Background
He was born in Düsseldorf, Germany.
He was born in Düsseldorf, Germany.
He received a diploma from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva in 1938, fled Europe for the United States of America and found a temporary position at Princeton University. In 1941 he taught Political Science at Howard University. After World World War II he worked as a political analyst for the United States State Department - he took part in the United States delegation to the Nuremberg trials and also helped draw up a plan for democratizing the occupation zone in Germany.
The following year he joined City College of New York, where he taught International Relations until his retirement in 1979.
Herz was one of a number of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany who found positions in American universities and taught International Relations from a critical, Realist perspective. He wrote books and several influential articles
He died in New York on December 25, 2005, at the age of 97.