Radiology Memorial

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The radiology memorial in Hamburg

The radiology memorial is a memorial in the garden of the St. Georg Hospital in Hamburg-St. Georg , which is supposed to remember the victims among the first medical users of X-rays .

history

The memorial stone was financed by the head of the radiation department of the Bremen State Hospitals, Hans Meyer . Meyer had also researched the names of the 159 deceased doctors, physicists, technicians, laboratory technicians and nurses from various countries by asking the X-ray societies in these countries for names, photos and life stories. Meyer and Hermann Holthusen , chief physician of the radiological department of the General Hospital St. Georg in Hamburg, set the garden of the St. Georg Hospital as the location of the monument.

The memorial was inaugurated on April 4, 1936. Antoine Béclère spoke as the representative of radiologists abroad .

»… Le grand nom et la célèbre découverte de Roentgen font partie de votre patrimoine national, vous en êtes légitimement fiers. Vous auriez pu, sans encourir aucune critique, réserver ce monument aux seuls victimes de nationalité allemande. Vous ne l'avez pas voulu. Les noms de ceux qui dans tous les pays civilisés ont voué et sacrifié leur vie au même ideal ont été ici fraternellement réunis dans le même homage,… «

“… Roentgen's name and his famous discovery are part of your national heritage and you are rightly proud of them. Without arousing criticism, you could have dedicated this memorial to the victims of German nationality. You did not want this. The names of those who in all civilized countries have dedicated and sacrificed their lives to the same ideal are here fraternally united in the same honor ... "

- Antoine Béclère

17 names were added to the memorial in 1938, to a total of 359 in 1960.

The first name on the memorial stone is Heinrich Albers-Schönbergs . Schönberg was the founder of the Roentgen House at St. Georg Hospital and, together with Georg Deycke, was the first editor of the radiological journal Advances in the field of X-rays (RöFo). He is considered the first X-ray specialist in Germany.

Book of Honor of Radiologists of All Nations

The names of the men and women honored on the memorial and their biographies were - as far as available - summarized in a book of honor of the radiologists of all nations , the second edition of which was published in 1960 and the third edition in 1992. The third edition also contains names of those who died after 1960. The biographical texts are of different lengths and, in addition to references to professional and scientific achievements, usually also contain detailed descriptions of radiation-related diseases - leukemia and aplastic anemia , skin cancer mostly of the hands and face, rarely accidents with high voltage - and often of long illness and agonizing death.

In terms of time, the first victim to be remembered is Friedrich Clausen (1864–1900), who between 1896 and 1900 demonstrated X-rays in numerous experimental lectures. The book of honor commemorates “researchers, doctors, physicists, X-ray technicians, laboratory technicians and nurses” from 23 countries: Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Japan, Yugoslavia, the Dutch East Indies , Austria, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, United States.

The book does not claim to be complete. In the foreword to the second edition, the editors write: “If, despite all efforts, we should not have recorded all radiation victims, then we humble ourselves, being aware of the imperfection of all efforts.” And the last surviving editor, W. Molineus, writes in the foreword to the third Edition: "The incompleteness of our collection must be comforted by the thought that there will be no more victims after the dangers of ionizing radiation are generally known."

Listed people

The winners include (selection):

literature

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ H. Vogel: The memorial of radiology in Hamburg. A contribution to the history of X-rays. Progress Röntgenstrasse 2006; 178 (8): 753-756 doi: 10.1055 / s-2006-948089

Web links

Commons : Cenotaph of Radiology  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 53 ° 33 ′ 32.5 "  N , 10 ° 1 ′ 11.1"  E