OPATIJSKO DJETINJSTVO DR. LEA HENRYKA STERNBACHA

Abstract

This paper studies the childhood of Dr. Leo H. Sternbach, an eminent American scientist, in his native Opatija in the period of 1908 – 1921. His father, Mihael Abraham Sternbach, a Polish Jew, after completing his studies in pharmacy and after a short practice in Poland moved to Opatija at the beginning of the 20th century. There, he successfully ran a rented pharmacy and met his future wife, Piroska Kohn. The family played an important role in the life of the Jewish community of Opatija so Mihael A. Sternbach filled the post of The Community’s president in the period from 1923 to 1926 after it was legally constituted. They lived in a rented flat on the second floor of the Villa Jadran, close to the pharmacy and on the main street of Opatija. Two sons, Leo and Gyula were to be born in Opatija. Leo, the older one, will finish his elementary school there. However, because of Italian occupation in 1918 and the annexation of Opatija to the Kingdom of Italy, German schools were closed down so he could not continue his education in German language. Leo was to carry on his schooling in Villach first, then Graz (Austria) and complete it in Bielitz (Bielsko – Biała) in Silesia, southern Poland, where the family moved in 1926. This decision was taken on grounds of economic as well as other problems that emerged as consequences of altered political circumstances in Opatija. This paper is also partly based on autobiographical notes by Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach and the interviews conducted with him through e – mail in May 2005.U priopćenju je riječ o djetinjstvu uglednog američkog znanstvenika dr. Lea H. Sternbacha u rodnoj Opatiji (1908.–1921.) gdje se njegov otac Mihael Abraham Sternbach, poljski Židov, nakon završenog studija farmacije i kratkotrajne prakse u Poljskoj, početkom XX. stoljeća doselio i uspješno vodio iznajmljenu ljekarnu u Bazaru Mandria te tu upoznao i svoju buduću suprugu Pirošku Cohn. Obitelj je zauzimala istaknutu ulogu u životu opatijske židovske zajednice te je Mihael A. Sternbach obnašao i ulogu predsjednika opatijske židovske općine nakon njezina utemeljenja (1923.–1926.). Stanovali su u iznajmljenom stanu na drugom katu vile Jadran, u blizini ljekarne, na glavnoj opatijskoj prometnici. Njima će se u Opatiji roditi dvojica sinova, Leo i Gyula. Stariji Leo završit će u Opatiji osnovnu školu. Srednjoškolsko će obrazovanje, zatvaranjem njemačkih škola nakon talijanske okupacije 1918. te priključenjem Opatije Kraljevini Italiji, nastaviti najprije u Villachu, potom u Grazu, a završiti u Bielitzu (Bielsko – Biala) u Šleziji, južna Poljska, gdje se obitelj iselila 1926. zbog ekonomskih i drugih problema koji su nastali promjenom političkih prilika u Opatiji. Priopćenje je djelomično utemeljeno na autobiografskim zapisima dr. Lea Henry Sternbacha i intervjuu koji je s njim vođen preko elektroničke pošte u svibnju 2005