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

paediatrician 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 yout ...

who founded the

Camphill Movement The Camphill Movement is an initiative for social change based on the principles of anthroposophy. Camphill communities are residential communities and schools that provide support for the education, employment, and daily lives of adults and child ...

, an international movement of therapeutic

intentional communities An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, which may be politica ...

for those with special needs or disabilities.

Biography

König was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, 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 '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and graduated in 1927 with a special interest in

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

. 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 for people with special needs 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. 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 ...

-inspired Schloß Pilgrimshain institute in

Strzegom Strzegom () 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 the regional capit ...

, 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 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

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

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, Scotland, 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 Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

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 Bieldsid ...

, 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 people from different walks of life and different traditions within Christianity. It and its publishing house, Wild Goose Publications, are headquar ...

. 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 (28 May 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 fath ...

. 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 German-Swiss border, border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseek ...

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three 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, called the Seerhein (). These ...

, Germany, where he set up a community. He died there in 1966. 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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* 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 after the Anschluss to the United Kingdom Austrian pediatricians University of Vienna alumni People associated with Aberdeen Anthroposophic medicine practitioners World War II civilian prisoners held by the United Kingdom

Biography

See also