Pregledni rad
DR. LEO HENRYK STERNBACH'S CHILDHOOD IN OPATIJA
Sanja Simper
; The Eugen Kumičić Grammar School Opatija
Sažetak
This paper studies the childhood of Dr. Leo H. Sternbach, an eminent American scientist,
in his native Opatija in the period of 1908 – 1921. His father, Mihael Abraham Sternbach,
a Polish Jew, after completing his studies in pharmacy and after a short practice in Poland
moved to Opatija at the beginning of the 20th century. There, he successfully ran a rented
pharmacy and met his future wife, Piroska Kohn. The family played an important role in
the life of the Jewish community of Opatija so Mihael A. Sternbach filled the post of The
Community’s president in the period from 1923 to 1926 after it was legally constituted. They
lived in a rented flat on the second floor of the Villa Jadran, close to the pharmacy and on
the main street of Opatija. Two sons, Leo and Gyula were to be born in Opatija. Leo, the
older one, will finish his elementary school there. However, because of Italian occupation in
1918 and the annexation of Opatija to the Kingdom of Italy, German schools were closed
down so he could not continue his education in German language. Leo was to carry on his
schooling in Villach first, then Graz (Austria) and complete it in Bielitz (Bielsko – Biała)
in Silesia, southern Poland, where the family moved in 1926. This decision was taken on
grounds of economic as well as other problems that emerged as consequences of altered
political circumstances in Opatija. This paper is also partly based on autobiographical notes
by Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach and the interviews conducted with him through e – mail in
May 2005.
Ključne riječi
Leo H. Sternbach; biography; Jewish community; Opatija/Abbazia; Croatia; 19th, 20th century
Hrčak ID:
83067
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.6.2007.
Posjeta: 3.703 *