George was expelled from his German hometown of Stuttgart, which is also my hometown. Although I came from the country of the perpetrators, he met me without resentment, even in friendship. We communicated in accent-free Swabian and met several times in the following years, both in Stuttgart and in Washington. George welcomed my wife and me and my children into his home in the Watergate complex with great hospitality. I am very grateful to him for all this, but above all I owe him the greatest respect for the fact that he and his comrades defeated Nazi Germany in the war and ensured that I was able to live a life in freedom. Thank you George, rest in peace!

Cavaughn Haynes

May 25, 2024

I dreaded this day but knew of its inevitable arrival. I worked on fixing his cable services in his Watergate dwelling in late 2019. The entire time he was respectful and polite, sharing accounts of his experiences departing Germany and deploying during WW2. Along with his lived experiences he also gifted me some attire he received from his local NFL team. As a fellow history buff, I´ll forever cherish his memory.

Holly Rotondi

May 6, 2024

The Friends of the National World War II Memorial is saddened to learn of the passing of our friend, George Arnstein. Mr. Arnstein was a regular visitor to the World War II Memorial, taking part in the annual V-E Day, V-J Day, and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremonies at the World War II Memorial. As a lifelong student and educator, he was a valued participant in the Friends of the National World War II Memorial's annual summer teachers conferences. And he generously lent his time to sharing his experiences through Friends' online virtual educational programming. Here's a link to sit-down interview we conducted with George just six months ago: https://youtu.be/s-5cQQct55s?si=1DOx6SBnYQCbEJZG

Holly Rotondi, Executive Director
Friends of the National World War II Memorial

Dennis & Gioia Egan

April 30, 2024

We remember George from the UC Berkeley alumni club here in D.C. May he rest in peace.

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