Selma Rosenfeld

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Selma Rosenfeld with school class, 1920

Selma Rosenfeld ( August 16, 1892 in Eppingen - November 3, 1984 in Los Angeles , California ) was a teacher, professor and lectured on German literature.

Life

Gasthaus Ratskeller in Eppingen, birthplace of Selma Rosenfeld

Her parents Ludwig and Regina Rosenfeld, née Freudenthaler, had achieved considerable prosperity and were owners of the Ratskeller inn in Eppingen. Both ancestors came from Jewish families who had lived in Kraichgau for a long time . The father Ludwig Rosenfeld (born January 16, 1857 in Hoffenheim , † November 29, 1922 in Eppingen) was a cattle dealer. The mother Regina nee Freudenthaler (born August 23, 1862 in Richen ; †?) Came from a merchant family in Richen. Selma Rosenfeld had three siblings: Mina (* December 8, 1889 in Hoffenheim), Adolf (* March 23, 1891 in Hoffenheim) and Julius (* September 30, 1900 in Eppingen).

In July 1908 she graduated from the Eppingen secondary school; This was followed by a four-year training course at the Princess Wilhelmine Stift teacher training college in Karlsruhe . She passed the exam in July 1912. She then got a job as an assistant teacher in the Baden state service. She taught first in Lahr , then in Randegg and Bodersweier . From March 1918 she taught for a short time in Gemmingen and from October of the same year at the elementary school in Eppingen.

From May 1, 1924, Selma Rosenfeld took a leave of absence to study in the United States. She first took her bachelor's degree and then graduated with a master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley . In 1930 she was appointed professor of German at the Foreign Language Department of Los Angeles Junior College (later known as Los Angeles City College ). She was involved in both the girls' choir, founded in 1930, for students studying German and female students of German origin, and in the German Club of her college.

Together with William Diamond, she published two textbooks for German lessons in the USA. At the same time she gave lectures on German writers. She retired in 1958 at the age of 66.

Grave of Selma Rosenfeld in Hollywood

Her relatives, who were able to escape the terror of National Socialism in time and who had emigrated to Israel, tried to support them whenever possible. Selma Rosenfeld visited her place of birth several times in the 1950s and had long-term contact with some of the residents of Eppingen. She was also interested in education in post-war Germany, and gave lectures on this in the USA.

Selma Rosenfeld died on November 3, 1984 in Los Angeles and was buried there. In 2008, in memory of Selma Rosenfeld, the Eppingen secondary school was renamed Selma-Rosenfeld-Realschule .

literature

  • Jewish life in the Kraichgau. On the history of the Eppinger Jews and their families . Heimatfreunde Eppingen, Eppingen 2006, ISBN 3-930172-17-8 , p. 161–167 ( Heimatfreunde Eppingen / special series . Volume 5).
  • Tobias Bumm: An educated woman who has never denied her origins . In: Heilbronn voice . February 26, 2008 ( from Stimme.de [accessed on May 31, 2009]).
  • Ralf Bischoff and Reinhard Hauke ​​(eds.): The Jewish cemetery in Eppingen . A documentation . 2nd Edition. Heimatfreunde Eppingen, Eppingen 1996 ( Around the Ottilienberg. Contributions to the history of the city of Eppingen and its surroundings . Volume 5).
  • Karl Diefenbacher: Ortssippenbuch Eppingen in Kraichgau . Interest group Badischer Ortssippenbücher, Lahr-Dinglingen 1984 ( German Ortssippenbücher, series A. Volume 109) ( Badische Ortssippenbücher . Volume 52).
  • Lisa Damaris Heitz and Michael Heitz: Selma Rosenfeld (1892−1984). From Kraichgau to California . In: Around the Ottilienberg. Contributions to the history of the city of Eppingen and the surrounding area. Volume 9. Heimatfreunde Eppingen, Eppingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-930172-21-4 , pp. 116–128.

Web links

Commons : Selma Rosenfeld  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ortssippenbuch Eppingen im Kraichgau (see literature) No. 11 978; Eppingen Jewish cemetery: grave no.617
personal data
SURNAME Rosenfeld, Selma
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German teacher and professor
DATE OF BIRTH August 16, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Eppingen
DATE OF DEATH 3rd November 1984
Place of death los Angeles