Herwigh Rieger

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Herwigh Rieger , also Herwig Rieger (born May 2, 1898 in Mödling , † February 1, 1986 in Schönfichten , Upper Austria ) was an Austrian ophthalmologist.

Life

Herwigh (occasionally also: Herwig) Rieger was born as the son of general practitioner Ludwig Rieger. He was significantly influenced by the migratory bird movement.

Rieger volunteered for World War I and served on the southern front in combat against Italy . He left the army as a highly decorated officer at the age of only 20. He then passed the Matura and studied medicine at the University of Vienna .

In connection with social hygiene , Rieger developed a special interest in human genetics , which was taught at the University of Vienna at the Institute for Hygiene and Public Health. The institute was headed by Heinrich Reichel , with whom Rieger was connected through the youth movement . Therefore, in his first deciphering work, Rieger dealt with the negative influence of alcohol and smoking on health and fertility .

However, under the influence of his future wife Marianne Kerschbaum, who was also a doctor, Rieger turned to more factual subjects and chose ophthalmology as his specialty. He became assistant to Karl David Lindner (1883–1961) at the Institute for Ophthalmology at the University of Vienna. Because of his outstanding achievements, he was allowed to stay at the institute after he had passed his specialist examination. In 1937 he became a private lecturer , in 1938 chief physician for ophthalmology.

In 1938, Rieger supported the annexation of Austria to the National Socialist German Reich. At the annual meeting of the German Ophthalmological Society held in 1938 , one of the 'genetic hardliners' who tried to eliminate the pathogenic genes through high sterilization frequencies was one.

Rieger served in the Wehrmacht until he became professor and chief physician for ophthalmology at the University of Prague in 1940 . Rieger got this job because his predecessor Jaroslaus Kubik was forced by the National Socialists to give up the job because of his Jewish wife and to retire . During his employment in Prague, contrary to official orders, Rieger did not give priority to German patients, but treated them in the same way as the Czech ones.

When the end of the Second World War became in sight, Rieger sent his wife and six children to Schönfichten in Upper Austria, but stayed in Prague himself. After the Red Army marched in , he was forced to walk to Brno as a prisoner of war . However, due to the good reputation that resulted from his behavior towards Czech patients, he was released in Brno and sent to Austria. There Rieger lost all titles due to his membership in the NSDAP and he was forbidden to work as an ophthalmologist.

At the end of 1945, however, Rieger was allowed to reopen a practice in Amstetten , Upper Austria, and in 1950 he became head of the ophthalmology department at the state hospital in Linz . He held this position until 1970, when he became head of the ophthalmology department at the newly founded Paracelsus Institute in Bad Hall . He held this position until his retirement in 1980.

Due to his political past, Rieger did not get a professorship for ophthalmology after 1945, although he was one of the best qualified applicants at the universities of Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck. The eye disease Rieger syndrome , which resulted from a gene mutation, was named after him.

During his retirement, Rieger dealt with theater , music , art and archeology . In addition, together with Karl Thums and Karl Ursin , he devoted himself to maintaining the tradition of the völkisch wing of the Austrian migratory bird.

Awards

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rohrbach, Jens Martin (2007). "The German Ophthalmological Society in the 'Third Reich' (1933-1945)". In: DOG - German Ophthalmological Society (ed.). Visus and vision. 150 years of DOG. Cologne: Biermann. P. 48.
personal data
SURNAME Rieger, Herwigh
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rieger, Herwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian ophthalmologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH Mödling
DATE OF DEATH February 1, 1986
Place of death Schönfichten , Upper Austria