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Episode 21: The Heiress Who Helped End School Segregation

The Story of Dr. Hilde Mosse

AR 25137 F 81050
Portrait of Hilde Mosse, Leo Baeck Institute Archives, George L. Mosse Collection, AR 25137, F 81050.
hilde at clinic 3 AR 25184 F 15049
Hilde Mosse with unidentified students at LaFargue Clinic, Harlem, New York. Leo Baeck Institute Archives, Mosse Family Collection, AR 25184, F 15049.
hilde at clinic AR 25184 F 15048 (Mosse Family Collection)
Hilde Mosse with unidentified child at LaFargue Clinic, Harlem, New York. Leo Baeck Institute Archives, Mosse Family Collection, AR 25184, F 15048.
hilde mosse article AR 25184 Box 3 Folder 30
Article by Dr. Hilde Mosse in the July 1948 issue American Journal of Psychotherapy about the psychological effects of comic books on children, specifically on African-American children. Leo Baeck Institute Archives, Mosse Family Collection, AR 25184, Box 3, Folder 30

Hilde Mosse comes from one of the wealthiest families in Berlin and stands to inherit an enormous fortune. But she longs for something more meaningful than the luxurious lifestyle her family provides. So Hilde pursues her dream of becoming a doctor. As the Nazis take power in Germany and the Jewish family is forced to flee, Dr. Hilde Mosse eventually finds refuge in America. She finds her calling treating the mental health of underprivileged youth—and the symptoms of a racist system.

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