Shimon Schwarzschild

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
Wertheim, Germany
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

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

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
  1. Cynthia Hanson (3 November 1986). "Bringing the Birds Back to Assisi", Christian Science Monitor, (accessed 17 December 2011).
  2. Maria Luisa Cohen (1985). "Assisi: Birthplace of St. Francis: A New Conservation Park". Environmentalist. Kluwer. 5 (3): 227–229. 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. 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. 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. 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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