Walter Schatzberg
August 25, 1930 — June 20, 2026
Services
Funeral Service
DirectionsTuesday, June 23, 2026
1:00 PM
Kneseth Israel Cemetery
101 Defense Highway
Annapolis, MD 21401
Memorial Contributions
Contributions in memory may be made to:
- St. John's College
Obituary
Walter Schatzberg, 95, of Annapolis, Maryland, passed away peacefully on June 20, 2026. Walter, born August 1930 in Vienna, Austria, remained throughout his life an old-world gentleman, a gentle man and an American patriot. Walter is survived by his older brother Paul, a niece, nephew, and six grand-nieces and grand-nephews. His parents, Adolf and Cecilia, preceded him in death along with his beloved niece Sharon Hormby.
As a child, Walter fled Vienna with his parents and brother in May 1939 to escape Nazi persecution. The family went first to Antwerp and then to Baltimore, where Walter quickly adapted to life in America. After graduating from high school in Baltimore, he attended St. John’s College in Annapolis, embracing the Great Books curriculum and gaining a lifelong commitment to deep thought. Walter then studied German literature at Johns Hopkins University, completing his Ph.D. in 1966 on science in 18th century literature. He soon joined the faculty at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he served as professor of German for almost 40 years. At Clark, Walter’s scholarship focused on German-Jewish culture and German film history, as well as the relations between science and literature. With his deep commitment to interdisciplinary research and teaching, Walter embodied Clark University’s teacher-scholar tradition. He taught thousands of students with dedication and empathy, mostly at Clark but also in Israel and Luxembourg. He was a superb friend and mentor to his students, who in turn stayed in touch with him. A deep quester, fundamentally concerned with the inner life, Walter studied multiple branches of psychology, especially Freudian and Jungian theory, and he explored a variety of traditions, including Buddhist meditation, Esalen workshops, and Ayahuasca retreats. These experiences took him across the United States, to South America and to Europe.
May his memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved him. Donations may be made in Walter’s memory to St. John’s College, https://www.sjc.edu/giving.
Services at Kneseth Israel Cemetery, 101 Defense Highway, Annapolis, MD 21401, on Monday, June 22nd, 2026, at 1pm.
As a child, Walter fled Vienna with his parents and brother in May 1939 to escape Nazi persecution. The family went first to Antwerp and then to Baltimore, where Walter quickly adapted to life in America. After graduating from high school in Baltimore, he attended St. John’s College in Annapolis, embracing the Great Books curriculum and gaining a lifelong commitment to deep thought. Walter then studied German literature at Johns Hopkins University, completing his Ph.D. in 1966 on science in 18th century literature. He soon joined the faculty at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he served as professor of German for almost 40 years. At Clark, Walter’s scholarship focused on German-Jewish culture and German film history, as well as the relations between science and literature. With his deep commitment to interdisciplinary research and teaching, Walter embodied Clark University’s teacher-scholar tradition. He taught thousands of students with dedication and empathy, mostly at Clark but also in Israel and Luxembourg. He was a superb friend and mentor to his students, who in turn stayed in touch with him. A deep quester, fundamentally concerned with the inner life, Walter studied multiple branches of psychology, especially Freudian and Jungian theory, and he explored a variety of traditions, including Buddhist meditation, Esalen workshops, and Ayahuasca retreats. These experiences took him across the United States, to South America and to Europe.
May his memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved him. Donations may be made in Walter’s memory to St. John’s College, https://www.sjc.edu/giving.
Services at Kneseth Israel Cemetery, 101 Defense Highway, Annapolis, MD 21401, on Monday, June 22nd, 2026, at 1pm.
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