Prof. Dr. med. Gottwald Schwarz
- Brno, South Moravia, Czech Republic, 02.08.1880
- New York, 26.02.1959
- Member since 1927
- Escaped to the USA in 1938
- Vienna
- Radiologist
Gottwald Schwarz was born in Brno, South Moravia, as the son of David Schwarz and his wife Friederike, née Mosinger.
Education and Places of Work
Schwarz had been a medical student at the University of Vienna since 1898 and had been studying the properties of radium rays. He passed his state examination and received his doctorate from the Medical Faculty of the University of Vienna in 1903. After graduating, Schwarz completed a residency in radiology with Guido L. Holzknecht at the Vienna General Hospital.
He took over the management of the x-ray institute of the I. Medical University Clinic Vienna in 1909 and habilitated in medical radiology at the University of Vienna on 10 January 1914. He was appointed professor (extraordinarius) in 1926.
Schwarz was head of the X-ray Institute at the Empress Elisabeth Hospital in Vienna from 1920 to 1938.
Schwarz published on x-ray diagnostics, especially on x-ray diagnostics of the gastrointestinal tract, on the early diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumours, as well as on radiological diagnostics of the cardiovascular system. In addition, he dealt with fundamental questions of radiotherapy. He was a pioneer and a highly recognised early specialist in the field of x-ray diagnostics. His achievements were acknowledged with an honorary membership of the American X-Ray Society in 1910.
After 1933
After the invasion of Austria by the German Wehrmacht in March 1938, Schwarz was removed from office on 22 April 1938 at the age of 57 for racist reasons. His lectureship was revoked by the Nazi authorities.
Escape to the USA via Switzerland and England
Together with his wife and son, Schwarz fled to London, England, via Switzerland in 1938. They lived in West Hampstead and Schwarz found temporary work at a hospital. His son, Hans Gerhart, moved to Chicago, USA in 1939. Gottwald Schwarz and his wife Charlotte Desiree received an entry visa for the USA in 1940. They left Liverpool aboard the S.S. Britannic on 21 June 1940 and reached New York on 2 August 1940. They were naturalised in the USA in August 1945.
After taking language tests and the American medical exams, Schwarz was able to run a small private x-ray practice in New York.
Gottwald Schwarz died in New York on 26 February 1959 at the age of 78.
Sources and Further Reading
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