1950, the first Christmas in Seattle: Hilde, Hans, and Peter.
In April 2014, we received an email inquiry from Peter Neurath, son of Dr. Hans Neurath from Vienna, who built the UW Medical School’s biochemistry department in the 1950s and chaired it for 25 years, and Hilde Bial-Neurath from Berlin. Peter Neurath asked whether the German Studies Department might be interested in the gift of an oil painting of his mother by renowned artist Edith London, along with a note that he had in his possession from Albert Einstein expressing condolences to Mr. Neurath’s grandmother on the passing of her husband, as well as a selection of historic photos taken of his family in Germany and Austria before Hitler rose to power.
Professor emeritus Manfred Bansleben, our long-time language program director and a historian by training, has painstakingly researched the Neurath and Bial family histories for a more comprehensive reconstruction of the story, which we are pleased to have made available on our site. Stephanie Welch, the German Studies administrator, has digitized all images provided by Peter Neurath and done all the editorial work. We are grateful to both of them for enabling us to set up this site. And we are most thankful to Peter Neurath for entrusting us with this task. Upon our return to the restored Denny Hall building in September 2016, we will establish a permanent exhibit in honor of Hilde Bial-Neurath.
Hilde Bial-Neurath
Hans Neurath
Peter Neurath