Minna Lachs Explained

Minna Lachs (born as Minna Schiffmann; 1907^[1]  - 1993)^[2] was an Austrian educator and memoirist.^[3] She was born in Terebovlia, then Trembowla in what was then referred to as the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. The events of World War I led them to leave for Vienna. Her father wished to distance himself from his Orthodox Judaism upbringing, but she initially felt a need to more strongly assert a Jewish identity. As part of that she joined a Zionist youth organization which ultimately led to an interest in Socialism and to meeting her husband.^[4] She went on to graduate from the University of Vienna with a thesis on Karl Emil Franzos. She fled Austria for Switzerland due to the Anschluss. Her memoir concerning the period was titled Warum schaust du zurueck.^[5] She returned to Vienna after the war.^[6] She was cremated at Feuerhalle Simmering, where also her ashes are buried. A park in Vienna is named for her.^[7]

Notes and References

1. http://sciencev1.orf.at/science/gastgeber/78945 (German) ORF bio
2. Book: Thomas Maisel. Scholars in Stone and Bronze: The Monuments in the Arcaded Courtyard of the University of Vienna. 2008. Böhlau Verlag Wien. 978-3-205-78224-7. 23.
3. http://www.fembio.org/biographie.php/frau/biographie/minna-lachs/ (German) FemBio. Frauen-Biographieforschung
4. Book: Jacqueline Vansant. Reclaiming Heimat: Trauma and Mourning in Memoirs by Jewish Austrian Reémigrés. 2001. Wayne State University Press. 0-8143-2951-9. 15, 21–23, 32–33, 69–70, 75, 79, 83–85, 98, & 139–141.
5. http://search.cjh.org:1701/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=beta&docId=CJH_ALEPH000201727&fromSitemap=1&afterPDS=true Center for Jewish History
6. Book: Harriet Pass Freidenreich. Female, Jewish, and Educated: The Lives of Central European University Women. 21 June 2002. Indiana University Press. 0-253-10927-2. 261.
7. http://www.wien.gv.at/umwelt/parks/anlagen/minnalachs.html (German) Viennese government site