International House Berkeley

Wilma (Schulz) Horwitz 1947; 1949 – 1952 M y years at I-House were some of the most exciting times of my life, both intellectually and socially. One of the enduring joys of having lived there is the friendships that have continued to this day. I came to I-House in the summer of 1947, interested in international relations (I was a political science major). At that time, it was difficult for American undergraduate women to get into the House for a regular semester, but I was able to get a room during the summer. I graduated in early 1948, took a year off to work in San Francisco, and entered Boalt Hall in the fall of 1949. I couldn't get a room in I-House the first semester, but I had all my meals there and was able to move in for the spring semester and the following two years. Like most of the law students, I didn't socialize as much as I might have liked with the other students because we really had homework every night, but I did meet fascinating people from all over the world. Many of them had had life experiences I could scarcely imagine, especially those who had been in the war, or in the Resistance, or even in concentration camps. For several years, the I-House directory of residents listed a number of students as "stateless," in the space where citizenship should appear – evidence of how much their lives had been disrupted by the war. Some of these unusual people became lifelong friends, and one, Gene Horwitz, became my husband; in later years, some of us referred to I-House as "That Great Marriage Bureau on Piedmont Avenue." During the war, Gene had been a sergeant with the army. He was with them when they landed on the beaches of Normandy in August of 1948, and then served through the end of the war in Europe, until the surrender of Germany in May 1945 – including, probably, the Battle of the Bulge; but he rarely talked about it. Gene had come from Texas Christian University – he used to joke about being one of the Texas Christian Jews. He came as a graduate student, earned his Masters in Political Science, and later, a teaching credential. The war wasn't a big topic of conversation at I-House, though. This was a period of great political ferment, especially internationally: Israel won its independence, as did India, and there were many political discussions all over the House about world events. These were both organized and informal. Gene was a vocal part of many of these discussions – he became a history and social studies teacher later. After we were married, we would often get together with the Brewers, Castellos and O'Regans for dinner, and the gentlemen, especially, would have spirited political discussions, often at the top of their voices. Many of my I-House memories are of the Great Hall and the dining rooms. Some people always sat in the dark (inner) dining room, and others always sat in the light (outer) dining room. And it sometimes seemed that never the twain would meet. But 52

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