Jaromír from Mundy

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Jaromir Mundy, dating unknown

Jaromír Freiherr von Mundy (born October 3, 1822 in Veveří Castle (Eichhorn) , Moravia; † August 23, 1894 in Vienna ) was a doctor and founder of the "Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society", whose model was copied worldwide and later in Vienna Professional rescue , today's "Magistratsabteilung 70", rose. Equipped with a technical talent, he designed tools for humane first aid for the wounded. Present as a military doctor in various theaters of war, he was characterized by a self-sacrificing willingness to help at the front, ensured the logistical provision of instruments, activated helpers, secured first aid and organized transport of the wounded. Mundy campaigned for an improvement in the conditions at the slaughter areas of the late 19th century, which were characterized by mostly poorly organized rescue operations. His long-time friend, the surgeon Theodor Billroth, described Mundy as "one of the greatest practical humanists of his century". In 1893 Jaromir Mundy was elected honorary member of the Society of Doctors in Vienna .

Creation and works

Youth and military career

Coat of arms of the Barons von Mundy, awarded to Wilhelm von Mundy (1742–1805) in 1789

He was the youngest of four sons of the wealthy cloth manufacturer Johann Freiherr von Mundy and Countess Isabella Kálnoky von Kőröspatak and a grandson of Wilhelm von Mundy, who was raised to the baron class in 1789 . Even as a child, he must have flirted with the medical profession, since he volunteered for a medical service at every opportunity, as in the years 1832 and 1838 with the cholera epidemics . Wherever he was in his childhood, he was a constant companion of the resident doctor to help out in accidents.

He enjoyed an autocratic upbringing and his parents forced him to study theology at the Brno Alumnat , which he reluctantly completed and soon left. His angry father made sure that he joined the imperial and royal army as a cadet. He served there for years and engaged in medical science in his spare time. During his stationing in the Viennese Alserkaserne he often spent his free time in the Vienna General Hospital and frequented the medical students. In 1852 he was promoted to captain and in 1855 he left the unloved army.

Appointment as a medic

Ambulance vehicle designed by Jaromir Mundy

At the age of 33 he completed a medical degree in Würzburg and in 1857, after only four semesters, was exceptionally admitted to the doctoral examination. He wrote his dissertation on the subject of "On the family treatment of insane people in insane colonies". From 1859 he devoted himself to studying forensic medicine and forensic medicine and gained practical experience in Heidelberg , Leipzig and Berlin in order to improve the treatment of the mentally ill.

In the same year Mundy was summoned to Piedmont by a former superior in the military, Count Franz Chulai, to serve as a doctor at the front during the Sardinian War and since then he has practiced continuously in various theaters of war. On June 24, 1859, he met the Swiss businessman Henry Dunant in the battle of Solferino with thousands of dead and wounded . As a reporter on site, Dunant experienced the inadequate care of the wounded and since then has campaigned for humanity in war and is considered to be the originator of the Geneva Convention founded in 1864 , the basic idea of ​​which is to improve care for the wounded and prisoners of war. Dunant was the founder of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement .

After the war ended, Mundy traveled to the city of Cheel in Belgium to see the then famous insane colony with 1,500 patients who lived in freedom and were treated and cared for by the residents. For Mundy, this was the most worthy form of treatment. From 1860 he gave lectures on this topic in various European capitals and gained international fame as a representative of the reform of the mental health system and modern law for the insane.

In the war year 1866 he made himself available again for a voluntary medical service and initially served in the field hospital in Pardubitz in Bohemia. At the Battle of Königgrätz he worked on the improvised medical trains that brought wounded soldiers from Bohemia to Vienna . Back in Vienna, he became the sous-chief of the military hospital in Vienna's Prater .

At the Paris World Exhibition in 1867 he had a model madhouse built at his own expense and demonstrated the practice of free treatment of the mad. In the same year, Mundy was the Austrian delegate of the War Ministry at the 1st Red Cross Conference in Paris, which discussed the application and implementation of the Geneva Convention, and campaigned for the implementation of Dunant's wishes and for an improvement in the welfare of the wounded. Very technically gifted, Mundy constructed various stretchers, ambulances and entire medical trains during this time to ensure the proper transport of the wounded. These were groundbreaking innovations in the medical services of the time, where catastrophic, unworthy emergency transports were the order of the day, from which patients repeatedly died. Together with engineer Hugo Zipperling, he also developed the equipment for the medical trains.

In the besieged Paris of the Franco-Prussian War , he participated as a “neutral” doctor from mid-1870 to the end of 1872 and ensured humane care for the wounded. For this activity he was the first foreigner to receive the French military medal for bravery. In 1871 he got to know the Sisters of the Sacred Heart Servants in a Paris ambulance, and it was thanks to his efforts that this institution established itself at the Vienna Rudolf Foundation in 1873 .

Return to Vienna

From 1866 to 1870 he gave numerous lectures in Vienna on the subjects of lunatic medicine, forensic medicine, health education and military medical services, among others at the University of Vienna , the Vienna General Hospital , the Joseph Academy and the Academy of Sciences . In 1872 he was finally appointed professor of military medical services at the University of Vienna.

When he returned to Vienna after the end of the Franco-Prussian War, Mundy was frustrated by the lack of medical progress in his hometown. His years of efforts, his proposals and memoranda requested by higher orders, had remained without result. He therefore concentrated again on promoting voluntary aid in war.

In the Vienna World Exhibition of 1873 he exhibited a model medical train designed by him on behalf of the French Society of the Red Cross. Together with Theodor Billroth, he organized an “International Congress for the Care of Wounded During War” without any public support.

In his function as chief physician general of the Order of Malta , Mundy again worked tirelessly in Vienna from 1875 on for a reform of the public and military medical services and for the establishment of a first aid organization, but failed again. He served on the Serbian side in the Serbian-Turkish War of 1876/1877 and in the Turkish-Russian War of 1877/1878. When the medical trains of the Order of Malta were activated to help, he stayed at the front until the evacuations of the wounded were completed.

The "Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society"

The fire in the Vienna Ring Theater on December 8, 1881, with its numerous deaths, brought a decisive turning point. In Vienna, this catastrophe clearly showed the weaknesses of the state medical organization with its harsh transport methods that were customary at the time. One day later, on December 9, 1881, Mundy, with the support of his friend Hans Graf Wilczek , Eduard Graf Lamezan-Salins , and the surgeon Theodor Billroth, initiated all steps to found the " Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society ". One month later, the Lower Austrian Imperial and Royal Lieutenancy certified the statutes and the newly created rescue service officially began operations.

In January 1882 he presented the plans for this project to Emperor Franz Joseph I and received his full support. The ambulance service began in April 1882. Count Wilzek, from whom the founding capital came, made his palace in Vienna's Herrengasse available and the headquarters of the rescue company was set up there until the first medical station opened on May 1, 1883 at Fleischmarkt 1, which consisted of two rooms. In these beginnings, 97 medical students and 36 non-medical students are documented who served as paramedics. Mundy himself worked as a doctor, stretcher or coachman, depending on the logistical requirements.

The society was financed by donations and charity events. Mundy tirelessly raised more funds until he could finally build his own house near the Aspern Bridge. He was the secretary of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society until March 5, 1892.

obituary

Bust of Mundys on the building of the Vienna rescue center

For years, Mundy lived in the “Hotel Central” in Vienna's Taborstrasse with family connections with Karl Sacher. Mundy was physically drawn in old age due to severe asthma and an abdominal disease. After a spa stay in Bad Tüsser, he spent the last months of his life in the water sanatorium in Baden near Vienna , where he was being cared for by Karl Sacher. His long-time friend and companion, Theodor Billroth, died on February 6th, 1894, and on August 23rd of the same year, Mundy put an end to his life in a depressive phase.

Jaromir Mundy was a passionate fighter for humanity who selflessly worked his life to improve the situation of the sick and wounded. In Vienna, his involvement with the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society made him very popular. The Viennese people and the volunteer doctors of the rescue society adored him, who was on duty in thousands of rescue missions. Mundy, an educated and well-read man who spoke twelve languages ​​and met many interesting personalities, was valued in his circles as a brilliant companion who, when in a good mood, also liked to sing arias from operettas or operas.

His grave of honor is located in the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 0, Row 1, Number 16). In 1932 Mundygasse in Vienna- Favoriten was named after him. A bust, designed by the sculptor Teresa Feodorowna Ries , in the headquarters of the Viennese professional rescue service on Radetzkystraße in the 3rd district of Vienna Landstraße commemorates his life's work.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl Heinz Tragl: History of the Society of Doctors in Vienna since 1838 . Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2011, ISBN 978-3-205-78512-5 , pp. 269 .
  2. ^ - Baron Mundy † .. In:  Badener Bezirks-Blatt , August 25, 1894, p. 4 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / bbb

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Mundy, Jaromír from
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mundy, Jaromír Freiherr von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Physician and founding member of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society
DATE OF BIRTH October 3, 1822
PLACE OF BIRTH Veveří Castle , Moravia
DATE OF DEATH 23 August 1894
Place of death Vienna