R. G. Waldeck

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R.G. Waldeck (August 24, 1898[1] – August 8, 1982[2]) born Rosa Goldschmidt, also known as Rosie Waldeck and by several other variants of her name, was the author of several works including Prelude to the past; the autobiography of a woman and Athene Palace.[3] The former narrates, among other things, the 1930 spy trial involving Berlin publisher Ullstein-Verlag (she was married at the time to Dr. Ullstein); the latter narrates events in elite diplomatic circles in Bucharest, Romania during World War II.[4]

Waldeck was a German-born Jew, who later became a Catholic and (on April 3, 1939) an American.[5][6] She was born into a banking family, and in 1920 received a doctorate in sociology from the University of Heidelberg, where she studied under Alfred Weber. From the 1930s, she was based in the United States. She was in Bucharest from June 1940 to January 1941 as a correspondent for Newsweek:[7] her book Athene Palace narrates this sojourn; the title refers to the Athénée Palace hotel, "shorn of one 'e' and of accents for no other reason than simplicity and readability."[8]

The surname Waldeck came from the German count Armin Wolrad Widekind Bela Erich Maria Gottschalk Graf von Waldeck,[4] who was at least her third husband. She was earlier married to German-born medical doctor and scientist Ernst Gräfenberg[9] and to the aforementioned Dr. Franz Ullstein, a son of Leopold Ullstein.

[edit] Works

  • Prelude to the past; the autobiography of a woman (1934)
  • Athene Palace (1942)
  • Meet Mr. Blank, The Leader of Tomorrow's Germans (1943)
  • Lustre in the Sky (1946)
  • The Emperor's Duchess (1948)
  • Europe Between The Acts (1951)
Source for list: [10]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Birth date according to Library of Congress name authority. However, her death notice in the New York Times says she was born July 24, 1898.
  2. ^ Untitled death notice, New York Times, August 29, 1982. p. 44
  3. ^ Catalog entry for Athene Palace, Seattle Public Library. Accessed online 4 January 2006.
    • (Romanian) R.G. Waldeck, short note on the site of Romanian publisher Humanitas. Accessed online 4 January 2006.
    • (German) Matthias David, Frank C. K. Chen, and Jan-Peter Siedentopf, Ernst Gräfenberg: Wer (er)fand den G-Punkt?, Deutsches Ärtzteblatt, November 2005, Seite 498 refers to her as "Rosie Waldeck." Accessed online 4 January 2006.
  4. ^ a b Grand Hotel, Time, February 16, 1942. Accessed online 4 January 2006.
  5. ^ R.G. Waldeck, Athene Palace, New York: Robert M. McBride and Company, 1942 p. 13 mentions her being an American, and p. 15 indirectly states that she is a Jew: "I had nothing to gain and everything to lose from the victory of an order of which antisemitism was an integral part."
  6. ^ Untitled death notice, New York Times, August 29, 1982. p. 44, provides the date of her U.S. citizenship and indicates a Catholic funeral and mass, with contributions to be made to the Propagation of the Faith.
  7. ^ Humanitas, op. cit.
  8. ^ Waldeck, Athene Palace, Acknowledgment (unnumbered page).
  9. ^ David, Chen, and Siedentopf, op. cit.: "Ernst Gräfenberg war für kurze Zeit mit der Schriftstellerin Rosie Waldeck verheiratet."
  10. ^ Note on the site of Romanian publisher Humanitas.