Hans Gazert

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Hans Gazert (born May 15, 1870 in Harburg (Elbe) ; † November 27, 1961 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen ) was the expedition doctor for the first German Antarctic expedition under Erich von Drygalski . His notes during the expedition contributed to beriberi being recognized as a vitamin deficiency disease .

Early years

The father Ludolph Gazert (1813-1892) was director of the hospital in Harburg. Even in his early youth, Hans Gazert was interested in scientific, medical and polar topics. After graduating from high school, he completed a medical degree in Munich and received his doctorate in 1896 with a thesis on tetanus . During his time as an assistant doctor at the Klinikum links der Isar , he often undertook climbing tours in the Alps , where he also devoted himself to glaciological issues. His first ascent of the route from the Eibsee via the Bavarian Schneekar to the Zugspitze on June 29, 1895 and the Öfelekopf West Summit in the Wetterstein Mountains in 1895 became known.

Antarctic expedition

On the occasion of a lecture by Erich von Drygalski in 1899 about the upcoming expedition to the Antarctic, Gazert applied as an expedition doctor. He finally received this position on April 1, 1900. During the Gauss expedition 1901–03, he mainly devoted himself to the study of metabolic processes under polar conditions, but he also made meteorological observations in order to relieve other expedition colleagues. His knowledge of glaciology also came into play when he accompanied von Drygalski twice to the Gaußberg and recorded snow and ice structures along the way.

Gazert recommended that the expedition members consume fresh food. In contrast, a group of five scientists who had stayed in a branch station on the Kerguelen lived only on canned food. Two members of the expedition then fell ill with beriberi, the meteorologist Josef Enzensperger died of the disease in February 1903. At that time an infection was still assumed to be the cause of beriberi , but Gazert doubted this. Gazert's records were evaluated by Claus Schilling at the Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases in Berlin in 1913 and beriberi was recognized as a vitamin deficiency disease.

Next life

After returning from the Antarctic, he became chief physician at the Partenkirchen hospital. He held this position until 1946. In 1910, Gazert founded the Voluntary Medical Column of the Red Cross Partenkirchen-Garmisch and in 1925 the Mountain Accident Service in the Red Cross , which was later combined with the Mountain Rescue Service. The badge with the Red Cross in edelweiss comes from him.

Awards

Works (selection)

  • Bacteriological tasks of the German South Polar Expedition . In: Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen , No. VII, 1901
  • German South Polar Expedition , III. Health report; Publish of the Institute for Oceanography, H. 5, 1903
  • Our life in the polar ice . In: Westermanns Illustrirte Deutsche Monatshefte . Volume 97, 1904, p. 40 53.
  • Importance of bacteria in the marine household . In: Dtsch. Review . Volume 31, No. 55, 1906, pp. 236-244.
  • German South Polar Expedition 1901-1903 . VII: Provisions a. Nutrition, pp. 1–73, Ärztl. Experiences and studies on the German. Südpolar-Expedition 1901–03, pp. 301–352 Studies on marine bacteria and their influence on the metabolism in the sea, pp. 235–296. The Beriberi cases on Kerguelen (with the assistance of Dr. Otto Renner), pp. 357–386. Georg Reimer, Berlin 1927.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hiebeler, Toni: Zugspitze, Munich 1979, p. 102
  2. ↑ Alpine peaks & first climbers
  3. ^ Foundation of the Voluntary Medical Column Partenkirchen-Garmisch . In: Festschrift for the 100th anniversary of the Partenkirchen medical service in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district association , June 19, 2010 (PDF; 14.9 MB), accessed on August 9, 2020.
  4. ^ Homepage of Bergwacht Bayern , accessed on February 2, 2010.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gazert, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physician and polar researcher
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Harburg (Elbe)
DATE OF DEATH November 27, 1961
Place of death Garmisch-Partenkirchen