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 | |
Died | November 10, 2021 New York, U.S. | (aged 95)
Nationality | American |
Other names | Bert Schwarzschild |
Website | http://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
editSchwarzschild'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
editSchwarzschild 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
edit- ^ a b Cynthia Hanson (3 November 1986). "Bringing the Birds Back to Assisi", Christian Science Monitor, (accessed 17 December 2011).
- ^ 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.
- ^ Assisi Nature Councile: History (accessed 26 February 2013)
- ^ "About Shimon" (Shimon Schwarzschild Biography) (accessed 17 December 2011)
- ^ Alan Cline (9 March 1983). "S.F. man starts campaign to save the birds of Assisi", San Francisco Examiner, No. 232.
- ^ "The Birds of St Francis" IUCN Bulletin New Series Vol. 14, Nos 10-12, October/December 1983.
- ^ 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
- ^ Bert Schwarzschild (1983). "No birds sing on Saint Francis' mountain", Vol. 85, No. 2., pp.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c Köster, Andreas (3 November 2019). "Bewegender Besuch: Shimon Schwarzschild kehrte nach Laudenbach zurück". Main-Post (in German). Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ Anonymous (14 April 2020). "Film über Verlust, Chance und Erlösung - Fränkische Nachrichten". Fränkische Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ Anonymous (3 October 2004). "Naomi Schechter, B. Shimon Schwarzschild". New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Shimon Schwarzschild ist am 10. November 2021 verstorben". Grafschafts Museum. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
External links
edit- Shimon Schwarzschild website
- Transcending Terror (website for documentary film)