Karl König (25 September 1902 – 27 March 1966) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

paediatrician Pediatrics (American and British English differences, also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United King ...

who founded the Camphill Movement, an international movement of therapeutic

intentional communities An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

for those with special needs or disabilities.

Biography

Karl König with his professors in Vienna, 1925

König was born in

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

, in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, on 25 September 1902, the only son of a Jewish

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

. He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

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 histor ...

and graduated in 1927 with a special interest in

embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, '' -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...

. After graduating, he was invited by

Ita Wegman Ita Wegman (22 February 1876 – 4 March 1943) co-founded Anthroposophical Medicine with Rudolf Steiner. In 1921, she founded the first anthroposophical medical clinic in Arlesheim, known until 2014 as the Ita Wegman Clinic. She also developed a s ...

to work in her Klinisch-Therapeutisches Institut, an

institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

for people with

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...

Arlesheim Arlesheim is a town and a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Its cathedral chapter seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He married Mathilde Maasberg in 1929. König was appointed paediatrician at the

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a ...

-inspired Schloß Pilgrimshain institute in

Strzegom Strzegom (german: Striegau) is a town in Świdnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Strzegom administrative district (gmina). It lies approximately north-west of Świdnica, and west of th ...

, where he worked until 1936 when he returned to Vienna and set up a successful medical practice. In 1938 he was forced to flee Vienna due to

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

's invasion of Austria and relocated, at Dr. Wegman's suggestion, to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, where she had friends who could help recommence his work. He was briefly

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

due to the outbreak of World War II, but on his release in 1940, he set up the first Camphill Community for Children in Need of Special Care at Camphill, by

Milltimber Milltimber is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen city centre. From 1854 to 1937 the area was served by Milltimber railway station on the Aberdeen suburban railway. Along with the nearby settlements of Cults and Bieldside, ...

, on the outskirts of

. At this time, he was supported also by

George MacLeod George Fielden MacLeod, Baron MacLeod of Fuinary, (17 June 1895 – 27 June 1991) was a Scottish soldier and clergyman; he was one of the best known, most influential and unconventional Church of Scotland ministers of the 20th century. He ...

, founder of the

Iona Community The Iona Community, founded in 1938 by George MacLeod, is an ecumenical Christian community of men and women from different walks of life and different traditions within Christianity. It and its publishing house, Wild Goose Publications, are hea ...

. From the mid-1950s, König set up more communities, including the first to care for those with special needs beyond school age in North Yorkshire. During this time, he worked with pioneering music therapist

Maria Schüppel Maria Schüppel (1923 – 27 June 2011) was a German composer, educator, pianist and pioneering music therapist who composed works for lyre and voice, and experimented with electronic music. Schüppel was born in Chemnitz. After her father’s ...

. In 1964, König moved to Brachenreuthe, near

Überlingen Überlingen is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second largest city in the Bodenseekreis (district), and a cent ...

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

, Germany, where he set up a community. He died there in 1966. Karl König Institute & Archive

An archive of his writings is held by the Karl König Institute, a non-profit organisation in Berlin. CC BY-SA icon

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(unversioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts).

References

Jackson, Robin (2022) "Karl and Tilla König and the creation of the Camphill Movement". British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2), 188-198.

Bibliography

* Berger, Manfred: Karl König - Sein Leben und Wirken, In: heilpaedagogik.de, 18 2003/H. 3, S. 21-24 * Jackson, Robin: Holistic Special Education: Camphill Principles and Practice. Edinburgh : Floris Books. 2006. . * Jackson, Robin: The Camphill Movement: the vision of Karl Konig. ''Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice'', 19(3), 45–48. 2006 * Jackson, Robin: Dr Karl Konig: a brief survey of his extraordinary early years. 'Scottish Medical Journal', 59(2): 122–125. 2014. * Jackson, Robin: Karl Konig: the Austrian refugee doctor who founded a worldwide movement in Scotland. 'Scottish Medical Journal', 58(2): 124–127. 2013. * Jackson, Robin: Karl Konig, Stanley Segal and Herbert Gunzburg: pioneers in the field of intellectual disability. 'International Journal of Developmental Disabilities', 59(1): 47–60. 2013. * Müller-Wiedemann, Hans: Karl König: e. mitteleuropäische Biographie im 20. Jahrhundert. Stuttgart : Verl. Freies Geistesleben, 1992. * Schmalenbach, Bernhard: König, Karl. In: Plato, Bodo von (Hrsg.): Anthroposophie im 20. Jahrhundert : ein Kulturimpuls in biografischen Porträts. Dornach : Verlag am Goetheanum, 2003. * Selg, Peter: Anfänge anthroposophischer Heilkunst. Ita Wegman, Friedrich Husemann, Eugen Kolisko, Frederik Willem Zeylmans van Emmichoven, Karl König, Gerhard Kienle. (Pioniere der Anthroposophie; Band 18). Dornach: Philosophisch-Anthroposophischer Verlag am Goetheanum, 2000. * Selg, Peter: (Ed.) ''Karl König’s Path into

. Reflections from his Diaries.'' Floris Books, Edinburgh 2008 * Selg, Peter: (Ed.) ''

and Karl König. Letters and Documents'', Floris Books, Edinburgh 2008. * Selg, Peter: (Ed.) ''Karl König: My Task: Autobiography and Biographies'', Floris Books, Edinburgh 2008. * Selg, Peter: (Ed.) ''Karl König: The Child with Special Needs: Letters and Essays on Curative Education'', Floris Books, Edinburgh 2009. * Karl König: Die ersten drei Jahre des Kindes, Verlag Freies Geistesleben, Stuttgart, Zeist 1977, , {{DEFAULTSORT:Konig, Karl 1902 births 1966 deaths Physicians from Vienna Anthroposophists Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United Kingdom after the Anschluss Austrian pediatricians University of Vienna alumni People associated with Aberdeen Anthroposophic medicine practitioners Internments by the United Kingdom

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography