Albertverein

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The Albertverein (also known as the Albert Association at the time) was a women's association of the Red Cross founded in Dresden in 1867 . The foundation was made on the initiative of Princess Carolas of Saxony , who named it in honor of her husband, Prince Albert . With this foundation, Carola von Sachsen followed the example of Luise von Baden , who had already established the first Baden women's association of the Red Cross and the associated Baden Sisterhood of the Red Cross, the so-called "Luis Sisters", in 1859 .

The purpose was to care for the wounded during the war and thus to support the military medical services. In times of peace, his task was to train sisters (Albertine women) for times of war and to do charitable work in poor relief. In Saxony there are numerous branch associations, primarily related to the recruitment and financing of the main association founded. The training of the Albertine women took place exclusively in Dresden and the largest side club in Leipzig . From 1878 the Albertverein had its own hospital with the Carolahaus, newly built by Theodor Friedrich in Johannstadt , in which nurses were trained and accommodated at the same time. He also operated other care facilities in the Kingdom of Saxony.

As a women's association of the Red Cross, the Albertverein was firmly integrated into the organization of voluntary war nursing and probably made the largest contribution to female war nursing in the Kingdom of Saxony during the First World War . It can also be viewed as the Saxon counterpart to the Patriotic Women's Association and the Baden Women's Association .

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Albertverein, King Albert donated the Carola Medal to people who had made special contributions in the field of helpful charity in war or in peace.

War Nursing

Franco-German War

In the course of the Franco-German War , the women's association began to work together with the " Regional Association for the Care of Wounded and Sick Warriors in the Kingdom of Saxony " (from 1898: Regional Association of the Red Cross in the Kingdom of Saxony). The cooperation with the men's club was only effective for the duration of the war. It was not until 1888 that the two associations began to work together on a permanent basis under the specially founded " State Committee of the Associations of the Red Cross in the Kingdom of Saxony ".

The Albertverein made 16 Albertine women available for nursing in the war zone. 167 nurses from the Albertverein took care of the wounded in their home region.

First World War

During the First World War, the Albertverein, as the Red Cross Association, essentially took over the entire organization of the female nursing staff for the stage and the home area in the Kingdom of Saxony. The main association Dresden was responsible for the area of ​​the XII Army Corps , while the branch association Leipzig covered the area of ​​the XIX Army Corps .

Due to the greater need for nursing staff, in addition to the 220 Albertine women of the main association, 169 new Albertine women were trained in Dresden alone in the course of the war. Since 1909 the Albertverein offered courses for Red Cross helpers. With the beginning of the war these were recruited more intensively. From 1915 the training of auxiliary nurses began. A total of 1305 training courses for women took place between 1914 and 1919 in the Carolahaus. In addition, 61 nurses were trained by the Red Cross for the Saxon state association.

Through the Albertverein, sisters from other care organizations and free sisters also volunteered for nursing. The main club was therefore able to provide 831 women for the stage and 811 women for use in home hospitals.

In the years 1914-1919 16 of the nurses in the service of the Albertverein died. Seven of them in their home area. The main cause of death was infectious diseases. Only one sister died as a result of direct warfare, while another died because of her age.

post war period

The economic crisis of the post-war period and the end of the monarchy in Saxony, which formed one of the greatest financial and political backbones, also had an impact on the Albertverein. As a result, the Carolahaus had to be sold to the city of Dresden. It was only operated by the Albertverein through a license agreement. The reserves in the nurses' funds had become worthless due to inflation . In 1925 the main Dresden association had fewer sisters than the Leipzig branch. The numerous smaller branch associations continued to exist, but were cautious in their activities.

Although the Albertverein recovered to some extent economically by 1925, it was no longer able to build on the performance and importance for regional nursing of the prewar years. In 1930 the Carolahaus had to be closed for good.

Personalities

Anna von Zimmermann (born 1863 in what is now Latvia) was the deputy surgical nurse in the Carolahaus in Dresden at the end of the 19th century. She became a source of ideas in the Red Cross nursing system. As Superior of the Red Cross Sisterhood of the Albertzweigverein in Leipzig, she influenced the education of the Red Cross Sisters and the training of superiors. She pleaded for a tuberculosis hospital for Red Cross nurses suffering from this disease. A. v. Zimmermann was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1925 . In the years between 1926 and 1935 she was head of the “Association of Superiors in the German Red Cross.” Her successor was Luise von Oertzen .

literature

  • August Julius Naundorff : The Albertverein, its origin and development in the years 1867-1892. A memorandum. Gardener, Dresden, 1892
  • Gustav Emil Enzmann: History of the Albert Association 1867–1917. Women's Association of the Red Cross in the Kingdom of Saxony , printed by Gärtner, Dresden 1917.
  • Ludwig Kimmle: The German Red Cross. Vol. 1: State Committee of the German Red Cross Associations, State Associations from the Red Cross , Boll u. Pickardt, Berlin 1910.
  • Ludwig Kimmle: The German Red Cross. Vol 3: Red Cross hospitals and mother houses , Boll u. Pickardt, Berlin 1910.
  • Albert Association: Women's Association of the Red Cross in Saxony. Report on his wartime activities 1914-1919 , printed by Gärtner, Dresden 1919.
  • Albert-Verein: Report on the general meeting on October 9, 1925 in the Hotel Bristol in Dresden - at the same time as the first general business report in the post-war period - , printed by Gärtner, Dresden 1926.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Baden Sisterhood of the Red Cross: Luis Sisters
  2. ↑ Horst-Peter Wolff (Hrsg.): Biographical lexicon for nursing history “Who was who in nursing history”, Vol. 2 Urban & Fischer Munich, Jena 2001, Biography A. v. Zimmermann written by Karin Wittneben ( sister school of the University of Heidelberg ) p. 240 + 241, (current editor: Hubert Kolling).