Herbert Meinhard Mühlpfordt (31 March 1893 – 9 October 1982) was a German internist,

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, and

cultural historian Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

Life

Mühlpfordt was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, to dentist Meinhard Mühlpfordt and Clara Mühlpfordt (''née'' Adloff). He attended the

Collegium Fridericianum The Collegium Fridericianum (also known as the Friedrichskolleg, Friedrichskollegium, and Friedrichs-Kollegium) was a prestigious gymnasium in Königsberg, Prussia. Alumni were known as ''Friderizianer''.Gause, p. 716 History Postcard ca. 1930 ...

where he completed 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 ...

. Mühlpfordt studied medicine, literature, and art history at

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

(1912),

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

(1912–13), and the

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

(1913–14). After serving 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 ...

from 1914 to 1918, he completed his

Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, teachers, pharmacists, food chemists, psychotherapists and jurists (i.e., lawyers, judges, public ...

in 1920 and received his doctorate in medicine in 1921. Mühlpfordt worked 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 ...

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 ...

, in Allenstein (Olsztyn) (1922), and as chief of dermatology at St. Marien-Hospital in Allenstein (1929–37). In 1937 he opened his own practice in Königsberg. During

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 ...

Mühlpfordt served as a physician (Stabsarzt and Oberstabsarzt) in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

from 1939 until his discharge for health reasons in 1944. From January 1945 until April he tended to refugees in Pillau (Baltiysk) and the

Vistula Spit The Vistula Spit ( pl, Mierzeja Wiślana; russian: Балтийская коса; german: Frische Nehrung) is an aeolian sand spit, or peninsular stretch of land that separates Vistula Lagoon from Gdańsk Bay, in the Baltic Sea, with its tip sep ...

during the

evacuation of East Prussia The evacuation of East Prussia was the movement of German civilian population and military personnel from East Prussia between 20 January and March 1945, that was initially organized and carried out by state authorities but quickly turned into ...

. On 16 April he took a refugee transport to

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

. He settled in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, where he maintained his practice until 1959. Aside from his medical practice, Mühlpfordt also wrote about the

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

of East and

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

, especially his hometown Königsberg, contributing to newspapers, journals, and his own reference works. He also wrote a novel about

Wilhelmine The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm' ...

Königsberg, ''Der Goldene Ball, Ein Familienroman unserer Zeit''. Mühlpfordt was recognized by the Historische Kommission für ost- und westpreußische Landesforschung in 1969, received the Goldene Ehrennadel of the

Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen The Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen ("Homeland Association of East Prussia") is a non-profit organization for Germans who were evacuated or expelled from East Prussia during World War II and its aftermath. It was formed on 3 October 1948 by East P ...

in 1970, and received the Bürgermedaille of the Stadtgemeinschaft Königsberg in 1977. He died in Lübeck.

Selected works

*''Welche Mitbürger hat Königsberg öffentlich geehrt?'' (1963) *''Königsberger Leben in Bräuchen und Volkstum'' (1968) *''Königsberger Skulpturen und ihre Meister 1255–1945'' (1970) *''Königsberg von A-Z. Ein Stadtlexikon'' (1972) *''Königsberger Leben im Rokoko. Bedeutende Zeitgenossen Kants'' (1981)

References

External links

Kulturportal West-Ost
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlpfordt, Herbert Meinhard 1893 births 1982 deaths 20th-century German historians Cultural historians German art historians German dermatologists German medical writers German military personnel of World War I German Army officers of World War II Historians of Germany German military doctors Physicians from Königsberg People from East Prussia Physicians from Lübeck University of Freiburg alumni University of Königsberg alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni German male non-fiction writers Writers from Königsberg