Oskar Fehr (9 October 1871 – 1 August 1959) was a German
ophthalmologist
Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...
. Among his medical specialties were swimming pool
conjunctivitis, tumours of the eye, and
retinal detachment
Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...
. He was an internationally renowned eye surgeon.
Life
Fehr was born in
Braunschweig to a
Jewish family. He studied in
Heidelberg,
Berlin, and
Kiel, receiving his
doctorate at Heidelberg in 1897.
From 1897 to 1906, he was assistant
physician at the eye clinic of
Julius Hirschberg
Julius Hirschberg (18 September 1843 – 17 February 1925) was a German ophthalmologist and medical historian. He was of Jewish ancestry.
In 1875, Hirschberg coined the term "campimetry" for the measurement of the visual field on a flat surfac ...
(1843–1925) in Berlin. From 1907, he was head
physician at the department of
eye diseases at the
Rudolf Virchow Hospital. He received the title of
professor in 1919. Besides his work in the hospital, he had a large private practice in the western part of Berlin, close to the
Tiergarten.
In 1934, Fehr was forbidden to enter the clinic where he had worked for more than 25 years. He continued his private practice and operated in different nursing homes. When Jewish doctors were prohibited to treat gentiles in 1938, he was one of the few who were allowed to remain in practice as “Judenbehandler” (“Jew treater”). Fehr decided to emigrate with his family to the United Kingdom in 1939, and was assisted in this by
Frank Foley
Major Francis "Frank" Edward Foley CMG (24 November 1884 – 8 May 1958) was a British Secret Intelligence Service officer. As a passport control officer for the British embassy in Berlin, Foley " bent the rules" and helped thousands ...
. He attended the
University of Edinburgh to prepare for the exams required for practice in the UK. After passing his exams in 1942/43, he began private practice in London in July 1943, continuing until 1955 when his second heart attack forced him to retire. He became a British citizen in 1947. He died in London on 1 August 1959.
Sources
* Jokl A.: The life of Oscar FEHR. Am J Ophthalmol. 1962 Dec;54:1011-9.
* Amm M, Holubar K.:
ementos of the Berlin-Jewish ophthalmologist Oskar Fehr (1871-1959)Eine Spurensuche die in Wien begann: Der Berliner jüdische Augenartz Oskar Fehr (1871 – 1959) Wien Klin Wochenschr. 1999 Jun 18;111(12):488-91
External links
Reference in whonamedit
1871 births
1959 deaths
German ophthalmologists
Physicians from Braunschweig
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom
{{Germany-med-bio-stub