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Kara Jacobsen --My Life

Dietrich Dring --Max Immelmann


Biobibliography of a Berlin X-Ray Specialist

Excerpted and Translated by Robert Pohl

Translator's note
The following excerpts from the memoirs of Kara Jacobsen and the biobibliography of Max Immelmann were translated in Summer, 2008, by request of Rodolfo Jacobson Soto, Colleen Cancio, and their daughter Mila Soto. Rodolfo is the grandson of Rolf Jacobsen, and therefore only passages relevant to Rolf, Maxim, and Maxim's father have been chosen for translation, while only the biographical part of the Immelmann text has been translated. In doing so, however, I have kept the outline intact, and simply inserted [...] anywhere text was removed. The pictures are taken from a scanned version of the the texts, which explains the poor quality. Robert Pohl August 1, 2008

Table of Contents
Translator's note

Kara Jacobsen My Life


Part I My Parents Earliest Childhood Wandering Castle Hohenstein in mid-Franconia. Herford in Westfalia. Grandfather! Rimini, on the Adriatic Bad Freienwalde on the Oder Kolberg My time as a student in Kolberg Gttingen Part II: War years 1939-1945 Potsdam Summer 1939 Brussels Turning point. Germany during the war Reichs work detail In life Stuttgart Epilogue to 'War Years 1939-1945' Part III The End of the War Lost Tracks are Found Again Schweitzers Life goes on Portugal Visit Studying in Ratingen A new beginning 3

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Part IV In Life (Outside the Monastery) Back in England Germany Herford Bonn on the Rhine A Change of Direction Retired in Portugal On the Way

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Dietrich Dring Biobliobigraphy of Max Immelmann


I. Introductory Remarks II. Life III Work Orthopedic Work Radiological Work Work in Scientific Societies Contribution to Medical Advanced Training Training of X-Ray Technicians IV Abstract 37 39 45

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Cover of Kara Jacobsen's My Life

Part I
My Parents
My father, Maxim Jacobsen, was born in 1887 in Mietau1, Latvia, and raised in Riga. His father was a wealthy merchant and owned several houses. He was an orthodox Jew. My father told me numerous times, that he had served in a Synagogue and that our ancestors were Levitites. My father had a special relationship to his mother, whom he had the greatest respect for. People came from near and far to get advice from her. When he was 12 years old, my father heard his first violin concert. As far as I remember, the virtuoso was Huberman2. My father was deeply impressed and decided to become a violinist himself. There was resistance from his father, however, who wanted him to be a merchant, as well. My father would often speak of how difficult it was to go his own way, as he received no monetary assistance from his father, who thought music to be a waste of money. I myself think that what was awakened in my father was something, that was already present in our ancestors, namely the music-making in the services of the old Israelites. Only after my father had
1 Usually written Mitau at the time. Now Jelgava, Latvia. It is about 41 km SW of Riga. 2 Bronisaw Huberman (1882-1947) was a famous Polish violinist. He had a distinct and memorable way of playing the violin, recordings of his are still much prized today. Mention his name to my sister (a violinist) and her eyes light up.

succeeded in his studies in St. Petersburg and Berlin under renowned artists and had become director of the master class in Berlin Conservatory3 did the attitude of my grandfather change. He apologized to my father. This must have been around 1922, by which time my Grandfather had lost his assets in Latvia due to the revolution.

Margarete Vogelsang and Maxim Jacobsen in Herford, presumably before their wedding.

My father had a large number of private students in Berlin, amongst whom was the ardent follower Paula Schweitzer, nee Vogelsang, the older sister of my mother Margarete Vogelsang, from Herford in Westfalia4. It was at the home of my uncle, Pastor Gunther Schweitzer that my father and mother met for
3 Founded 1850 as the Berlin Music School, it was known as the Stern conservatory while Jacobsen taught there, and is now part of the University of the Arts, Berlin. 4 Herford is in North Central Germany, due west of Hannover.

the first time.

Earliest Childhood
My parents were married in the summer of 1919 and soon found a beautiful apartment in Berlin Schneberg, near the Bayerischer Platz: Landshuterstr. 17. I was born there on March 31, 1922, almost an April fools joke, my father would always say, as when he called around the next day to announce the news, all his friends and family thought he was pulling their leg. Also, I was 'just a girl' as my mother said somewhat sadly. My father, on the other hand, was very proud and happy. [...] Our beautiful dining room, whose windows overlooked a typical Berlin alley and were therefore brightly painted5 and which was filled with the old oak furniture (which now stand in the entrance of the castle Hohenstein6) was often filled with friends and students of my father to share our lunch. My father loved to entertain his guests by telling anecdotes and 'jokes.' Decades later, he still quoted my shy question that I asked during a lunch: Was that a 'joke'? Everybody's laughing. I of course had no idea what a joke was7. My father was happiest when he could tell such stories from his life and his amusement was passed on to all those who were present, including me. He was an excellent mimic, both in sounds and gestures. While we lived in Brussels together 1939/40 people at our parties would surround him, seeking to
5 Presumably the windows. The text is unclear. 6 Schlo Hohenstein, which belonged to Margarete Vogelsang's family, is located in southern Germany, 50 miles north of Nrnberg. 7 An example of one of Jacobsen's jokes is given by a student of a student of Jacobsen's. Someone once asked him: 'Mr Jacobsen, how much do you charge for your violin lessons?' [in a strong Jewish accent] 'It depends. Do you want the expensive lessons, or the cheap lessons!'

hear his 'yiddish' jokes, which, he said, had been made up out of the real life of those who had been forced out of their homes. Humor and deep truths were closely entwined, and helped one

KJ, Hans-Adolf, and Maxim in Berlin. No date given.

get over the tragedy of the situation. [...] I often saw my father practicing while circling the large dining room table. He had by now taken over the master class of the of the Stern-Conservatory in Berlin8 I couldn't imagine being anything but a violinist. One day, my grandfather from Riga arrived. I remember eating my cream of wheat while sitting next to him at the dining room table. He must have been in town to see my new brother, Hans-Adolf, known as Bbi. [...]
8 See footnote 3, above.

Wandering
Our family was separated. My brother went to the Schweitzer family, where he became the fourth boy. He stayed there for many years. I stayed with my mother as she moved from place to place in an attempt to improve her health. [...]

Castle Hohenstein in mid-Franconia.


[...]

Herford in Westfalia.
[...]

Grandfather!
[...] I think it was 1932 when I returned from Herford to Berlin. My parents had separated. How was this possible, when they had been so happy in the first years of their marriage? My father explained it to me thus: We lived in different worlds. I am thankful, that my father realized his mistake in the last years of his life and surely rued it deeply. He loved my mother very much as did she until the end of her days. Since the discrimination against Jews had already begun in the early 30's, especially in Berlin, and my father, as a freelance musician suffered greatly under it, he decided to move. He looked for new opportunities in Italy. After an audience with Mussolini, he was granted permission to open a music school in Milan, the 'Scuola Superiore di Musica' in the Corso Venezia 569. This was an exception for a foreigner. After the power grab by Hitler in 1933, I had no idea what this meant for my family, especially my father. After the word 'Aryan' had fallen in a conversation, I asked my mother what it
9 The school (now a bank) was located a few miles NE of the center of Milan, and directly on a large park.

meant. [..]

Hans-Adolf, KJ, and Rolf in Berlin. No date given.

Rimini, on the Adriatic


One day, out of the blue, I received a letter from Milan from my father and half-brother, Rolf, who was six years older than I. In it, they wrote that we would spend the summer months together in Rimini on the Adriatic. Rolf would collect me. My heart sang. I was going to see my father again. The trip went through Lake Constance10, Switzerland with its beautiful Lake Como11 thereafter we spent three weeks in Zrich from where we continued through northern Italy. I was impressed by the richly planted fields, in which there still were fruit trees and garlands of grape bunches which hung over them. Our father awaited us in Milan. My father had rented a small house near the beach; the owners lived in the basement during the summer, while we occupied the upper rooms. The friendly, homey-looking Italian woman served us pretty Italian food in the arbor in her garden.
10 At the very southern tip of Germany on the Swiss border. 11 Actually, Lake Como is in northern Italy

I don't remember any rain. We spent the whole day at the wonderful wide beach on the water, where we built sandcastles with friends and rolled marbles down the approaches to our 'castles.' One did not need to be able to swim here, the water was so salty that you were carried by it. Later in life I would often think back on the pretty, small Italian songs which the children in the neighborhood taught me, remembered and also sang them. And long afterwards I would still hear the melodies that my father was practicing at the time, the Kreutzer-Etudes12 or the Dvorak Violin concerto13, and would sing them. And never have I eaten as good ice cream as in Rimini. [...]

Bad Freienwalde on the Oder


[...]

Kolberg
[...]

My time as a student in Kolberg


[...]

Gttingen
[...]
12 Rudolph Kreutzer was a French violinist of German extraction of the 18th & 19th century. He wrote etudes to help violinists practice; they are still played today 13 Antonin Dvorak's Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53 (B108) was written 1879 and is still considered an important part of the violin repertoire.

Part II: War years 1939-1945


Potsdam
[...] [Her mother dies while she is here, so ca. 1939]

Summer 1939
[...] My father wrote from Brussels, asking his children to come join him, he wanted to restart his family. He had had to give up his school in Milan, since racial discrimination had become the norm in Italy as well under the fascists. On his way via Czechoslovakia and England, he had heard that the news that a teaching job at the Belgian court had opened up. The old master Isai14, teacher of the Queen mother Elizabeth, had died. My father applied for the position and became the successor of this famous violin teacher. [...] In November, I said goodbye to my small family, in order to travel into a country in which there were no darkened cities, no danger of being bombed or rationing and my father awaited. Ilse Immelmann15, the mother of my half-brother who was 6 years older than I, put me on a train in Berlin that was to bring
14 Presumably Eugne Ysae, who had died in 1931. Ysae was bestknown as a violinist, but also worked as a composer and conductor. Ysae had taught the Queen Mother Elizabeth until his death, after which his wife, Jeanette Dincin, took over. 15 Ilse Immelmann's last name gives a clue as to Rolf Jacobsen's connection with Max Immelmann (see p34ff, and in particular, the footnote on p39.)

me to Brussels. The train was packed full of soldiers being brought to the western front.

Brussels

Maxim in Oostende, Belgium, 1940

After years of separation, I saw my father again. In 1939, he was at the peak of his career. At first, we lived in a couple of rooms we rented from an elderly lady, later, after Hans-Adolf had joined us, we moved into a very nice modern apartment in the Avenue des Nations16 (number 116) Hans-Adolf visited the German school, I was given, for the first time in my life, piano and French lessons. A young woman from Luxembourg took care of the housekeeping, while I did the shopping. When had I ever had it as good (Except with Trudi Weissenfels, during the vacations)? Yet this seemingly good life was to last only a short time. There were dark storm clouds on the political horizon already. But I didn't think of these. (Maybe this is the right of youth, not to load
16 Now Avenue de Franklin Roosevelt in south Brussels.

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oneself with worry) My father was fully engaged in his teaching at the Belgian court. The fact that his was a great teaching talent had soon been spread around. The Queen17 of received two hours of teaching daily, the young princes and other court hangers-on were also students. [...] My father spoke quietly about the war with his friend Jasny, who came from Poland; I think they were discussing what to do in an emergency. [...] My father was teaching a so-called prodigy, Jiri Straka. He came from Prague and was 16 (or 15?) He was already playing the biggest violin concertos, which was unusual at his age. It was arranged, that he would play the Brahms concerto18 for the Queen in her palace in Laaken19 or her summer palace. We children, Hans-Adolf and myself, were invited as well. The royal car drove up and picked the three of us invitees up. I had already practiced the prescribed royal hand-kiss the day before. I was 17 at the time, and the meeting with the Queen impressed me. She spoke German with me and asked me questions about Germany. For the invitation, I wore a blue suit, and when we went through the greenhouse, she held up a blue flower up to my outfit and said 'Exactly the same color!' During the coffee break in a very bright room, she remembered to lower the shade, because she was worried that the bright light would bother my eyes. I thought it very royal of her, to think of each of her guests in this way, especially as I was just a young girl. When we parted, I helped her into her coat, which was made of some wonderfully rich fabric. Since we were at court twice in this time, I don't remember when, exactly, the queen said to me Maestro is wonderful
17 Elisabeth of Bavaria, The Queen of the Belgians from 1909-1934, then Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians (or Queen Mother Elisabeth) until her death in 1965. 18 One of the biggest and most difficult violin concertos. 19 Main residence of the royal family in Brussels.

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It was she who gave my father a Christmas present of an picture of her inscribed Pour les merveilleuses lecons de violin... This picture, with its frame embellished with the royal coat of arms always stood on my father's desk. He later gave it to one of his dearest students, Jack Glatzer20, who lives in Portugal. I often observed the lessons that my father gave Jiri Straka. I occasionally wondered about the form of his teaching. At one point I asked him Why are you so hard on Jiri? He answered I have to get everything out of him. I thought to myself this method would make me shyer. But I knew that his students all admired him and thanked him for their later careers.

Turning point.
We had just returned from a short vacation in KnokkeLezoute21 in the Spring of 1940, just two months after we had moved into our new apartment, when I was awakened one morning by a loud noises and motors outside. I ran to our balcony and saw that the sky was covered with airplanes. German bombers. The German invasion had begun. We had to wait a few days to see how the situation would play out, but we knew immediately what this meant for my father: The loss of everything he had built up. Soon it was time. The Germans marched ever closer, and the Queen advised my father to flee. This meant that I had to decide, as well: Flee with my father, or remain in Brussels. Hans-Adolf knew he wanted to stay, which meant that I had to stay, as well. There was no way we could leave a 14 year old on his own. In all countries occupied by the Germans, Jews were in
20 For more information on Glatzer, see footnote on page 28. 21 Actually Knokke/Le Zoute (French) or Knokke/Het Zoute (Flemish), which is village on the Atlantic at the very north of Belgium, on the Dutch border.

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grave danger. The only hope was to flee, as long as that was possible. Sadly, many people who had fled Germany to the Benelux nations were either unwilling or unable to continue their flight, and were thus delivered to their fate. Amongst these people was a young publisher couple, as well as a student of my fathers named 'Freund,' who had helped my father emigrate to Belgium. Hearing about their violent death saddened us. It seemed unbelievable, and yet was true. I remember well the final farewell from my father. A taxi drove up, Hans-Adolf and I stood upstairs at a window, to wave. My father looked up to me once more, waved, and the car drove off into the unknown. I felt no sadness, the love toward my father would travel with him. For the third time, he had had to give up everything he owned as well as his position, and now us, his small family, as well. It was surely tougher on him than on those left behind. [...]

Germany during the war


[...]

Reichs work detail


[...] At this point, I would like to add a little extra, in which to answer the questions of my half-brother Rolf, who now lives in Texas. He wants to know my attitude towards National socialism. I had sent him a copy of my reminisces, and I think it was my description of the Reichs work detail which prompted his question. In my memoirs, I have already mentioned, that, during the raising of the flag, I always tried to remove myself from the ceremony, in other words, my heart wasn't in it. The ideological aspects had no effect on me, they gave me nothing. What was important to me was the living and working with others in a community of youths in the country. 15

And, for once, I wanted to be like others, not always the one who was kept separate. Is this understandable for a younger person? I also think that the attitude to a totalitarian state is different from one who lives in it than one who lives in a free country outside it.

In life
[...]

Stuttgart
[...]

Epilogue to 'War Years 1939-1945'


[...] I remember a story, which gave me great pain later. My father had received a piano from a couple whom he had helped emigrate to Belgium. After he had already fled before the invading Germans, these people asked me for the return of their present, as they were in dire straits. I did not take their request seriously, and furthermore thought I had no right to decide what to do. When I later learned that these people had been murdered, I felt it in my heart. These sorts of situations have happened to me multiple times in my life. Being lawabiding has cut me off from true life. I was missing the courage to act from the heart. [...]

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Part III
The End of the War Lost Tracks are Found Again Schweitzers
[...] I have a French officer to thank for his help in recontacting my father, who was by now living in Portugal. As I have already written, my father, Maxim Jacobsen, left my brother and myself behind in Brussels, so as to save his own life. In fact, he had wanted us three to come along, but my brother, who was 14, resolutely refused to accompany him, so I stayed as well. Wherever the Nazi regime arrived, all Jews of whatever nationality were immediately in mortal danger. With papers from the Queen Mother Elisabeth of Belgium, (his violin student) my father first made it to the south of France. Shortly thereafter, however, all of France was occupied by the Germans. For some reason, my father ended up in jail and suffered there for some time. He later reported: One morning, a white pigeon flew past his window, as if bringing good news to him. This story made me think that I had already experienced it in spirit. My father was released shortly thereafter and was given permission to emigrate to Portugal. Since his Latvian passport could not be extended, due to the war, he was officially 'stateless' he was interned there, which meant in his case that he could stay only in the village where he was told to go. In his case, this meant Caldas de

Reinha22. All he could do when hearing the news of the allied attacks on German cities was to fret about the safety of his own children. His life was destroyed three times by the Nazi-regime: in Berlin, Milan, and Brussels. Now, his plans were nixed one more time. He had received an offer from Boston (the details of which I don't remember) and he had all the necessary papers and tickets. When he went to board the ship, however, two men stopped him, saying Your children work for Hitler. Somebody must have done the research and determined that Hans-Adolf was in the military and I had done my Reichs work detail. It must have been a tough break for someone who was willing to give up everything for his career. In the meantime, those books he had written in Germany, which looked to be important, were banned and pulped. In spite of this, he spent the years he was interned working on violintechnical problems, for the world of violinists as well as his students, who continued to honor him into his old age. Amongst these are important artists in the whole world. Now I knew that my father had survived the Nazi-period. [...]

Life goes on
[...] It became clear, that I must first visit my father in Portugal, to cure myself completely. [...] Finally, it was time. I traveled for two days and two nights by train. I spent the night in a hotel in Irun, a small town on the Spanish border23. The next morning, I went looking for a post office to send my father my exact arrival times. On the way, I met a young woman, whom I asked the way to the post office.
22 Town 50 miles north of Lisbon, near the ocean. 23 The French-Spanish border, at the north near the ocean.

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To my surprise, she was German probably the only one who was also on her way to Lisbon. She was married to a Portuguese man and spoke Portuguese. With her help, I was finally able to communicate with the conductors and others on the train. I was relieved, as neither English nor French had helped me much. [...] Finally, at 12 midnight, our train arrived in the station Santa Apollonia24 in Lisbon. The last stretch had been an adventure for me. We rode through the moonlit night of Spain. Lying in my compartment, I could raise my head just a bit and see the landscape. Small, round hills and strange, odd-looking trees. By daybreak, we had already reached Portugal. I saw wild valleys, of which I assumed, that they had been given their appearance my multiple earthquakes. By nightfall we were approaching our goal the train traveled slowly along the Tejo river, which widened markedly as we neared Lisbon before finally reaching the Atlantic. The bright moonlight gave it all a magical quality. Finally the train stopped, we had reached our destination. I stood at the door, looked over the--- and, standing directly in front of me, his back turned to me, stood my father! What luck! I stepped towards him from behind and touched his arm Dad? He turned, astounded. 10 years had passed since our goodbye in Brussels and this meeting. How much had happened in that time. Later, when he would speak of this meeting, he would say And that was the most beautiful note that I had heard in years! (He meant my saying Dad) and in that was referring to the fact that he lived in the world of notes.

Portugal Visit
We lived briefly in a hotel in Lisbon, until my father could rent a small house in Monte Estoril25. In the first night in Lisbon, I was awakened by sirens. It was
24 Santa Apolnia is the central train station of Lisbon. 25 Seaside town due east of Lisbon.

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overwhelming: The new year was being greeted by the ships in the harbor. In the early morning, we could hear the busy work on the street up to our rooms: Cries of the market women, signals from businesses such as knife sharpeners, constant honking. A cheery business. The southern world surrounded us. Although it was winter, we enjoyed a clear blue sky that stretched high above us. What intense light! I was finally with my father. He had been wandering without a family for 20 years, now we were given a half-year of togetherness. The house into which we soon moved, had a pretty garden with a large Palm tree and a view of the ocean. I was enthralled. After about two months of rain, Spring started. I noticed, that the growth of flowers and their colors were far outshone their northern counterparts in strength and beauty.

Alipia, Maxim, and KJ. No date or place given.

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What a country! The house was directly on a road, but a thick hedge protected the yard, so you could sit there without being bothered. The beach of Estoril was a few minutes away. A Portuguese woman named Isabel helped with the housework in the mornings: Lighting the fire, doing the laundry, ironing, sweeping the house. I learned a few words of Portuguese from Isabel kept asking her Como se chiama isto? (= what do you call that) I had learned that sentence from my father. I could also count in the local language, so I soon went to the market. The wide road led to the market, I went by foot. In the cloudless sky, the sun hung ahead of me but it wasn't too hot. The nearness of the ocean kept it cool, it was wonderful being out and about in the early morning hours. The market was a picture of busy goings-on, you just had to be careful of pickpockets at least, in later years. I bought: Best vegetables, beautiful fruit, everything in huge quantities and low prices. The women of the market were all friendly and helpful. Buying fish and meat was a different story. I needed help to understand the what was offered, as it was so different from what I was used to in Germany. My father often returned tired and worn out from Lisbon, he was in charge of the orchestra at the radio station Emissora Nacional.26 The Portuguese often had trouble with the teaching methods of my father, which was difficult for him. When I would greet him, the stress would lift from him. In later years, my father would spend several months a year in London, to publish violin-technical works and teach prominent students. I spent a half year in Portugal, returning strengthened (and tanned) to Castle Hohenstein, where Aunt Else lived. Shortly after my departure, my father married again. I met his wife, Alipia Lobo Costa, who came from the Azores, during my time in Portugal. She was a widow and ran a pharmacy in Estoril, a suburb of Lisbon, the Pharmacia de
26 Full name Emissora Nacional de Radiodifuso, now (since 1976) Radiodifuso Portuguesa (RDP).

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Parque, which belonged to her family. It was enormous good fortune for my father to have found such an energetic and hardworking woman, and thereby having a home again. [...]

Studying in Ratingen
[...]

A new beginning
[...] When I returned from work27 there was a message from my father. It seemed to come from a different world. My father had arrived from Portugal and was, as usual, in the Leinster House Hotel. He wanted to see me. [...] My father had visited me twice in Wheathill28 and lived in one of the huts. He had shown the children finger exercises for violin techniques and given Erika Hildel a violin lesson. She told me recently, that he would have happily continued to teach her, he felt she had talent, but her parents demurred. My father had enjoyed the rural aspects of the place very much but he didn't notice the inner part of our life, for that, he would have had to be there much longer. When we saw each other again, he must have noticed the difference in me immediately. He was always very empathetic and now deeply moved. How could he understand, what had happened. [...]

27 KJ is now in England, near London. 28 Christian commune in England that KJ lived in briefly, and to which she would repeatedly attempt to rejoin.

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Part IV
In Life (Outside the Monastery)

Rolf, Maxim, and Alipia. No date or place given.

[...] I had planned to have my father come to castle Hohenstein29 during the summer, he wanted to bring some students and have them study with him there. This failed due to the higher expectations of people. Hohenstein had few creature comforts, and in this summer there was a serious water shortage. The first student who came, a young woman from Japan, must have passed on this information to the other students, who then all cancelled their visits. So I gained experience. [...]
29 Where KJ is living again.

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Soon, my father arrived with the above-named student30 and I picked them up in our car31. It meant much to my father to be able to be driven through the beautiful middle-Franconian landscape by me. He even ceased smoking during the drive. He was astonished and said I never would have thought that you were so secure in your driving as a beginner. So my tenacity was rewarded. My father also had his wife Alipia come from Portugal for a few weeks, so that she could see Hohenstein. In the Fall, they both returned. [...] Besides room and board, I was getting a good salary, which allowed me to send money to my father in Cascais32. Until his 86th year, my father had been able to support himself. Students from all countries of the world had come to learn his techniques. As he turned 80, though, we started to worry how it would continue, as he had no pension. We had missed all deadlines for reparations, more accurately, we never knew about the possibility. My father had, after all, lost everything three times due to the Nazis. Because of this, we were directed to contact a hardship-case fund at the treasury department. In the course of 7 years, we had finally managed to get him a small pension, which allowed him to support himself. We were all relieved, as my father was already 86 and were thankful for the assistance. [...] A call reached me from Portugal, Alipia asked me to come and see my father. I flew to Lisbon in the next airplane. I was extremely nervous, and was happy to find my father still alive. He had dressed properly for my arrival and waited for me in the living room. After the greetings he immediately retired to his bedroom. My father loved life greatly, so saying goodbye was a difficult fight, and it was bitter for him to separate himself from it. Once he had done so, however, he did it with full
30 Presumably the Japanese student. 31 KJ had previously described how she had recently learned how to drive and was given this car by her brother Hans-Adolf. 32 Small town a few miles west of Estoril.

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understanding what was happening. I hoped, that he would live, every day with him was a present. My father could no longer stand up and I spent many hours at his bed. On the first day, my father refused my presence: You can leave, I don't need you he said, much to my dismay. And yet I could understand, it was a reaction to my hasty departure the year before33 which must have pained him. He had to speak about it. I responded quietly: But I love you My father was silent. When I returned to the room, he said Everything is forgiven, everyAt first he was certain that he would die in one of the next few days he had fixated on one particular day. No, I replied, I don't believe that. He allowed it to be said to him and thought about it. Somehow my presence brought him comfort. The next days, in which my father spoke of what was important to him, even if he could do so only in short were Maxim, Alipia, and Emita (Rolf's wife.) No date sentences, priceless. We felt, or place given.
33 Brief mentions of previous trips to Portugal have been excised.

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however, that they came from his innermost being and he wanted to speak once again about his love for us. Once I heard as he spoke to himself: and all these innocent people, murdered... The fate of his fellow Jews under the Hitlerregime, which he himself had managed to escape, still occupied him. He said to me that he couldn't understand all my doings outside the monastery. Your theory has robbed me of all belief. he said. I had nothing to say in reply, as I felt that my life as I had lived it did not show what I believed at least that's what I thought at the time. My father understood full well about my situation, but had never talked to me about it, which was a good thing. In this way, he and my brother Hans-Adolf were very similar, in their ability to silently carry you with them. Then something unexpected happened. One morning when I greeted him, his wife Alipia came smilingly to me and handed me a piece of paper my father had written on overnight. I read: Hans-Adolf, pride of my life, for Hella I die as a Christian. Dad Alipia must have understood the sense of the words. My mother Margaret's hope had always been to lead my father to Christ. He had been raised a Jew, and though he had nominally become a Christian in marrying my mother, his life amongst artists had done nothing for him he lived free and unbound by any religion. He did, however, have a deep regard towards everything that had to do with humanism and true godliness; I think he meant to press through to real belief. He was very serious about his decision. In his way, he was announcing his religion. Once when I went to see him, he spoke a few words that I couldn't understand. He looked at me intently and then repeated them. Only later did I understand: he was announcing his belief in Christ. In the face of the abyss, he was saying that he was good for nothing. My father became peaceful, at peace with his fate. All people must die I agreed. And he added I have lived a long, good life The love that came from him was overwhelming. Even friends and students who visited noticed this. He did not think 26

of himself. Once, when I was working to tuck him into bed, he looked at me askance and said 'How you suffer' That he could still be thinking of others in his pain! Another remark he made, showed how he understood us: I never would've thought you were such a hard worker. Another time, I came home from Cascais, where I had bought a new shirt with red flowers stitched into it. My father had closed his eyes, as he did most of the time. I spoke to him: Dad? He opened his eyes, looked at me and said Beautiful! and closed his eyes again. He was happy with me. Some of the time my father had to go to the hospital. Alipia and I shared the night duties. He was given many shots, and I have to say that the nurses did not handle him well. He had black and blue marks everywhere. Towards the end, he struggled against them and became restless. The hospital staff stood around him and didn't know what to do. I leaned over him and knew a kiss would help. You are wonderful he cried out. All anger was blown away. In that way, my father was a child. Even in the nights, where he found no rest, I usually found it possible to keep him quiet. When one time he began rebelling the combination of drugs he was taking were taking some of his self-control I went quietly into the next room. He noticed it and immediately became quiet and I heard him speaking Not so bad, not so bad I returned to him. I was never as close to my father as in the last weeks before his death. There was complete harmony between us. You are no longer my daughter he said one morning when I greeted him. You are my angel-daughter. Or he would say you are my guardian angel or the like. He was filled with thanks and we all felt his great love for us. [KJ is called back to Germany] Before my trip back, I wanted to spend a few days recovering in Guincho34. Friends of my fathers, the Glatzers,
34 Beach near Estoril.

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owned a small weekend house next to their home, which I could use. I would have loved to take my father there and taken care of him, but I couldn't do this without Alipia's OK, plus it was not easy to reach. Jaques35 Glatzer was an American and had been a student of my father's. Late in life, he had switched to my father's violin-technique. His wife Clarinha was Portuguese. She was a very energetic person, whom we all highly respected. They had son named Miguel, who was 7 years old at the time, with a finely shaped face with large dark eyes. Miguel loved my father and vice versa. My father generally loved children. Miguel's mother Clarinha was speaking with Alipia and they were speaking about my father's condition. Little Miguel had overhead the conversation, buried his head in his hands and said Maxim should not die! His mother told me of this later. Miguel owned a small violin, and received lessons. He once brought it along when I was there and my father was still well, and I watched them playing musical jokes: Miguel sat across from my father, who held his small violin in front of his mouth and made noises as if he was nibbling on it. Miguel, at the time 5 or 6, said with his small, clear voice, You should not eat up my violin, it is made of good wood!36 While saying this, his eyes lit up as he showed he was in on the joke. During my time in Guincho, I went for a walk with Miguel. We had been walking together for a while. I had taken him by the hand. Then he began , You know, maybe it is better for you to go away. It would be hard for you to see your father die.37 His words were like a balm on my soul. The next day, he once again spoke his thoughts: But, perhaps your father will recover again,38 he said. I spent another night with my father. I had explained to him
35 sic; actually Jack. Full name Jacob Joseph Glatzer, b1939, US violinist who lived most of his career in Portugal. 36 This sentence is in English in the original. 37 Again, original in English. 38 Once again, original in English.

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that I had to return to Germany, but would return as soon as possible, and then stay with him. My father tried to accept that. In the night, he pressed my hand numerous times: have a good trip, he said clearly and later return safely. He had thought about my departure. And then he said to himself Desolate39 And I should remain strong. Looking back on it, I can't understand how I acted. On the morning of my departure, I found my father sitting on the edge of his bed, weak, helpless. I walked to him, stroked his hair, Daddy dear kissed him softly and left. I assumed, that he didn't notice my departure at that time, which is why it seemed treasonous of my love for him that I left the way I did. It may have been better for us to take our leave honestly. Taking care of my father was now done entirely by his wife Alipia. I knew, that she was hardly able to do so. As so often in my life since my time in Stuttgart my feelings and my will were at odds. I think and know now that the heart must be one, in what it seeks and wants. I thought about my father the whole drive back, and when I was back in Dsseldorf, where I once again took care of Hilde Viering. After a few days, I was in Hilda Viering's kitchen, I suddenly became quiet. It was as if my father was speaking a word, saying I am no longer going to get well And with that, a deep peace settled in my heart nothing scary or foreign. That night, I received a call from Bonn. My sister-in-law Dorette told me that our father had passed away in peace. Alipia said, he had died with a smile on his lips he looked like an angel. I mourned my father for many years. I once had a dream. We, my father and I, were together in the grandparent's house in Hiddensen, my father sitting on the armchair. On the table next to us stood a bowl of nice ripe apples. My father wanted to say something to me, so I leaned over to understand him. I then heard, quietly but clearly, God led us all from the Nile to here! And I awoke. He was now in
39 This word is written exactly thus in the original. It is not a German word, and no indication is given as to what language it is.

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the promised land, that's what he wanted to say to me. Despite the many dangers that artists are exposed to, my father ended his life in the Christian faith. I have seldom met anyone who was so willing to show humility. Often I would hear him say, in his own brand of honesty: I am a snob! He made fun of himself and often hit the target. I could never see him like that. When I spoke to him about something that bothered me, he would understand immediately and ask for forgiveness. It will never happen again, he would promise. He could be quite childish in that way. His heart was soft and very large. And that is why our mother Margarete loved him.

Back in England
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Germany
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Herford
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Bonn on the Rhine


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A Change of Direction
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Retired in Portugal
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On the Way
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Cover of Dietrich Dring's Max Immelmann Biobibliography The text reads: From the Institute for Medical History of the Free University of Berlin (Director: Professor Dr. Heinz Goerke) Max Immelmann 1864-1923 Biobibliography of a Berlin X-Ray Specialist Inaugural-Dissertation for the Attainment of the title of Medical Doctor at the Medical Faculty of the Free University Presented by Dietrich Dring from Berlin

Max Immelmann

I. Introductory Remarks
The fact that there is still no complete history of the use of X-Rays can be traced back to the fact that there have been very few studies of details of the subject. In order to fill at least one of the many gaps, I was given, by Professor Goerke, the task of writing a biobibliography for Max Immelmann. Forty years have passed since the death of Immelmann, and the many events in this politically and medically tumultuous time have made the memory of this great Berliner X-Ray pioneer fade. Thanks to the help of members of the Immelmann family, it was possible to reconstruct the life and works of Max Immelmann. The difficulties encountered in finding both his biography and determining the scientific studies he did show the necessity and importance of this work.

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II. Life
Max Immelmann was born on the 12th of July, 1864 in Stendal40, in the province of Saxony. The Immelmann family had lived in Stendal and surroundings since the 18th Century; their name can be found in a document in 1743. The coat of arms of the family is three bees on a blue background, from which it can be deduced, that his ancestors were beekeepers. Immelmann's father, Franz Alwin Immelmann, was the county veterinarian for Stendal. Apart from Max, who was the third-born, he had three sons and four daughters. The oldest son Franz, was a box-factory owner in Dresden. He in turn had two sons, the older of which was the famous WWI pilot41. He was a godson of Max Immelmann's, and given his name. The second brother of Max Immelmann was a pastor in the reformed church in Stendal. The third son, Richard, was first an opera singer, then later district veterinarian in Naugard42. No further information about the four sisters was to be found. Max Immelmann spent the first years of his schooling in the high school in Stendal. He later transferred to the famous high school of Seehausen i.A43. in which the historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann was co-director from 1743-48. He received his degree in 1885. The same year, he began his medical studies at the
40 Central Germany, 75 miles due west of Berlin. 41 Max Immelmann (1890-1916) was one of the first German fighter pilots. He invented a fore-runner of what is now known as the Immelmann Turn (the planes that he flew would never have survived the maneuver, thus he can not have invented it) Immelmann was killed in combat over France. 42 Now Nowogard, Poland. It is in northwestern Poland, near the Baltic sea. 43 Seehausen im Allgu, south if Munich.

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Friedrich-Wilhelm University44. after two semesters, he continued his studies at the Julius-Maximilian University in Wrzburg. On July 25, 1887, Max Immelmann passed his premed exam and returned to Berlin. He spent the time from 18871889 working on his thesis 8 Cases of Apoplexy During Birth at the university OB/GYN clinic. On July 25, 1889, he passed the Tentamen Medicum and five days later (July 30, 1889) the Examen Rigorosum During his studies in Berlin, Immelmann studied surgery with Heinrich Adolf von Bardelebem, Paul Gueterbock, and Ernst Kster, Gynecology and Obstetrics with Adolf Ludwig Sigismund Gusserow, Robert Michael von Olshausen, Georg Winter, and Alfred Dhrssen, internal medicine with Karl Adolf Chirstian Gerhardt, Pharmacology with Eugen Matthias Oskar Liebreich, and Neurology with Herrmann Oppenheim. In Berlin, he had been taught the pre-clinical subjects Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Anatomy, and Physiology by professors Franz Eilhard Schulze, August Wilhelm Eichler, August Wilhelm von Hoffmann, Heinrich Gottfried Wilhelm von Waldeyerhartz, Robert Hartmann, and Rene du Bois-Reymond. His teachers in Wrzburg had been Rudolf Albrecht von Koellicker and Philip Sthr (Anatomy) Georg Edouard von Rindfleisch (Pathology) Ernst Bumm (OB/GYN) Adolf Fick (Physiology) Adam Joseph Kunkel (Pharmacology) and Ferdinand Riedinger (surgery) After passing his state exam, Immelmann probably worked as an assistant in Wrzburg, where he received his medical license on March 7, 1891. He returned to his home town as a certified doctor and worked there as a GP from 1891 to 1895. On May 14, 1892, he married Helene, who was the daughter of the Stendaler bourgeoisie. About a year later, on May 29, 1893, their only
44 This is either in Berlin or Bonn, both have universities named 'FriedrichWilhelm' at the time. The text later refers to him 'returning to Berlin,' so presumably that is the university that is meant here. The university is now the Humboldt University.

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son Kurt was born45. 1895, Immelmann closed his practice in Stendal and moved his family to Berlin, where he joined the medico-mechanical institute of Professor Dr. Gustav Schtz, located in Wilhelmstr 92-93. Under Prof. Schtz, who was also lecturer in mechanical therapy, Immelmann learned much about his new field of orthopedics. After only one year, Immelmann quit his job at Schtz's institute and opened his own practice for orthopedics and pneumotherapy in western Berlin, in a house located at Blumeshof 9. Immelmann understood the importance of Rntgen's discovery very shortly after the Rntgen's publication of his work on X-Rays in 1896. Immelmann applied himself with energy and enthusiasm to this new field and became, next to Max Levy-Dorn, the leading X-Ray pioneer in Berlin. It did not take long for Immelmann's name as an X-Ray specialist to travel far and wide outside of Berlin. In 1898, Heinrich Ernst Albers-Schnberg in Hamburg asked Immelmann to work with him on his journal Progress in the Area of X-Rays, which he had founded 1897 together with Georg Deycke. Until his death in 1923, Immelmann regularly published papers in this journal. Immelmann moved his institute, already well-known and regarded by both patients and colleagues, to Ltzowstr 72, still in western Berlin. The rooms had been built to his specifications, and the larger part of the institute was now used for X-Ray exams, and not orthopedics. Max Immelmann could now fully exploit his talents in the five departments he had built: An X-Ray lab, a photo lab, a department for orthopedics and physical therapy, an orthopedic workshop, and an
45 There is no indication either way that any daughters were born of this marriage. There are therefore numerous possibilities about the mysterious Ilse Immelmann, who was Rolf Jacobsen's mother. She could be the daughter of Max, born after Kurt. She might be a niece of Immelmann's, or she may have married Kurt or, frankly, any other Immelmann - after divorcing Maxim Jacobsen.

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inhalatorium. As with so many early X-Ray scientists and their indiscriminate use of these new methods, of which the full extent of the biological damage they could do was unknown, there soon were radiation hazards. At the 73. congress of German scientists and doctors in 1901, at the Institute for Medical Diagnostics, he showed casts of his hands, which had suffered from radiation dermatitis. On May 9, 1904, Richard Mhsam showed both Max Levy-Dorn and Max Immelmann's hands as examples of radiation damage in a lecture about radiation burns. The museum of the German X-Ray Society in the Langenbeck-Virchow house in Berlin has casts of Immelmann's hands clearly showing the effects of radiation dermatitis. To hide the clear signs of radiation dermatitis, Immelmann wore gloves on both his hands for the rest of his life. In the last years of his life, the radiation damage to his right arm was so severe that the whole arm was immobile. He was, however, spared the death of radiation carcinoma, which had felled both Levy-Dorn and Albers-Schnberg. In 1907, he became editor of the magazine Medical Practice, as published by Karl Harko von Noorden, Carl Ludwig Schleich, Wilhelm Nagel, and Paul Silex. During the first world war, Immelmann was not only busy in his own institute, but also worked as an X-Ray specialist in the army's hospitals. Here, he met Crown-Princess Cecilie46, with whom he had a close friendship until his death. In 1916, he was given an honorific given to long-serving doctors. Together with his son, Kurt, who had also studied medicine and was an assistant in his father's institute, Immelmann began publishing the journal 'X-Ray Help' in 1921. It's primary purpose was the training of X-Ray assistants. On March 31, 1923, while in the middle of preparations for a trip to the Dolomite, Max Immelmann died of a heart attack
46 Cecilie Herzogin zu Mecklenburg-Schwerin was married to Wilhelm von Preuen, who was next in line to the German throne. She was wellknown for her public works, and refused to go into exile with her husband after World War I, preferring to stay in Berlin to help others.

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at his institute. On April 5, he was interred on the Old St. Matthews cemetery in Schneberg, surrounded by old friends, colleagues, and patients. Today, Immelmann's coffin rests in the Schnberger cemetery in Stahnsdorf, to which a large number of graves were moved in 1938. Immelmann's institute was led by his son Kurt until 1944, when it was, like so many other buildings near the Tiergarten, bombed. Kurt Immelmann continued working as an X-Ray specialist at the Elizabeth hospital in the Ltzowstrasse. On May 5, 1945, he died of war-related reasons in Brieselang47. Max Immelmann's spouse was evacuated 1944 to Stendal, where she died on January 23, 1948. She had survived her spouse by 45 years48.

47 The formulation of this sentence in the original is odd, to say the least. It appears that no-one nows how he died, but it was something to do with the war. Brieselang is just outside of Berlin, on the west. As this was right before the end of the war, any number of possibilities exist, that Kurt was trying to flee Berlin, that he took up arms against the Russians, that the house he was in was knocked down by Soviet tanks any of these is possible, and the truth was probably buried in the chaos of that time. 48 Which is nonsense. 25 is more like it. That this wasn't caught long before it was printed is pretty pathetic show for the German medical profession.

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III Work
Orthopedic Work
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Radiological Work
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Work in Scientific Societies


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Contribution to Medical Advanced Training


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Training of X-Ray Technicians


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IV Abstract
Max Immelmann, born July 12, 1864 in Stendal, the son of the local veterinarian, was, together with Max Levy-Dorn and Walter Cowl, one of the first pioneers in the use of X-Rays in Berlin. After studying medicine in Berlin and Wuerzburg, and a five-year training in Wuerzburg, Berlin, and Stendal, Immelmann opened an orthopedic practice in Berlin in 1896. Impressed by Roentgen's discoveries, he spent the next years doing more and more radiology, and remained until the end of his life closely involved in it. In 1898, he and other interested colleagues founded the X-Ray Society of Berlin, of which he became the president. As one of the most involved members, Immelmann was also co-founder of the first X-Ray Congress in 1905, and cofounder of the German X-Ray Society. Immelmann was elected president of the latter, an office he held until his death in 1923. He was also the chairman of the X-Ray Congress in 1913, as well as Chairman or member of numerous special committees of the Society. Immelmann delivered numerous articles which helped develop the new field. He published approximately 100 papers. His most important works in the field of X-Ray diagnostics were related to urology. He was also a leader in using X-Rays to diagnose tuberculosis, understanding its uses as early as 1898. By 1899, Immelmann had begun training people particularly women to be X-Ray assistants. In 1914, his Guide to X-Ray Techniques for X-Ray Assistants49 gave a
49 Frstenau, Robert; Immelmann, Max & Schtze, Johannes: Leitfaden des Rntgenverfahrens fr das Rntgenologische Hilfspersonal.

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solid foundation to all those interested in this sub-specialty of medicine. This compendium of knowledge gleaned from years of teaching helped many X-Ray assistants learn the ropes. In 1921, he began publishing the magazine X-Ray Assistant, which helped these assistants increase and deepen their knowledge. Max Immelmann died, after years of suffering from the effects of radiation damage, of a heart attack while at his institute. He was 58 years old, and remains unforgotten by his students, patients, and colleagues.

Stuttgart, Ferdinand Enke Verlag, 1914.

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