Barbara Kimmel Reinfeld Passed Away

Barbara Kimmel Reinfeld (1935-2020), née Koháková, was born in Prague in 1935 and fled to the West with her family in 1948.  They settled in America, where she completed her undergraduate education at Carleton College, and her M.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia University.  Her dissertation led to the publication of her book. Karel Havlíček (1821-1856): A National Liberation Leader of the Czech Renascence (1982).  She also published on Františka Plamínková, Charlotte Masaryk, and Milada Horáková.. She taught for many years at New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, NY, where she served as chair of the Department of Social Sciences. After her retirement from NYIT, she taught as an adjunct at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.  Her last course at Hofstra was part of a summer program in Prague in 2007, where I also taught, and I saw how thrilled she was to introduce her American students to her native land. 

Barbara was the first woman to be president of the Czechoslovak Studies Association (Czechoslovak History Conference), holding the office from 1990-1992. In true Czech fashion, she engaged in various athletic pursuits, including tennis, swimming, rowing, and skiing. A long-time member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, she enjoyed hiking as well as traveling with them and with the Road Scholars.  She passed away on January 12, following a long illness. She leaves behind two children and two grandchildren.