Shimon Schwarzschild (December 19, 1925 – November 10, 2021) was a German-born American environmental activist. His work contributed to the establishment of a nature preserve in Assisi, Italy.[1][2] Schwarzschild founded the Assisi Bird Campaign[2] and helped organize the Assisi Nature Council.[3] He was also active on many other environmental and neighborhood issues.[4]

Shimon Schwarzschild
Born(1925-12-19)December 19, 1925
DiedNovember 10, 2021(2021-11-10) (aged 95)
New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesBert Schwarzschild
Websitehttp://www.shimonschwarzschild.com

Schwarzschild's activism received news coverage regionally,[5] nationally,[1] and internationally.[6] He was listed in the World Who's Who and Does What in Environment & Conservation.[7]

Publications and works

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Schwarzschild's publications include a 1983 article in Audubon Magazine that first called international attention to the destruction of the birds of Assisi by hunting.[8]

In 2020, Schwarzschild was finishing a film project called "Transcending Terror" about his relationship with the German town in which he grew up, Wertheim.[9] He described the film as a documentary on "Loss, Opportunity and Redemption".[9] The film is being made with the assistance of Schwarzschild's grand-nephew Benjamin Schwarzschild, who stated that the film will include many scenes of Laudenbach, where Shimon's mother was born.[10] As of April 2020, the film was expected to be completed in May 2020,[11] and to premier in the county museum in autumn 2020.[9]

Personal life

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Schwarzschild was born on 19 December 1925, in Wertheim, Germany.[7] Schwarzschild's mother, Rosalia Birk, daughter of Moses and Ida Birk, was born in Laudenbach, Germany.[10] He obtained a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (1950).[7]

In 2004 in New York City, Schwarzschild married Naomi Schechter.[12]

In 2010, and at several other times in later years, Schwarzschild visited his birthplace, Wertheim.[7][13]

In 2019, at the age of 93, Schwarzschild and his wife visited his mother's birthplace Laudenbach, where he was hosted by Anja Baier, the third mayor of Karlstadt, a town that now encompasses Laudenbach, and two members of a synagogue that Schwarzschild attended as a child.[10]

He died in New York on November 10, 2021, at the age of 95.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b Cynthia Hanson (3 November 1986). "Bringing the Birds Back to Assisi", Christian Science Monitor, (accessed 17 December 2011).
  2. ^ a b Maria Luisa Cohen (1985). "Assisi: Birthplace of St. Francis: A New Conservation Park". Environmentalist. 5 (3). Kluwer: 227–229. Bibcode:1985ThEnv...5..227C. doi:10.1007/BF02237618. ISSN 0251-1088.
  3. ^ Assisi Nature Councile: History (accessed 26 February 2013)
  4. ^ "About Shimon" (Shimon Schwarzschild Biography) (accessed 17 December 2011)
  5. ^ Alan Cline (9 March 1983). "S.F. man starts campaign to save the birds of Assisi", San Francisco Examiner, No. 232.
  6. ^ "The Birds of St Francis" IUCN Bulletin New Series Vol. 14, Nos 10-12, October/December 1983.
  7. ^ a b c d Polunin, Nicholas; Lynn M. Curme (1997). World Who's who and Does what in Environment & Conservation. Earthscan. p. 291. ISBN 9781853833779. ISBN 1853833770
  8. ^ Bert Schwarzschild (1983). "No birds sing on Saint Francis' mountain", Vol. 85, No. 2., pp.
  9. ^ a b c Fehlau, Annemarie (9 April 2020). "Filmprojekt von Shimon Schwarzschild geht voran Unterstützung aus Wertheim ist weiter willkommen". BlickLokal (in German). Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Köster, Andreas (3 November 2019). "Bewegender Besuch: Shimon Schwarzschild kehrte nach Laudenbach zurück". Main-Post (in German). Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  11. ^ Anonymous (14 April 2020). "Film über Verlust, Chance und Erlösung - Fränkische Nachrichten". Fränkische Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  12. ^ Anonymous (3 October 2004). "Naomi Schechter, B. Shimon Schwarzschild". New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  13. ^ Jankowski, Wilfried (31 July 2010). ""Längst ein halber Wertheimer" Besuch aus Kalifornien: Jüdischer Emigrant Bert Schwarzschild zeigt seiner Frau Naomi seine Vaterstadt [Long ago Wertheimer: Visiting from California: Jewish emigrant Bert Schwarzschild shows his wife, Naomi, his hometown]". de:Main-Echo. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Shimon Schwarzschild ist am 10. November 2021 verstorben". Grafschafts Museum. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
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