Paula Gottdenker

Paula GOTTDENKER, born on March 9^th, 1914 in Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire (entitled residence: Vienna/Austria, citizenship 1938: Austria), daughter of Arnold/Aaron Adolf Gottdenker (1874-1942, since 1918 treasurer of the Jewish Community Vienna) and Bertha/Schewe Beile Gottdenker, née Berger (1877-1943), lived in Vienna's 2^nd district, Zirkusgasse 39/22, and had passed the school-leaving examination (Reifepruefung/Matura) at the Girls-Realgymnasium Wien II (Vienna's 2^nd district, Hollandstrasse 4) on July 7^th, 1932, and studied biology (focus: bacteriology) at the School of Philosophy from the fall term 1932/33 to the spring term 1936, but attended also courses in botany (Fritz Knoll), zoology (Jan Versluys), chemistry (Ernst Späth), geology (Franz Eduard Suess) and philosophie (Moritz Schlick). She was in the examination stage in 1938 and was preparing for her dissertation.

After the "Anschluss" she was forced to abandon the examination process for racist reasons and to leave the University of Vienna. She had already registered for the final examinations ("Rigorosen") on October 11^th, 1937, but failed to pass it on October 15^th and was not allowed to sit for a retake until three months later at the earliest. However, this could no longer take place around the "Anschluss".

She had to flee Austria and, thanks to an afffidavit from an uncle in the U.S.A., was able to emigrate on February 1^st, 1939 from Hamburg/German Reich with the SS Hamburg to the U.S.A., arriving in New York on February 9^th, 1939.
Her parents did not manage to escape in time - her father died in Vienna in 1942, her mother was deported to the concentration camp Theresienstadt [Terezín/Czech Republic] in 1942 where she died in 1943.

Paula Gottdenker continued her studies in the USA - 1943-1944 at New York University, as well as 1964-1966 at Rutgers University and finally 1968-1974 at Kansas University History, earning a PhD in European History at the age of 60. While at Kansas University, she worked as a teaching and reseach assistant instructor of Western civilization. After graduation in history, she was assistant professor of biomedical medicine at the University of Wahington in Seattle from 1974-1981 where she also lived (2416 42^nd Ave, Seattle, Washington 98112-2525).

Prof. Dr. Paula Gottdenker died on September 1^st, 1990 in Seattle, Washington/USA endowed from her inheritance the "Paula Gottdenker Scholarship Fund" foundation and stipulated in her will that recipients of scholarships sponsored by her US $ 131.000,- donation had to be unmarried women 50 years or older, with financial needs, who want to study at at Kansas University (graduate or postgraduate).

Lit.: Archives of the University of Vienna/National PHIL 1932-1938; final examination file and registry ("Rigorosenakt- und protokoll") PHIL 13773; www.genteam.at; www.ancestry.de; www.myheritage.at; www.doew.at; The Lawrence Daily Jounal World of August 14^th, 4C and August 25^th,1992, 3a.

Herbert Posch