Emil Starkenstein facts for kids

Emil Starkenstein (born December 18, 1884 – died November 6, 1942) was a smart scientist from Czechoslovakia. He was a pharmacologist, which means he studied how medicines work and how they affect the body. He was also one of the people who helped start a field called clinical pharmacology. This field focuses on testing medicines on people to make sure they are safe and work well. Sadly, Emil Starkenstein died in a place called the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp during World War II.

Early Life and Family

Emil Starkenstein was born in a town called Poběžovice in what was then Bohemia. Today, this area is part of the Czech Republic. His family was Jewish German, and many of them were doctors in their local area.

Professor Starkenstein was very interested in his family's history. In 1927, he published a family tree. This tree traced his family's roots all the way back to the year 1350. It included important figures like R. Moses Isserles, a famous scholar.

A Professor's Journey

Emil Starkenstein worked as a professor at the German University in Prague. This university is now known as Charles University in Prague. He taught there until 1938.

In 1938, Germany took control of Czechoslovakia. Because of this, Professor Starkenstein had to leave his home. He became a refugee and moved to the Netherlands to continue his work.

Life During World War II

In 1939, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Life became very difficult for Jewish people, including Starkenstein. He was forced to live in a specific area in Amsterdam with other Jewish people.

They were also forced to wear special yellow badges. These badges showed that they were Jewish. They were also not allowed to work in public jobs.

In 1941, Emil Starkenstein was arrested. He was sent to different places, including Prague and Terezin. Finally, he was taken to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he died.

His Family and Legacy

Even though Emil Starkenstein died, his wife, Marie, and his daughter survived. They managed to hide in the Netherlands during the war. After the war ended, Marie donated her husband's huge collection of papers to the Czechoslovak state.

This collection had more than 20,000 items! In 2002, these important papers were finally placed in the archives of Charles University in Prague.

Besides his scientific papers, Starkenstein also had an amazing library of books about pharmacology. Before he died, his family agreed to sell this collection. The books were hidden during the war and later sold by a rare book dealer.

A part of his library, 147 books, was bought by the LuEsther T. Mertz Library at the New York Botanical Garden. These books are mostly about how plants can be used as medicine. You can tell they belonged to Starkenstein because they have his special bookplate inside.

Works

• Die neueren Arzneimittel und die pharmakologischen Grundlagen ihrer Anwendung in der ärztlichen Praxis (Newer Medicines and the Pharmacological Basis of Their Use in Medical Practice). This book was published in 1914. You can find a digital version from the University and State Library Düsseldorf.