Alfred Machol

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Alfred Machol (born January 24, 1875 in Edesheim , Rheinpfalz, † January 18, 1937 in Naumburg ) was a German surgeon . He was the initiator and co-designer of the new construction of the surgical clinic of the municipal hospital in Erfurt .

Live and act

Machol was born the son of a Jewish wine merchant. He studied medicine in Freiburg , Munich , Berlin and Strasbourg . Here he passed the state examination in 1898 and received his doctorate in 1900. From 1901 to 1907 Machol worked as an assistant doctor to Professor Mikulicz-Radecki in Breslau , where he completed his surgical training and in 1904/05 was given the opportunity to go on an extensive study tour through surgical clinics in German-speaking countries. From 1907 he was at the Surgical University Clinic in Bonn near Garrè , where he completed his habilitation, was a private lecturer in surgery and orthopedics and in 1911 became an associate professor .

Bust of Alfred Machol by Hans Walther in front of the Erfurt surgical clinic

From 1914 Machol was the medical director of the municipal hospital in Erfurt and head of its surgical department. As early as 1921, Machol submitted a detailed memorandum to the magistrate on the need for new hospital buildings, a general development plan. It was decided to build a surgical clinic first. This was designed by the chief building officer Johannes Klass with significant involvement of Machol and built from 1926. Before that, they both had the opportunity to visit all of the new surgical clinics in Central Europe. The new clinic was inaugurated in 1928, with a modern operating theater, 235 beds and living space for 92 doctors and nurses. Machol had his motto set over the entrance to the operating theater: "Aegroti salus suprema lex". Ferdinand Sauerbruch from Berlin gave the inauguration speech . In April 1933 Machol submitted his retirement application for health reasons, but was also under degrading pressure from the Nazi system because of his Jewish descent. As early as 1914, he had suffered from damage to his fingers that he had suffered from experiments with X-rays. Several fingers were later amputated. Because of circulatory disorders in his legs, Machol had to be driven to the clinic from his apartment, which is only 300 m away. In September 1933 he performed his last operation. Then he went to Naumburg, where he died of bronchial cancer in 1937. His successor at the surgical clinic was Professor Johannes Rahm from Breslau from October 1933 and Professor Egbert Schwarz from Rostock from April 1934 .

Machol remained unmarried and, according to contemporary witnesses, only saw his job: "My child is the clinic." He converted to Protestantism. During the First World War he was senior staff doctor in the reserve and received the Iron Cross 2nd class. He became a member of the German National People's Party early on .

In 1953 a bronze bust of Alfred Machol designed by the Erfurt sculptor Hans Walther was unveiled next to the entrance to the surgical clinic .

literature

  • Werner Usbeck: From the history of surgery in Erfurt. In: Contributions to the history of the University of Erfurt (1392-1816). Edited by the Rector of the Medical Academy Erfurt. Issue 11/1964.
  • Werner Usbeck: Alfred Machol. In: Zentralblatt für Chirurgie. 101 (20), 1976, pp. 1254-1255.
  • Ruth Menzel: The fate of the Erfurt surgeon Prof. Dr. Alfred Machol. In: City and History, magazine for Erfurt. Special issue No. 8, 2008. p. 36.
  • Steffen Raßloff : Monuments in Erfurt: Machol bust reminds of the exclusion of Jewish doctors. In: Thuringian General . January 28, 2012 ( online ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Usbeck: From the history of surgery in Erfurt. In: Contributions to the history of the University of Erfurt (1392-1816). Erfurt, issue 11/1964, p. 208
personal data
SURNAME Machol, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German surgeon
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Edesheim , Rhine Palatinate
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1937
Place of death Naumburg