Wachstein, Sonia, 1907-2001

Sonia (Sophie) Wachstein was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1907. Her father, Bernhard Wachstein (1868-1935), was a famous historian, bibliographer, and genealogist. He wrote and published about the Vienna Jewish community. He was also director of the library of the Kultusgemeinde in Vienna.

Sonia Wachstein studied and later taught at the Chajes Gymnasium in Vienna. She immigrated to London, England, in 1939, where she taught English to German Jewish refugees. After the end of World War II she arrived in New York and made a living by teaching German at Brooklyn College. She entered a work-study program at the Graduate School of Social Work at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, where she received her Ph.D. in social work. She later became a supervisor in the Brooklyn school system. After her retirement, she taught English to Russian students at Bryn Mawr College. She died in New York in 2001.

From the guide to the Sonia Wachstein Collection, 1915-1996, bulk 1939-1962, (Leo Baeck Institute)