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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.

In addition to photographs, school records, and correspondence spanning Hilde Mosse’s entire lifetime, the Mosse Family Collection in the LBI Archives includes the diaries she kept between 1928 and 1934, from the ages of 16-22. Hilde’s papers are just part of the extensive holdings related to the Mosse Family at LBI.

Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and Antica Productions. It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. This episode was written by Lauren Armstrong-Carter.

Our executive producers are Laura Regehr, Rami Tzabar, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Our producer is Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Voice acting by Hannah Gelman. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson. Theme music by Oliver Wickham.

This episode of Exile is made possible in part by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance and the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future.