Goldschmied family papers

Renée Rizzoni was born Renée Suzanne Goldschmied (later Renée Gilbert, 1928- ) in Prague to Albin Rudolph Goldschmied (later Albin Gilbert, 1897-1990) and Louise (nee Ohs) Goldschmied (later Louise Gilbert, 1902-1998). Albin was the son of Leopold Goldschmied (1863-1942) and Katerina (nee Pick) Goldschmied (1859-1938). Leopold was born in Nagy Abon, Hungary, where his family owned a vineyard, and Katerina was born in Rohozov, Bohemia. They met and married in Prague, where Albin and his older brother, Josef, were born. Louise was the daughter of Bernhard Ohs (1852-1934) and Rosa Kamilla (nee Löwenthal) Ohs (1863-1942). Bernhard was born in Pisek, Bohemia, and served as a diplomat and press chief at the German embassy. Rosa was born in Dessau, Prussia, and was a published poet. She became deaf at the age of 17 as a result of scarlet fever, but was able to read lips and maintain communication with her family. Like her mother Rosa, Louise was a poet, as well as an artist and a student of Isadora Duncan interpretive dance. Albin held a PhD in philosophy and taught pedagogy at the German Music Conservatory. Albin and Louise met at the bank were they had both been employed, married, and had one daughter, Renée, who studied at a French elementary school. As a child, Renée was featured in an advertisement for Jovo yogurt and appeared in a film as Mozart’s daughter.

After the Nazis occupied Prague, Albin, who had spoken out against the Nazis since 1933, lost his teaching position. Although he had been an active member of the Unitarian church, he was of Jewish heritage, so he, Louise, and Renée were forced to leave their apartment and lost almost everything. Through the Unitarian church, they met Waitstill and Martha Sharp, who worked with the Unitarian Service Committee. The Sharps aided the Goldschmied family in securing non-quota visas and helped them escape via train to Utrecht, Holland, where they stayed briefly with the family of a clergyman. They then traveled from Rotterdam aboard the S.S. Noordam, arriving in New York on November 15, 1939. Louise’s mother, Rosa, was unable to obtain a visa, and remained in Prague. She was deported to Theresienstadt on July 13, 1942, transferred on October 15, 1942 to Treblinka, and murdered. Albin’s older brother, Josef, married a U.S. citizen, Evelyn Steiner. Josef, Evelyn, and their son Harry (1926-2011) were able to immigrate to the United States in 1942.

The Sharps arranged teaching positions for Albin and Louise at the Chapel Hill School at Waltham, Massachusetts. Albin later taught at Middlesex University (later to become Brandeis University) in Waltham, while Louise took a position as a reference librarian at their medical school. After becoming U.S. citizens in 1945, the Goldschmied family changed their last name to Gilbert. For two-and-a-half years, Albin worked as Educational Advisor to the American forces in Bavaria, Germany, Louise and Renée joined him later, and Louise taught art while continuing her career as a painter. After their return to the U.S., Renée attended Wheaton College, where Albin became professor of psychology and Louise a librarian. After college, Renée became a social caseworker. In 1954, Renée married Eitel Rizzoni (1925-2011), and they had two children, Walter and Vanessa (now Vanessa Sheldon). The Goldschmied/Gilbert and Sharp families maintained a close relationship throughout their lifetimes.