Bernhard Bendix

Jakob Bernhard Bendix (May 27, 1863 in Großmühlingen, Duchy of Anhalt – January 24, 1943 in Cairo, Egypt) was a prominent German physician and professor at Berlin's Charité hospital.[1] He was known for his work in pediatrics and for co-founding the world's first open-air school.

Bendix studied medicine from 1883 to 1888 at Humboldt University of Berlin, Leipzig University, and the University of Freiburg where he received his Doctor of Medicine degree.[2] Between 1891 and 1894, he worked as an orthopedic assistant at University Hospital in Berlin. From 1894 to 1899, he served as assistant medical director in the Department of Pediatrics at Berlin's Charité hospital under the leadership of Otto Heubner. In 1901, Bendix became licensed to teach as a Privatdozent (trans. associate professor and lecturer) at the Charité, and in 1907 he received the title of adjunct professor. In 1921, he was elevated to aßuerordentlicher Professor (trans. extraordinary professor).

In 1904, Bendix, together with Hermann Neufert, education councillor for the district of Charlottenburg near Berlin, founded the Waldschule für kränkliche Kinder (trans. Forest School for Sickly Children) the world's first open-air school, to improve the health of children—specifically those susceptible to tuberculosis.[3][4] Located in Grunewald, a forest in Charlottenburg on the outskirts of Berlin, the school soon became a model replicated across Europe and North America.[5] The school–now known as the Wald-Grundschule (trans. Forest Elementary School)–and today functioning as a regular primary school–celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2024.[6]

Bendix also published numerous articles on pediatrics in medical journals, and in 1899 he authored Lehrbuch der Kinderheilkunde für Ärzte und Studierende (trans.Textbook of Pediatrics for Physicians and Students), which soon became a standard reference in pediatric medicine in Germany.[7] In 1910, a book review in the Journal of the American Medical Association described Bendix as "one of Germany's greatest pediatricians." [8] The book was published in eight editions and translated into French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.[9]

After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, Bendix–who was Jewish–was barred from practicing and teaching medicine.[10][11] In 1939, he emigrated to Egypt.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ Robert Volz: Reichshandbuch der deutschen Gesellschaft, Das Handbuch der Persönlichkeiten in Wort und Bild. Vol. 1 (A–K). Deutscher Wirtschaftsverlag, Berlin 1930. (in German)
  2. ^ Rudolf Vierhaus: Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie. <vol. 1 Aachen - Braniß. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2005. ISBN 978-3110946574. p. 521. (in German)
  3. ^ Blei, Daniela. "When Tuberculosis Struck the World, Schools Went Outside". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
  4. ^ Châtelet, Anne-Marie (22 January 2008). "A Breath of Fresh Air: Open-Air Schools in Europe". In Marta Gutman (ed.). Designing Modern Childhoods: History, Space, and the Material Culture of Children. Ning De Coninck-Smith. Rutgers University Press. pp. 107–127. ISBN 978-0-8135-4195-2. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  5. ^ Kingsley, Sherman C.; Dresslar, F. B. (1917). Open-Air Schools. Bulletin, 1916, No. 23 (Report). Bureau of Education, Department of the Interior.
  6. ^ "Geschichte". Wald Grundschule (in German). Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  7. ^ "Lehrbuch der Kinderheilkunde, für Ärzte und Studierende". searchworks.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  8. ^ "Lehrbuch der Kinderheilkunde für aerzte und Studierende". JAMA Network. October 22, 1910.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "EBSCO Locate". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  10. ^ "Antisemitic Legislation 1933–1939 | Holocaust Encyclopedia". Holocaust Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2026-03-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Suchergebnis der Datenbank Jüdische Kinderärztinnen und -ärzte". Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin e.V. (in German). Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  12. ^ Meyerhoff, Max (February 3, 1943). ""Un éminent médecin juif Bernard Bendix"". La Tribune Juive (Newspaper) (in French). Cairo, Egypt. p. 3.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Former Berlin Doctor Dies in Cairo at 80". The Detroit Jewish New Digital Archives. The Detroit Jewish News. p. 11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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