Dr. Hans Müller (13 January 1915 – 4 December 1994, ) was a German-born

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

physician who immigrated to China and made contributions to improving health care in China over several decades. Müller contributed in the research effort into hepatitis B and development of a vaccine, in addition, he became the Vice President of Beijing Medical University in China. Müller was also elected a member of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

Early life

Hans Müller was born in

Düsseldorf-Golzheim Golzheim is a quarter of Düsseldorf in Borough 1 on the Rhine, just north of the city center. It is primarily a business and hotel district, but retains some of the old stately villas. History The oldest parts of Düsseldorf are to be found ...

, Germany as the only child of Henriette Müller née Ballin (a niece of the shipping magnate

Albert Ballin Albert Ballin (15 August 1857 – 9 November 1918) was a German shipping magnate. He was the general director of the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) or Hamburg-America Line, which for a time was the world's largest ...

, died 1949) and Simon Fred Müller (died 1952). His father owned an electrical goods factory in Düsseldorf. Because he was Jewish, Simon Fred Müller was held captive in the

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

from 1942 to 1945. Because it was difficult for a Jewish student to go to a German university at the time, Müller went to Switzerland to do so. Hans Müller went to study medicine at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

. At the University of Basel, he met a Chinese student named Chiang Zhaoxian, who told Müller about China, its culture, history and ongoing events.

Career

Hans Müller left Switzerland in April 1939 after receiving his doctorate and traveled to Hong Kong via Marseille. During June and July of the same year, he made his way to

Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...

via Nanning, Guiyang, Chongqing, Chengdu, Baoji, and Xi'an. In Yan'an, he met with

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

and worked in the emergency room of the International Peace Hospital. He held medical posts in the

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially titled as the List of Army Groups of the National Revolutionary Army, 18th Group Army, was a Field army, group army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of Ch ...

and the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

, training many doctors.Pan Guang, Jews in China, China Intercontinental Press, 2005 After the war, he held a position in the Changchun Hospital. The further stages of his career were an appointment as Professor at the Shenyang Medical College, where he later served Dean and head of pediatrics, an appointment as Professor of Internal Medicine at Beijing's Jishuitan Hospital, and finally vice president of

Beijing Medical University Peking University Health Science Center is the medical school of Peking University, which has 14 affiliated hospitals in Beijing, China. It was formerly the independent Beijing Medical University between 1952 and 2000. History It was first esta ...

. He conducted research in the areas of

pediatric medicine Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

and

hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...

Honors and awards

* 1989: Outstanding International Medical Worker (Presented by the PRC Ministry of Health)

Personal

Müller was married in 1949 to Kyoko Nakamura (中村京子) a Japanese nurse with whom he had a daughter (Mimi Müller, 米米, born 1950) and a son (Dehua Muller, born 1953). He became a Chinese citizen in 1950. In 1994, Müller died in China after a long history of heart disease. Müller is buried at the

Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery The Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery () is Beijing's main resting place for the highest-ranking revolutionary heroes, high-ranking government officials and, in recent years, individuals deemed of major importance due to their contributions to soc ...

in Beijing.

Legacy

His personal artifacts have been donated to the Anti-Japanese War Museum in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China.

References

External links

Maine University. 2008. Photo of tomb of Dr. Hans Müller at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing, China. Photo taken by Marilyn Shea.

GLOBALink , "I am an American, I also want to become a CPC member"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Hans 1915 births 1994 deaths Scientists from Düsseldorf Chinese paediatricians Eighth Route Army surgeons German emigrants to China Naturalized citizens of the People's Republic of China German Ashkenazi Jews Chinese Jews Chinese people of German-Jewish descent Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery University of Basel alumni