A Holocaust survivor, academic and author, Dr. Walter Schatzberg passed away on Saturday, June 20. The Annapolis resident was 85.
As a child, Schatzberg fled his native Vienna in May of 1939 with his parents and older brother, Paul. The family first went to the Belgian port city of Antwerp, then to London and immigrated to the United States, resettling in Northwest Baltimore where a relative lived.
After graduating from high school, Schatzberg attended St. John’s College in Annapolis, where he studied philosophy and the Great Books curriculum.
He then studied German literature at Johns Hopkins University, eventually earning a doctorate on science in 18th-century literature.
Schatzberg joined the faculty at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he served as professor of German studies for nearly four decades. He retired in May of 2006.
Among the books authored, co-written or edited by Schatzberg were “The Jewish Response to German Culture; From Enlightenment to the Second World War,” “Beyond Caligari: The Films of Robert Wiene,” “Scientific Themes in the Popular Literature and the Poetry of the German Enlightenment, 1720-1760” and “The Relations of Literature and Science.”
“At Clark, Walter’s scholarship focused on German-Jewish culture and German film history, as well as the relations between science and literature,” his family wrote on the website of Sol Levinson & Bros. “With his deep commitment to interdisciplinary research and teaching, Walter embodied Clark University’s teacher-scholar tradition. He taught thousands of students with dedication and empathy, mostly at Clark but also in Israel and Luxembourg.
“He was a superb friend and mentor to his students, who in turn stayed in touch with him. A deep quester, fundamentally concerned with the inner life, Walter studied multiple branches of psychology, especially Freudian and Jungian theory, and he explored a variety of traditions, including Buddhist meditation, Esalen workshops and Ayahuasca retreats. These experiences took him across the United States, to South America and to Europe.”
Schatzberg is survived by his brother; a niece and nephew; and six grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents, Adolf and Cecilia, and his niece, Sharon Hormby.
Services will be held Monday, June 22, at 1 p.m. at Kneseth Israel Cemetery, 101 Defense Highway in Annapolis.
Donations in his memory may be sent to St. John’s College, 60 College Avenue, Annapolis, Maryland 21401.
Posted his family: “Walter remained throughout his life an old-world gentleman, a gentle man and an American patriot.”
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