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

internist Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of th ...

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, and cultural historian.

Life

Mühlpfordt was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

, to dentist Meinhard Mühlpfordt and Clara Mühlpfordt (''née'' Adloff). He attended the Collegium Fridericianum 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 or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

(1912),

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(1912–13), and the Albertina (1913–14). After serving in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from 1914 to 1918, he completed his Staatsexamen 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 Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

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 during the

evacuation of East Prussia German civilian population and military personnel were evacuated from East Prussia between 20 January and March 1945. The evacuation was initially organized and carried out by Nazi Germany, state authorities but quickly turned into a chaotic fli ...

. On 16 April he took a refugee transport to

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...

. He settled in

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, 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 history, cultural and social history, social aspects of history. Local history is not mer ...

of East and

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...

, especially his hometown Königsberg, contributing to newspapers, journals, and his reference works. He also wrote a novel about Wilhelmine 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 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 Physicians from Königsberg Writers from Königsberg People from East Prussia 20th-century German historians Cultural historians German art historians German dermatologists German medical writers German male non-fiction writers Historians of Germany German military doctors University of Freiburg alumni University of Königsberg alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni German military personnel of World War I German Army officers of World War II