Anna Goldmann Hirschler-Forstenheim (21 September 1836 in Agram – 19 October 1889 in

Bad Vöslau Bad Vöslau (; Central Bavarian: ''Bod Vöslau'') is a spa town and Municipality (Austria), municipality in the state of Lower Austria. It is also known as the cradle of the Austrian red wine cultivation. The population, as of 2022, is 12,424. G ...

) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

writer and poet.

Biography

She was born to

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents Rosine () and Moshe (Moritz) Goldmann in Agram,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. She learned to read and write from her mother, and was later sent to a private secondary school for girls. In 1867, she moved to Vienna and married banker and railway entrepreneur Samuel (later Georg) Hirschler, with whom she bore three children, Klara (1868), Dorothea (1869), and Otto Israel (1872). There she founded the Society of Women Writers and Artists (), of which she was the treasurer. Soon after her sister Luise's marriage to German Hispanist Johannes Fastenrath in 1881, she and her family left the Jewish community, converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and changed their surname to Forstenheim. Grave Kestranek

Her son Otto died at the

Łódź Ghetto The Łódź Ghetto or Litzmannstadt Ghetto (after the Nazi German name for Łódź) was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of ...

in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in December 1941.

Publications

Forstenheim's first-known published work was ''Caterina Cornaro'' (1875), a historical drama in five acts on the life of the last monarch of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. She was also a regular contributor to various magazines, such as ''Bazar'', the ''Gartenlaube'', the '' Neuen Freien Presse'', the ', the ''Berner Bund'', and the ''Straßburger Zeitung''.

Partial works

* * * * * * * *

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forstenheim, Anna 1836 births 1889 deaths Austrian people of Croatian-Jewish descent Writers from Zagreb Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Writers from Austria-Hungary Poets from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Austrian Jews