News

Dr. Rudolf Schild came from a Jewish family and had joined the Frankfurt on the Main section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club as early as 1899. He remained a member of the section beyond 1933 and, as a "long-standing member" from before 1914, was not expelled from the section despite having Jewish parents. Instead, at the annual general meeting of the Frankfurt section in February 1937, Rudolf Schild was named among the deceased members whom the section would "keep faithfully in memory." This is surprising because he came from a Jewish family and had been incarcerated in the Berlin concentration camp "Columbia-Haus" in January 1936 because of his homosexuality. He commited suicide with cyanide on January 25, 1936, at the concentration camp.

On October 29, 2025, a "Stolperstein" (stumbling stone) will be laid for Rudolf Schild at Nachod street 11 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Further information can be found on the website of the Magnus Hirschfeld Society.

For more information about his life and work, including in our section, see here.