Elsa Andrea Elisabeth Björkman-Goldschmidt (1888–1982) was a Swedish artist and writer who was active in Sweden and Austria. After attending Stockholm's
Art Academy
An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...
etcher
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
. In 1916, while assisting the
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
in Russia, she met her future husband, the Austrian surgeon Waldemar Goldschmidt. They married in Vienna where she was involved with
Save the Children
The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide.
The organization raises money to imp ...
and started working as a correspondent for the Swedish press. In 1938, anti-Semitism forced the couple to move to Sweden where she published a number of books about her life in Vienna.
Early life and education
Born in
Linköping
Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...
on 16 April 1888, Elsa Andrea Elisabeth Björkman-Goldschmidt was the daughter of Maria (née Heyman), who was Jewish and army officer Daniel Magnus Fredrik Björkman. Childhood friends included Elsa Brändström and Honorine Hermelin. After attending a teacher training course at the
Anna Sandström
''Anna'' Maria Carolina Sandström (3 September 1854 – 26 May 1931) was a Swedish feminist, reform pedagogue and a pioneer within the educational system of her country. She is referred to as the leading reform pedagogue within female educati ...
Seminary in Stockholm (1906–1908), she travelled abroad to improve her language skills. She then spent a year at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts
The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...
concentrating on etching,
woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
and
lithography
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...
(1909–1910). Fellow students included Annie Bergman, Siri Derkert, Harriet Löwenhjelm, Ragnhild Nordensten, Gerda Nordling, and Elvi Tondén. She spent a further year studying
graphic art
A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,Elsa Brändström to work an as untrained nurse in the Siberian prisoner-of-war camps. She returned to Russia a number of times in subsequent years as a delegate of the
Swedish Red Cross
The Swedish Red Cross ( Swedish: ''Svenska Röda Korset'') is a Swedish humanitarian organisation and a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Founded in 1865, its purpose is to prevent and alleviate human suffering wher ...
, experiencing the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
.
She met her husband-to-be, the Austrian Jewish surgeon Waldemar Goldschmidt, in a Moscow hospital.
Interwar
After marrying in Vienna in 1921, they settled there and Elsa Björkman-Goldschmidt turned increasingly from art to writing, contributing columns to the Swedish daily ''
Dagens Nyheter
(, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...
''. Björkman-Goldschmidt was heavily involved in the work of Save the Children in Austria in the aftermath of the First World War. In 1938, when after the Nazis annexed Austria, as Jews the Björkman-Goldschmidts were forced to return to Sweden. The couple became involved in various cultural associations in Stockholm, including the literary society
Samfundet De Nio
Samfundet De Nio (''The Nine Society'' or ''Society of the Nine'') is a Swedish literary society founded on 14 February 1913 in Stockholm by a testamentary donation from writer Lotten von Kraemer. The society has nine members who are elected for ...
and the women's association
Nya Idun
('New Idun') is a Swedish cultural association for women founded in 1885, originally as a female counterpart to ('the Idun Society'). Its aim was to "gather educated women in the Stockholm area for informal gatherings".
Activity
was founded ...
.
Writings
Björkman-Goldschmidt wrote accounts of her years in Vienna in a series of books published from the 1940s. Titles included (1944), (1945), (1949) and (1959). Excepts have been translated into German by the historian Renate Schreiber and published in 1982 as .
Elsa Björkman-Goldschmidt died in Stockholm on 6 April 1982.