Fritz Kahn (29 September 1888 – 14 January 1968) was a German-Jewish physician who published popular science books and is known for his illustrations, which pioneered

infographics Infographics (a clipped compound of "information" and "graphics") are graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly.Doug Newsom and Jim Haynes (2004). ''Public Relations Wri ...

Biography

Fritz Kahn was born in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

, Germany, the son of Arthur Kahn, a physician and author, and Hedwig Kahn, ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Schmuhl. His father emigrated to the USA shortly after his birth, settling in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

. Around 1893, after establishing his practise, he sent for his wife and son, and Fritz Kahn started school there. The family later moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, but in 1895 his mother returned to Germany with her three children. They spent time in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and again in Halle before moving to

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

with Arthur Kahn after his return from the US, then finally in 1905 moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where Kahn took his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

at the ''Sophiengymnasium''; he also served as an instructor in classes for workers. Kahn studied medicine at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

beginning in 1907, passing the state examination to become an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

in 1912/13. His studies focused on

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

, but he also studied a variety of scientific and philosophical subjects, worked at an institute of

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

, and wrote articles for the popular science magazine ''Kosmos''. Around 1930 he went on geological expeditions to Palestine and the

Polar circle A polar circle is a geographic term for a conditional circular line (arc) referring either to the Arctic Circle or the Antarctic Circle. These are two of the keynote circles of latitude (parallels). On Earth, the Arctic Circle is currently ...

. In 1932, after suffering from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

for a month, he traveled to the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

to study the desert. In 1933,

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

propaganda caused him to close his medical practice and his books were publicly burned. He

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Palestine with his family, settling first in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, then in Jerusalem. He wrote newspaper articles on contemporary issues and in 1934 exhibited in Jerusalem on ''The Hygiene of the School Child''. He divorced his wife and in 1937 married Erna Schnabel, cousin of pianist

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...

and a singer and music teacher, after which he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he fled to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. In 1940 he was interned by the French as an

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

. His wife secured his release and the couple fled to Spain and Portugal. He was one of the Jewish refugees assisted by the US agent

Varian Fry Varian Mackey Fry (October 15, 1907 – September 13, 1967) was an American journalist. Fry ran a rescue network in Vichy France that helped approximately 2,000 to 4,000 anti-Nazi and Jewish refugees to escape Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. ...

;"Dreaming the Industrial Body: Fritz Kahn's Modernist Physiology"
History of Medicine Division,

United States National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. Its ...

. in early 1941, with the help of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

, they were able to emigrate to the USA,"Im Inneren der Menschmaschine"
Einestages, ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', 8 October 2010 where they settled in Manhattan. After the war, Kahn spent several long periods in Europe between 1948 and 1950, among other places in

Ascona 300px, Ascona Ascona ( lmo, label= Ticinese, Scona ) is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The town is a popular tourist destination and holds the yea ...

, but when it seemed unlikely he would soon be able to return there permanently, he once more settled in New York. He had a house in Atlantic Beach, Long Island and a studio in

. After his wife left him, he lived with Ellen Fussing, a Danish-American colleague, with whom he finally returned to Europe. Until 1960 they lived primarily in Switzerland, among other places in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

. In 1960, on vacation in

Agadir Agadir ( ar, أݣادير, ʾagādīr; shi, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ) is a major city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean, and south ...

, he survived a serious earthquake unharmed—in a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

. He was evacuated to Denmark with Fussing, settled in

North Zealand North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...

, and in 1962 opened a studio in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

.Kahn traveled to Ascona in fall 1967 for health reasons; on 14 January 1968, he died in a clinic in

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...

Medical career

From 1914 to 1922, he worked as a surgeon,

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined area ...

, and

obstetrical Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgic ...

aide at a clinic. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as a medic, among other postings in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

, and Northern Italy. In 1918 he was invalided out on grounds of undernourishment and overwork and was cared for by an Italian farming family. After the war ended, he went to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

to recuperate. After returning to Berlin and resuming practice as a physician, he married Irma Glogau in 1920. Around 1921 he traveled to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, where he bought land on

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...

and in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In 1922, he opened a private practise as a gynecologist. In 1926, he advised on Jewish health for the ''GeSoLei'' exhibition on health, social welfare, and exercise in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and was one of the organizers of the Berlin exhibition on nutrition.

Literary career

In late 1938, shortly after

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...

, Kahn's books were placed on the list of "damaging and undesirable writing" and in addition his book on sexuality, ''Unser Geschlechtsleben'', was banned by the police and all available copies destroyed. His illustrations were used in works by , a Nazi-endorsed medical writer. Through the use of often startling metaphors, both verbal and visual, Kahn succeeded in making complex principles of nature and technology comprehensible to a person of average education.Hans-Joachim Müller
"Die ganze Welt passt in ein Schaubild"
Feuilleton, ''

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

'', 8 October 2013 For example, he compared the ear to an automobile. Some of his images foretell the future: for example the "physician of the future" "remotely monitoring his patient's health from his desktop with the aid of various applets". Many are simply "arresting because

hey are Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * Hey (Andreas Bourani album), ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * Hey! (Julio Iglesias album), ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the ti ...

drastically extreme visualizations": for example, "In 70 Jahren isst der Mensch 1400-mal sein Gewicht" (In 70 years a person will eat 1,400 times his weight) - which includes 40,000 cigars. Some of his drawings are inaccurate; when a friend pointed out one error, he responded: "Na ja, falsch ist es schon, aber verständlich!" ("Yup, it's wrong, but it's understandable!") His series ''Das Leben des Menschen'' (Human Life) was a best-seller. He continued to publish in exile and was included in ''Who's Who'' in the USA in the mid-1950s, but in Germany he was largely forgotten after the banning of his books. Kahn described the human body as "the most competent machine in the world", and his work reflects the technical and cultural state of development of Germany during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

. He himself did not draw well; the illustrations were made by others on his instructions. In Berlin, New York, and Copenhagen, he established studios for this purpose. His analogies between humans and machines have been interpreted by some artists, including

Herbert Bayer Herbert Bayer (April 5, 1900 – September 30, 1985) was an Austrian and American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental and interior designer, and architect. He was instrumental in the development of the ...

and

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...

. His graphics have also inspired some modern work, such as a trailer for the 2007

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

and the ad for the music program ''Vamos Falar de Música'' on

MTV Brasil MTV Brasil was a Brazilian over-the-air television network owned by Grupo Abril focused on the youth. The network was launched on 20 October 1990, as the first specialty television network to broadcast over-the-air, becoming the local version ...

. In 2009 the designer Henning Lederer animated Kahn's "Der Mensch als Industriepalast" (Man as Industrial Palace) as part of a final student project, attracting online attention. As pioneering work in infographics, Kahn's illustrations were returned to public attention in 2009 by Uta and Thilo von Debschitz's monograph ''Fritz Kahn – Man Machine / Maschine Mensch'', and the first exhibition of his work was held in 2010 at the at the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

.Ulrich Kühne
"Der Mensch als Industriepalast"

Heise Heise may refer to: People with the surname * Bob Heise (born 1947), American Major League Baseball player * David R. Heise (born 1937), American sociologist * Geoff Heise, American actor * Georg Arnold Heise (1778–1851), an influential Germa ...

Online, 4 February 2010 Notes and drafts for Kahn's unfinished book ''The Natural History of Palestine'' are preserved in the Arthur and Fritz Kahn Collection at the Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History in New York.

Published works

* ''Das Versehen der Schwangeren in Volksglaube und Dichtung''. Frankfurt: Sauerländer, 1912. Dissertation, University of Berlin. * ''Die Milchstraße''. ''Kosmos'', 1914 * ''Die Zelle''. ''Kosmos'', 1919 * ''Die Juden als Rasse und Kulturvolk''. Berlin: Welt, 1920 * ''Das Leben des Menschen''. 5 vols. Stuttgart: Franckh’sche Verlagshandlung, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1929, 1931 * ''Unser Geschlechtsleben – ein Führer und Berater für jedermann''. Rüschlikon/Zurich: Albert Müller, 1937 * ''Der Mensch gesund und krank''. 2 vols. Zurich/Leipzig: Albert Müller, 1939 * ''Der Mensch, Bau und Funktionen unseres Körpers''. Rüschlikon/Zurich: Albert Müller, 1940 * ''Man in Structure and Function''. Tr. and ed. George Rosen. New York: Knopf, 1943.Logan Clendening
"Guide and Chart for the Human Interior; MAN IN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. By Fritz Kahn, M.D. Translated from the German and edited by George Rosen, M.D."
Book review, ''The New York Times'', 4 April 1943. * ''First Aid – Popular''. New York: Krause, 1942 * ''Man in Structure and Function''. 2 vols. New York: Knopf, 1943 * ''Das Atom – endlich verständlich''. Zurich: Albert Müller, 1949 * ''Das Buch der Natur''. 2 vols. Rüschlikon/Zurich: Albert Müller, 1952 * ''Design of the Universe: The Heavens and the Earth''. New York: Crown, 1954 * ''Die Weltuhr – aus der Geschichte des Erdballs''. Lux Lesebogen 209. Murnau: Lux, 1955 * ''Vogelvolk – vom Ur-Vogel bis zum Adler''. Lux Lesebogen 219. Murnau: Lux, 1956 * ''Muss Liebe blind sein – Schule des Liebes- und Eheglücks'', Albert Müller, Rüschlikon-Zürich 1957 * ''Sternenrätsel – von der Arbeit des Astronomen'', Lux Lesebogen Nr. 237, Murnau 1957 * ''Die neun Planeten – Kinder der Sonne''. Lux Lesebogen 247. Murnau: Lux, 1957 * ''Kräfte der Natur – Winde, Wolken, Wüsten''. Lux Lesebogen 262. Murnau: Lux, 1958 * ''The Human Body''. New York: Random House, 1965

References

External links

at the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...