Hermann Julius Gustav Wächter (1878 – c. 1944) was a German

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

remembered for describing Bracht-Wachter bodies in

infective endocarditis Infective endocarditis is an infection of the inner surface of the heart (endocardium), usually the heart valve, valves. Signs and symptoms may include fever, petechia, small areas of bleeding into the skin, heart murmur, feeling tired, and anem ...

Death

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 ...

, Wächter was enlisted by the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

to cure and alleviate depressed soldiers stationed on the front lines, however, he refused many times. In 1944, he was told that he and his family would be killed if he did not do as he was ordered, so he gave in and was assigned to Crucifix Hill. It is said that he did little to help the soldiers, but devoted most of his time to tending to the prisoners. He was declared a traitor and was to be killed by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, but on October 8, 1944, while the Germans were fighting American forces, American bombers dropped tons of bombs on the hill. Apparently, Wächter was killed among others listed in the Waffen-SS defending the hill. His body was never found.Barry G. Firkin, Judith A. Whitworth. ''Dictionary of Medical Eponyms.'' Informa Health Care, 2001, page 42. .

References

1878 births Year of death missing German military doctors {{germany-med-bio-stub