When it comes to acknowledging the work on Hans Mayer, these points are especially emphasized:
- In the middle of Stalinism, he defended authors such as Kafka, Proust, James Joyce and Ernst Bloch.
- In his lectures, it was important to him to investigate literature time after time with a view to whether it was suitable to promote humanity.
- His special attention for the non-compliant and Außenseiter (outsider) especially stands out.
- Mayer was an important supporter for many young authors (for example, for Uwe Johnson).
Hans Mayer was an honorary citizen of the city of Leipzig, had honorary doctorates from universities in Brussels, Wisconsin and Leipzig, was an honorary professor in Peking, was winner of the National Prize of East Germany, as well as the
Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit) of the class "
Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband" (Great Cross of Merit with Star and shoulder ribbon). He was honored with the Ernst-Bloch Prize in 1988. He was a member of the
Akademie der Künste (Academy of the Arts) in Berlin and an honorary member of the
Sächsische Akademie der Künste (Saxon Academy of the Arts).
Hans Mayer, along with Walter Benjamin, who was also with him at the Collège de Sociologie, and some others, belongs to the most important literary critics of the 20th century. Perhaps there is some correlation to a former competitive situation, which Marcel Reich-Ranicki wrote about in an obituary, which shows Mayer's life in an unflattering light. Reich-Ranicki describes the story of Hans Mayer's life as a tragic story, as the story of a person who did not find a home anywhere.