Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society

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Coat of arms of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society
Lottery ticket of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society from April 1905

The Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society was the first rescue organization in Vienna . It was founded in 1881 on a private initiative and operated until 1938. As a result, their tasks were taken over by the City of Vienna.

history

1881/1882: foundation

Johann Nepomuk Graf Wilczek in uniform of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society

The Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society was founded on December 9, 1881, one day after the Ringtheater fire .

The three founders took the lead in the new organization

They were supported by a nine-member action committee. The surgeon Theodor Billroth was one of the co-founders . While Jaromír Mundy was drafting the statutes, Wilczek and Lamezan presented Emperor Franz Joseph I with a memorandum at an audience and asked him for protection and protection for the rescue company, which he also granted. Whereas the January 9, 1882 kk Lower Austrian Lieutenancy Articles of Association submitted were approved the next day. The proposal made by the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society on the relationship between the rescue society and the various authorities was also accepted unchanged.

In order to recruit members, posters were posted in the city inviting them to join the rescue society, and forms for declaring membership were distributed in residential buildings. The number of those wishing to join, however, fell short of expectations. The new members of the voluntary medical service mainly included members of the volunteer fire brigades from the suburbs of Vienna (which were incorporated ten years later) (150 men), members of various rowing clubs (80 men) and 60 gymnasts from the First Vienna Gymnastics Club.

232 showed up for the first meeting of the nearly 400 registered members on May 18, 1882. At another meeting on October 21 at the Academic Gymnasium , no one was found willing to serve during the day, and only one man was ready to attend his Sunday to sacrifice. Forced by this shortage of personnel, the rescue society called on medical students to take part in the service in the future rescue stations.

As of November 1882, Albert Mosetig von Moorhof, as chief surgeon of the rescue company, held the first Samaritan lectures in Austria for the training of medical personnel for the rescue company.

In December 1882 an agreement was reached with the Imperial and Royal War Ministry on support for military medical care and on January 12, 1883 another agreement was made with the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Commerce on assistance in the event of railway accidents. As part of this agreement, 100 stretchers were made available to Vienna's train stations free of charge .

1883: The first rescue stations

Fleischmarkt medical station

After the first Samaritans had completed their training, two rooms were rented at Fleischmarkt 1 (corner of Rotenturmstrasse , near Schwedenplatz ) in the 1st district and the first medical station was set up there. This station was manned for the first time on May 1, 1883, and the paramedics stationed there were used for the first time on May 2 because of an accident . To make it easier to raise the alarm, the medical station was later given a direct telephone connection with the police headquarters.

“On December 8th, 1881, the day after the terrible fire of the Ringtheater in which many hundreds of people perished, the VIENNA VOLUNTARY RESCUE SOCIETY was founded by the kuk real secret councilor HANS GRAFEN WILCZEK. The same opened the first medical station in this house on May 1, 1883, through which more than 25,000 needy people received first aid by day and night until May 1, 1889. On January 20, 1884 his kuk Apostolic Majesty Emperor FRANZ JOSEF I and on April 2, 1884 his kuk Highness Archduke CARL LUDWIG deigned to make the Sanitaets Station happy with their very highest visit. On May 1st, 1889, the company left this house to continue their profitable activities in their own home at 1.Stubenring 1 "

- Text of the memorial plaque in the Fleischmarkt house No. 1

A second medical station was set up in Giselastrasse 1 (today Bösendorferstrasse ; corner of Kärntner Strasse , near the Vienna State Opera ), also in the 1st district, and opened on May 20, 1885.

Despite the benevolence, the Emperor Franz Joseph I and other high-ranking personalities, for example Crown Prince Rudolf , Archduke Rainer , Archduke Wilhelm , Archduke Karl Ludwig , the German Empress Augusta , Ismail Pascha , King Milan of Serbia and the Japanese Crown Prince, the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society countered, this was hindered again and again in its development. The municipality of Vienna, for example, only granted a low subsidy when it was founded, which was later discontinued entirely. Parts of the medical profession initially saw the new organization as competition that harmed their own interests.

From 1886, stretchers were set up for public use in 20 busy places in the city, so that in an emergency, people who suddenly became ill or had an accident could have their means of transport available more quickly.

1889–1896: Stubenring central medical station

Central medical station Stubenring

Increasing space requirements in the two rescue stations on the Stubenring and in Giselastraße as well as the increasing burden from the rent ultimately led to the construction of the first rescue center.

In 1889 the central medical station at Stubenring 1 (the later construction site of the Austro-Hungarian War Ministry ) was opened. It was built by the city master builder Josef Tischler according to plans by the architect Ferdinand Hrach. Even before the completion of the central medical station, the two previous rescue stations were closed and temporarily housed in barracks near the future location.

On March 25, 1890, Emperor Franz Joseph I visited the new headquarters. In the same year, visits from Archduke Carl Ludwig, Crown Princess-widow Stephanie and the then Prince of Wales, Albert Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha, later King Edward VII followed. After his suicide , Jaromír Mundy was laid out here in 1894.

The incorporation of the suburbs in 1892 increased the area of ​​responsibility of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society. For this purpose, the staff in the central medical station was increased. A few barracks were provisionally set up as a branch .

The Viennese city building authority advised against the structural expansion of the medical center. This would fall victim to the construction of new traffic facilities in a few years anyway. The Vienna River was not fully regulated at the time, the Stubenring was not in its definitive position because the Franz-Joseph-Kaserne was still in the way on the other side of the street , and the Vienna light rail , which was supposed to cross under the property, had not yet been built.

At the beginning of 1896, the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society was informed that the area on which the Stubenring central medical station was located had to be completely cleared by the end of the year. The reason for this was the construction of the Vienna light rail .

Since 1897: Central medical station in Radetzkystraße

Central medical station in Radetzkystraße, still in operation today

On the intervention of Emperor Franz Joseph I , the Vienna City Expansion Fund made a park available on Radetzkystraße on the other side of the Wien River as a replacement plot of land. Like the first central medical station, this was also planned by Ferdinand Hrach . It was built by the Wiener Union-Baugesellschaft . On June 18, 1897, the new building in the 3rd district, Radetzkystraße 1 , in the immediate vicinity of the city center, was inaugurated. The consecration was carried out by titular Archbishop Eduard Angerer in the presence of the emperor and other high dignitaries. The station is still in operation today.

1900: Railway ambulance

With the opening of the Vienna Stadtbahn in 1900, the rescue company put into service a railway ambulance provided by the Ministry of Railways and adapted accordingly. This wagon, equipped with eight berths and medical equipment, was stationed as part of the technical relief train in the main customs office of the light rail, which is close to the central medical station. This railway ambulance should be used in the event of accidents on the Vienna light rail network. On November 21, 1900, this wagon was presented to the Imperial and Royal Prime Minister Ernest von Koerber , the Imperial and Royal Railway Minister Heinrich von Wittek , the Imperial and Royal Governor Erich Graf von Kielmansegg and other guests.

1905: First ambulance

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the rescue company, rescue equipment for the rescue of drowning people was installed in 1901 at nine locations on the Danube and the Danube Canal . In addition, metal panels with instructions on how to resuscitate drowning people were attached to houses.

In a meeting on September 30, 1903, due to the large spatial expansion of Vienna, it was decided to introduce automobiles on a trial basis, but also to set up branches in the outskirts. The first branch building was put into operation on February 1, 1905. On the same day, the new ambulance of the Austrian Daimler Motor Company in Wiener Neustadt , the first rescue vehicle, was put into service and stationed in the central medical station.

1905: Branch medical station Graf-Wilczek-Stiftungshaus

Branch medical station "Graf Hans Wilczek", Mariahilfer Gürtel, today the busiest rescue station in Vienna

Following a resolution of September 30, 1903, the first branch medical center was built on a building site on the Mariahilfer Gürtel according to plans by the architect Bernhard Pichler from Union-Baugesellschaft under the direction of the architect Humbert Walcher von Molthein . The groundbreaking took place on July 20, 1904, and on February 1, 1905, the building was handed over to the medical service.

Nathaniel Meyer von Rothschild , who repeatedly supported the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society with large sums of money and, like his successor Alfons von Rothschild, also provided it with the income from visiting his glass houses for years, also financially supported the establishment of this branch medical center.

Today's Mariahilf rescue station of the Viennese professional rescue service developed from the so-called Graf-Wilczek-Stiftungshaus . It is one of the most frequented rescue stations in Austria and is also in the top field in a European comparison.

On November 1, 1906, the Reich Ministry of War (as it was called until 1911) ordered military doctors undergoing training for practical training in first aid in the event of accidents to be assigned to the two medical stations of the rescue company on a rotating basis.

1914–1918: Aid in the First World War

During the First World War , in accordance with the agreement of December 1882 with the War Ministry , the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society organized both the transport of the wounded between the train stations, hospitals and medical facilities in Vienna and the provision of food for the wounded troops traveling through to the north-west station .

In addition, the rescue company organized its own hospital train with 138 places to bring the wounded from the war zone to hospitals in the hinterland. Count Hans Wilczek was in command of this hospital train. On a total of 165 trips, 44,821 wounded were transported and a distance of 159,640 kilometers was covered.

After the end of the war, clothing collections were organized for the needy and public feasts were held at the city ​​park .

1918–1938: financial problems

As a result of the dissolution of the monarchy , the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society lost numerous financially strong major donors, which brought the donation-dependent organization into economic difficulties. Negotiations about a takeover were held several times with the municipality of Vienna, but this was always rejected by the municipality. Only financial support was granted.

In 1922, the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society was reorganized as an association.

1938: Dissolution in the "Third Reich"

On March 16, 1938, all members of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society were asked to submit their own baptism certificates and those of their parents by March 31, 1938 for control. A ban on fundraising by clubs or associations brought the rescue society into difficulties.

By decision of the NS mayor Hermann Neubacher , the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society was taken over by the Viennese professional fire brigade on September 1, 1938, as was the municipal medical services (then Municipal Department 26) on October 15 of the same year . On April 1, 1940, the management of the rescue and medical service changed to the municipal administration of the Reichsgau Vienna Rescue Service to the Health Department of the City of Vienna.

Today, the rescue service is carried out by Municipal Department 70 - Vienna Professional Rescue .

Samaritan school

During the construction of the central medical station in Radetzkystraße, a lecture hall was also set up so that a Samaritan school could be set up. It was opened on November 23, 1897 with a lecture given by Friedrich von Esmarch .

The courses held here consisted of eight lectures. In addition to general instructions, their topics also specialized in the various occupational categories (firefighters, police officers, teachers, railway employees ...) and corresponding accidents and injuries typical of the profession.

Calls

The Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society provided help not only in Vienna, but also outside the city and abroad. Something like that

Subsidiaries

In its statutes, the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society set itself the goal of founding and promoting similar societies at other locations. For this purpose, fully equipped medical stations and medical vehicles were made available as gifts. Own functionaries helped the newly founded companies to overcome the initial problems.

This is the kind of start-up aid that goes on

  • September 13, 1890, founded the Prague Voluntary Rescue Service , the most
  • March 24, 1891, founded the medical department of the Brno gymnastics club , the most
  • June 5, 1891 Founded in Krakow Volunteer Rescue Association , which on
  • 16 June 1891, founded tri Volunteer Rescue Association , which on
  • March 20, 1893, founded Lemberger Volunteer Rescue Association , which on
  • Innsbruck Voluntary Rescue Society founded on July 21, 1893 and the on
  • The Abbazian Voluntary Rescue Society founded on January 10, 1894 and the on
  • Budapest Voluntary Rescue Society founded May 9, 1896 back.

To a lesser extent, volunteer rescue departments and voluntary rescue companies in Amsterdam, Baden, Bielitz, Budweis, Bucharest, Chernivtsi, Frankfurt am Main, Helsinki, Johannesburg, Kiev, Klagenfurt, Copenhagen, Korneuburg, Laibach, Linz, Odessa, Reichenberg, Salzburg, St. Petersburg, Sao Paulo, Teplitz-Schönau, Troppau, Warsaw and others supported in their creation.

public relation

Presentation of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society in Paris, 1900

While the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society was denied public recognition for its achievements for a long time, it has repeatedly earned praise for its presentations at various international exhibitions.

  • 1882: Exhibition of the Agricultural Society in Vienna
  • 1883: Hygienic Exhibition in Berlin - International Electrical Exhibition in Vienna - Pharmaceutical Exhibition in Vienna
  • 1888: Lower Austrian trade exhibition in Vienna
  • 1890: Agriculture and forestry exhibition in Vienna
  • 1892: Music and theater exhibition in Vienna
  • 1894: Exhibition for people's food and army food in Vienna
  • 1898: Jubilee exhibition in Vienna
  • 1900: Exhibition for nursing in Frankfurt am Main - world exhibition in Paris
  • 1901: Exhibition for fire protection and fire rescue in Berlin
  • 1902: Exhibition for fire protection and fire rescue in Salzburg
  • 1904: Exhibition for alcohol recycling and fermentation trade in Vienna - apprentice exhibition in Vienna
  • 1906: Road vehicle exhibition in Vienna - Hygienic exhibition in Vienna - Anniversary exhibition in Bucharest - International exhibition in Milan

In all of these exhibitions, the company was awarded prizes and honorary degrees.

In the literature

  • In the social democratic " Arbeiter-Zeitung " of December 25, 1896, Max Winter published a summary of his experiences on December 23, which he spent with the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society, under the title Imzeichen der rothen Lanterne - a day at the rescue company .
  • In the book Among the Homeless of Messina - From the diaries of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society, published by Moritz Perles in 1910, the doctor Isidor Rosner describes the rescue society's relief operation between January 3 and 31, 1909 after the earthquake in Sicily.
  • In February 1912 Karl Kraus published the article I call the rescue company in the “Fackel” . In it he asks whether the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society pays a tombstone or not to a young suicide who previously bequeathed her entire fortune in her will.
  • In the 1950 novel We Come - A Historical Novel by the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society, Irmengard Stuppöck describes the development of the rescue society from its foundation to the Second World War based on actual history.

Appreciation

  • In 1887 Johann Strauss composed the March Volunteers for the rescue company .
  • In 1981 the Post issued a special stamp to mark the 100th anniversary of the medical service in Vienna.
  • In 2009 the district museum in Landstrasse organized an exhibition of historical photos of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society
  • Several traffic areas are named after members of the rescue company: Wilczekgasse and Mundygasse in Favoriten , Lamezanstrasse in Liesing and Charasgasse in Landstrasse .

Others

swell

  • Festschrift of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society, published on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, December 9, 1906 , published by the Wiener Freiwilligen Rettungs-Gesellschaft, Vienna 1906
  • Sabine Rethi: Wiener Freiwillige Rettungsgesellschaft , diploma thesis on obtaining the Magistrate degree in philosophy, submitted to the humanities faculty of the University of Vienna, Vienna 1998
  • Isidor Rosner: Among the homeless of Messina - From the diaries of the Vienna Voluntary Rescue Society , Moritz Perles, Vienna 1910

Web links

Commons : Wiener Freiwillige Rettungsgesellschaft  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ^ Austria Forum
  2. ^ Daily newspaper Neue Freie Presse , Vienna, June 18, 1897, Abendblatt, pp. 1–2
  3. http://wien.orf.at/stories/359983  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / wien.orf.at  
  4. http://www.goldenindex.com/homepage.jsp?c=6710
  5. 01.htm | Transcription  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. or facsimile .@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.max-winter.org  
  6. Karl Kraus - satire: I call the rescue company
  7. Wiener Rettung celebrates its 125th anniversary , accessed on January 31, 2010.
  8. 100 years of medical rescue service in Vienna  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the online shop of Österreichische Post AG - Philately Shop , accessed on January 31, 2010@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.post.at