Krehl, Ludolf von (ennobled 1904)

Internist, founder of anthropological medicine, honorary citizen

Born: 26.12.1861 in Leipzig

Died: 26.05.1937 in Heidelberg

After studying medicine (doctorate in 1886) and working as an assistant in Leipzig (habilitation in 1888), Krehl worked at the polyclinics in Jena and Marburg and took up professorships in Greifswald, Tübingen and Strasbourg. In 1907, he was called to Heidelberg and worked until 1931 as Professor of Special Pathology and Therapy and as Director of the Heidelberg University Medical Clinic. During the First World War, he also held the post of Surgeon General of the 5th Army. From 1930-37, he was director of the Institute of Pathology and overall director of the newly founded Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg (now the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research).

Ludolf von Krehl was a member of the Nazi Teachers' Association from 1933. After the National Socialists "seized power" in 1933, von Krehl and his colleague Richard Siebeck successfully appealed against the dismissal of the serologist Hans Sachs at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg.716 Sachs was, however, retired in 1935 due to his Jewish descent.

His main scientific work, "Pathological Physiology", was a guide to the exact scientific foundations of clinical medicine for many generations of doctors.

Through his many years of work for the Congress of Internists, Krehl was closely associated with Wiesbaden. From 1911, he was chairman of the German Society for Internal Medicine, which organized the congress every year; it honoured Krehl with honorary membership in 1932 for his many years of service. In the same year, the city of Wiesbaden made him an honorary citizen. Krehl continued to work even after his retirement (1931); he was honored with the title of Privy Councillor, among others.

As early as 1904, he was awarded personal nobility by the Württemberg royal family and was also awarded honorary doctorates from almost all faculties. He gave his name to one of the medical university clinics in Heidelberg (now the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences). The city of Wiesbaden has named a street after him.

[This text was created in 2012 by Dr. Rolf Faber for the printed version of the Wiesbaden City Dictionary and revised and supplemented by Lena Böschemeyer in 2023]