Alsergrund (Wien) - Julius-Tandler-Gedenktafel

Julius Tandler (February 16, 1869 – August 25, 1936) was an Austrian physician and Social Democratic politician, whose research secured him a lasting place in the history of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

. His main claim to fame was his ambition to introduce a comprehensive system of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

and social services in the

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

municipality in the interwar years.

Life

Born in

Jihlava Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihlava ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

, Tandler attended the Gymnasium Wasagasse in the Vienna

Alsergrund Alsergrund (; Central Bavarian: ''Oisagrund'') is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (german: 9. Bezirk, Alsergrund). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs ...

district. From 1910 he served as Professor of Anatomy at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

; during World War I from 1914 to 1917 he was Dean of the Medical Faculty. After the war, he worked at the Office for Public Health and from 1920 as Health Care Councillor of the City of Vienna, fighting against widespread

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. Tandler became an elected member of the

Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

in 1925. In the early 1930s, he also was a consultant for the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. Increasingly the target of antisemitic invectives, Tandler after the Austrian Civil War (''Februarkämpfe'') of 1934 and the rise of

Austrofascism The Fatherland Front ( de-AT, Vaterländische Front, ''VF'') was the right-wing conservative, nationalist and corporatist ruling political organisation of the Federal State of Austria. It claimed to be a nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack ...

was forced to quit his job. He emigrated to China and in 1936 followed a call to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

to be an advisor in the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

hospital reform, but died there the same year. His ashes were returned to Vienna and buried at Feuerhalle Simmering in 1950.

Reception

Tandler was a leading anatomist of the Vienna University; he is also considered one of the architects of

Red Vienna Red Vienna ( German: ''Rotes Wien'') was the colloquial name for the capital of Austria between 1918 and 1934, when the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (SDAP) maintained almost unilateral political control over Vienna and, for a sho ...

and the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

welfare state. He promoted family planning and

marital therapy Couples therapy (also couples' counseling, marriage counseling, or marriage therapy) attempts to improve romantic relationships and resolve interpersonal conflicts. History Marriage counseling originated in Germany in the 1920s as part of the eu ...

, while on the other hand, he vehemently advocated

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior o ...

policies and proposed the sterilisation or extermination of "unworthy life" (''unwertes Leben''). The square in front of Vienna Franz Josef Station in Vienna-Alsergrund is named "Julius-Tandler-Platz", and a student residence in the

Döbling Döbling () is the 19th District in the city of Vienna, Austria (german: 19. Bezirk, Döbling, Doebling). It is located on the north end from the central districts, north of the districts Alsergrund and Währing. Döbling has some heavily populate ...

district is named "Julius-Tandler-Heim".

Selected works

* '' Anatomie des Herzens'', 1913 - Anatomy of the heart. * ''Die biologischen Grundlagen der sekundären Geschlechtscharaktere'', 1913 - The biological basis of secondary sexual characteristics. * ''Topographie dringlicher Operationen'', 1916. * ''Lehrbuch der systematischen Anatomie'', four volumes 1918-24 - Textbook of systematic anatomy. * ''Das Wohlfahrtsamt der Stadt Wien'', 1931 - Welfare of the city of Vienna.Biography and photo
@ aeiou Encyclopedia

Sources

Felix Czeike Felix Czeike (21 August 1926 – 23 April 2006) was an Austrian historian and popular educator. He was an author and partly also editor of numerous publications on the history of Vienna and was the director of the . His main work is the six-volume ...

: ''Historisches Lexikon Wien'', vol.5 (Kremayr & Scheriau: Vienna, 1997), . * ''"Julius Tandler"'', in: Gerhard Heindl (ed.), ''Wissenschaft und Forschung in Österreich: Exemplarische Leistungen österreichischer Naturforscher, Techniker und Mediziner'' (Frankfurt am Main, 2000) 89-104. * ''"Zur Umsetzung und Verbreitung von eugenischem/rassenhygienischem Gedankengut in Österreich bis 1934 unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Wiens"'', in: Sonia Horn (ed.), ''Medizin im Nationalsozialismus—Wege der Aufarbeitung'' (Vienna, 2001) 99-127. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tandler, Julius 1869 births 1936 deaths 19th-century Austrian people 20th-century Austrian people 19th-century Czech people Austrian politicians Austrian public health doctors People from Jihlava Burials at Feuerhalle Simmering