| Born: | 04-09-1912 |
| Faculty: | Philosophical School |
| Category: | Expelled student |
Elisabeth Marianne LANGER, born on April 9th, 1912 in Vienna (entitled residency ("heimatberechtigt") for Vienna/Austria, citizenship 1938: Austria), daughter of Gustav Langer and Marianne Langer (née Pfalzner), had passed the school-leaving examination ("Reifepruefung"/"Matura") on June 25th, 1931 at the Frauenoberschule Hollabrunn (women's secondary school)/Lower Austria and was enrolled at the School of Philosophy of the University of Vienna from fall term 1931/32 to fall term 1936/37 but was preparing for the final exams ("Rigorosen") in 1938.
She had already registered for the final examinations ("viva voce") in history on September 27th, 1937, and passed the "one-hour viva voce" or "philosophicum" on October 29th, 1937 (examiners: Prof. Richard Meister (1881–1964), Prof. Karl Bühler (1879–1963)). Her dissertation "Die politischen Beziehungen zwischen Oesterreich und England waehrend des Ministeriums Schwarzenberg" (supervisors: Prof. Heinrich Srbik (1878–1951), Prof. Hans Hirsch (1878–1940)) had already been approved on October 12th, 1937. On March 7th, 1938, she had also passed the second viva (examiners: Prof. H. Srbik, Prof. H. Hirsch, Prof. Richard Egger (1882–1969)), but after the National Socialist seizure of power she was initially forbidden to do a doctorate for racist reasons.
Only after a long period of uncertainty was she able to complete her studies and to obtain her doctorate on July 21th, 1938 under numerous symbolic discriminations in the context of a "non-Aryan doctorate" (she was represented there by Dr. Hedwig Weil), while at the same time being banned from working in the entire German Reich.
She had to flee Austria and was able to leave in time for Geneva/Switzerland, from where she was able to emigrate to the USA via Genoa/Italy: She traveled on the SS Conte di Savoia from Genoa to the USA, arriving in New York City, NY on September 23rd, 1939. She lived for a few years in Palo Alto, CA, remained unmarried and worked as a librarian. She applied for U.S. citizenship in June 1941, which she obtained at the end of 1944. She later lived as a librarian in New York City, NY and authored League of Nations List of Commissions and Committees, Economic and Financial Section (New York: Woodrow Wilson Foundation Memorial Library, 1946), among other books.
Dr. Elisabeth M. Langer died on March 9th, 1986 in New York City, NY/USA.
She is commemorated at the University of Vienna in the "Memorial Book for the Victims of National Socialism at the University of Vienna in 1938" (2009) and at the "Memorial to the History Students and Teachers of the University of Vienna Expelled under National Socialism | When Names Shine" (2022).
Lit.: Archive of the University of Vienna/final examination registry ("Rigorosenakt und -protokoll") PHIL 13722, graduation registry ("Promotionsprotokoll") PHIL 1931–1941, 2833; POSCH 2009, 366; A Biographical Directory of Librarians in the United States and Canada. Fifth edition. Edited by Lee Ash. Chicago: American Library Association, 1970. (BiDrLUS) Who's Who in Library Service. A biographical directory of professional librarians in the United States and Canada. Fourth edition. Edited by Lee Ash. Hamden, CT: Shoe String Press, 1966. (WhoLibS 4); www.ancestry.de; POSCH/FUCHS 2022, 121–122.
Herbert Posch
