Leonie Adele Spitzer (17 May 1891 – 5 June 1940) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n writer, poet, and educator.

Biography

Leonie Adele Spitzer was born into a distinguished assimilated

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 ...

family in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Her father was ''Obermedizinalrat'' Dr. Franz Spitzer, who worked as a physician for the ' writers' and journalists' association, while her paternal grandfather was mathematician

Simon Spitzer Simon Spitzer (3 February 1826 – 2 April 1887) was an Austrian mathematician, whose work largely focused on the integration of differential equations. He was active as a writer in his field and, in addition to several independent works, publis ...

. Her mother Charlotte, , was the daughter of Dr. Wilhelm Pokorny, homeopath and physician to the Austrian aristocracy. She was educated at the , and passed the teaching qualification examination for

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

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in 1912. Spitzer graduated with a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

on 21 July 1920, with a dissertation entitled "Über Rilkes Verskunst". She was editor of the Rikola publishing house until 1922, whereupon she pursued teaching as a profession. She passed the teacher's examination for gymnasia in 1923, and then worked at various secondary schools in Vienna, including the

Floridsdorf Floridsdorf (; ) is the 21st district of Vienna, Austria (''21. Bezirk''). Located north of the Danube, it comprises former villages such as Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Jedlesee, Leopoldau, Stammersdorf, Strebersdorf, and Groß-Jedlersdorf. With a pop ...

Gymnasium. She fled to Italy after the annexation of

into

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1938 (her twin brother Dr. Fritz Spitzer, meanwhile, committed suicide). She emigrated to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

the following year with the help of Dr. , secretary of the Emergency Sub-Committee for Refugees. She received positions at

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College (CLC) is a private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 or older in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school was established in 1853 to provide "a sound academic edu ...

and then

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, but soon succumbed to a serious illness and died in June 1940. Because she was Jewish, Spitzer's doctorate was posthumously revoked on 22 July 1943, only to be symbolically re-granted on 15 May 1955.

Bibliography

* ''Sturmflut. Versdrama''. * ''Leonore. Novelle.'' * *

References

External links

Poems by Spitzer
at deutscher-liebeslyrik.de. {{DEFAULTSORT:Spitzer, Leonie Adele 1891 births 1940 deaths 20th-century Austrian educators 20th-century Austrian poets 20th-century Austrian women writers Austrian emigrants to England Austrian women poets Jewish Austrian writers Jewish educators Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to the United Kingdom Jewish women writers Jews and Judaism in Vienna Refugees in the United Kingdom University of Vienna alumni