| Born: | 01-12-1906 |
| Faculty: | Philosophical School |
| Category: | Expelled student |
Margarethe KNÖPFLER, born on January 12th, 1906 in Vienna/Austria (entitled residency ("heimatberechtigt") for Vienna/Austria, citizenship 1938: Austria), daughter of Arnold Knöpfler (merchant, 1877-1937) and Wilhelmine Knöpfler (d. 1961), lived in Vienna's 2nd district, Praterstrasse 64. She had attended the public girls' Lyceum Luithlen in Vienna's 1st district, Tuchlauben 14, from 1917 to 1923 and passed the school-leaving examination there in 1923 (which, however, did not entitle her to university studies).
She then turned to gymnastics and artistic dance and in the fall of 1929 began to prepare for the supplementary examination for the Reform-Realgymnasiumreifeprüfung, which she successfully passed on February 16th, 1931 as an extern at the Bundesrealgymnasium in Klosterneuburg/Lower Austria.
She then began studying philosophy, psychology and ethnology at the University of Vienna in the spring term of 1931 and was last enrolled at the School of Philosophy in the fall term of 1934/35, "Absolutorium" was issued in May 1935.
She worked with Prof. Charlotte Bühler and Karl Bühler at the Psychological Institute. Within the framework of Charlotte Bühler's Lebenspsychologie, Knöpfler's dissertation "Die Einstellung zum Tod im Ablauf des menschlichen Lebens" (Attitude to Death in the Course of Human Life) was written there (supervisor: Charlotte Bühler, Robert Reininger) and approved on May 26th, 1937.
Under National Socialism, after the Anschluss, she was forced to abandon the examination procedure for racist reasons and to leave the University of Vienna without a degree, despite her approved dissertation. She had been baptized Roman Catholic, but her father, who had died in 1937, had been a member of the Jewish Community, which is why she was considered a "Mischling 1st degree" according to the Nazi definition.
She died in Vienna in June 1979 and was buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery on July 12th, 1979.
Lit: Archives of the University of Vienna/enrollment forms ("Nationale") PHIL 1932-1938, final examination registry and file ("Rigorosenakt und -protokoll") PHIL 13482, PHIL GZ 37 ex 1967/68; www.friedhoefewien.at; IKG-Wien-Friedhofsdatenbank.
Herbert Posch
