Thomas Mayer (January 18, 1927 – June 12, 2015) was an Austrian-born American economist who was professor of economics at the University of California, Davis.
The Anschluss made it difficult for his father to find work and the family began trying to get out of Austria in 1938.
Because England was accepting refugee children, Mayer was able to get a visa, but had to leave alone in September 1938, without his parents.
His father was arrested in November and was released on the condition that he leave Austria within 48 hours, enabling him—but not his wife—to also get a visa to Britain.
In November 1941, his mother received a visa to the United States and left on the last boat before Pearl Harbor, after which transit would have been impossible.