Eugenie Schwarzwald

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Eugenie Schwarzwald, nee Nußbaum (June 4, 1872 in Polupanovka in former Austria-Hungary, present Ukraine – August 7, 1940 in Zurich) was Austrian philanthropist, writer and pedagogue developing and supporting Austrian girl education. She belonged to the most lettered women of her time.

Eugenie Nußbaum left her country in 1895 when she started to study German and English literature, philosophy and pedagogy at the university of Zurich. She received doctoral degree in 1900. Women were not allowed to study at Austrian high schools and universities and Eugenie was one of the first academically educated women in Austria-Hungary. In 1900 she married Dr. Hermann Schwarzwald (1871 až 1939). Since 1901 she was head of Girl Secondary School and since 1911 of the Girl College. Her wish and aim was to offer an adequate and motivating secondary education to girls, comparable to that which was accessible to boys. For reaching her goal she engaged many a contemporary, prominent artist and scientist; e.g. Oskar Kokoschka gave lessons of drawing, Arnold Schönberg taught music and composition or Adolf Loos lectured on architecture. This school became a prototype of so called Schwarzwald schools (Schwarzwaldschulen), modern schools for girls. She often spoke on female equality to men in Wiener Frauen Club. During the World War I she took care of ill and old people as well as of deprived children. She wrote newspaper articles, feuilletons and short essays.

"Genia" Schwarzwald was an important person of Viennese culture life and social events. As many of her contemporaries she organised a literary salon where she invited Kokoschka, Loos or Schönberg as well as novelists Elias Canetti and Robert Musil whom she inspired with her brightness and liking in Ancient Greek fashion to a character of Ermelinda Tuzzi or Diotima in his novel The Man Without Qualities. Eugenie was the most important but not the only model for Emelinda; another one was dancer Isadora Duncan.

In 1938 Eugenie Schwarzwald was due to her Jewish ancestors forced to leave Austria and emigrated to Switzerland; the Schwarzwald schools were closed. She died in Zurich in 1940.