Ryke Geerd Hamer (17 May 1935 – 2 July 2017)
was a German ex-
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and the originator of Germanic New Medicine (GNM), also formerly known as German New Medicine and New Medicine, a system of
pseudo-medicine that purports to be able to cure
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
The Swiss Cancer League described Hamer's approach as "dangerous, especially as it lulls the patients into a false sense of security, so that they are deprived of other effective treatments."
Hamer held a licence to practice medicine from 1963 until 1986, when it was revoked for
malpractice. His system came to public attention in 1995, when the parents of a child suffering from cancer refused medical treatment (chemical therapy or chemotherapy) in favour of Hamer's methods. Hamer was charged with malpractice and imprisoned in several European countries.
Hamer claimed that his method was a "Germanic" alternative to mainstream clinical medicine, which he claimed is part of a
Jewish conspiracy
Belief in an international Jewish conspiracy or world Jewish conspiracy has been described as "the most widespread and durable conspiracy theory of the twentieth century" and "one of the most widespread and long-running conspiracy theories". Alt ...
to decimate non-Jews.
Biography
Ryke Geerd Hamer was born in
Mettmann
Mettmann () is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies east of Düsseldorf ...
,
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, in 1935. He received his
high school diploma
A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...
at age 18 and started medical and
theological studies in
Tübingen
Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...
, where he met Sigrid Oldenburg, a medical student who later became his wife. At age 20, Hamer passed the preliminary examination in medicine, and in April 1962 passed his medical state examination in
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximat ...
,
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...
. He was granted a professional license as a doctor of medicine in 1963. After spending several years at the University Clinics of Tübingen and
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
, Hamer completed his specialization in internal medicine in 1972. He also worked in several practices with his wife and
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
ed several inventions.
Hamer's license to practice medicine was revoked in 1986 by a court judgment, which was reconfirmed in 2003. As he continued to practice, Hamer was investigated several times over allegations of
malpractice and causing the deaths of patients. He was jailed for twelve months in Germany from 1997 to 1998, and served a prison term from September 2004 to February 2006 in
Fleury-Mérogis
Fleury-Mérogis () is a commune in the Essonne department in northern France, in the southern suburbs of Paris. The commune has the Fleury-Mérogis Prison, France's and Europe's largest prison.
Population
Inhabitants of Fleury-Mérogis are know ...
, France, on counts of
fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...
and unlicensed practice of medicine.
Hamer's
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...
thesis about the GNM at the University of Tübingen was rejected after multiple examinations by several members of the medical faculty, who concluded that his work lacked scientific methods and reproductibility and his arguments did not support his theories. Hamer claimed that his system was verifiable and that the
University of Trnava in Slovakia had already confirmed some of his theories.
In fact, the University of Trnava has no real medical faculty and the documents which allegedly confirmed his view are not available and registered at the university. That university also rejected his habilitation thesis.
Hamer lived in voluntary exile in Spain until March 2007, when Spanish medical authorities held him responsible for dozens of preventable deaths.
[. New URL:]
retrieved 15 July 2017. By 1997, Hamer owned clinics in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands,
and resided in Norway until his death from a
stroke
A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...
on 2 July 2017, age 82.
Germanic New Medicine
On 8 August 1978, Hamer's son, Dirk, was shot by the son of the last king of Italy,
Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, while asleep on a yacht off
Cavallo and died on 7 December of that year. Sometime after Dirk's death, Hamer developed testicular cancer and thought there was a link between the two events, so he began to develop Germanic New Medicine (GNM), which can be summarized in its "five biological laws":
* 1st law ("Iron Rule"): Severe diseases originate from a
shock
Shock may refer to:
Common uses Collective noun
*Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names
* Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves
Healthcare
* Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emerge ...
event which is experienced by the individual as very difficult, highly acute, dramatic, and isolating. The shock’s psychological conflict content determines the location of the appearance of a focus of activity in the brain that can be seen in a
CT scan as a set of concentric rings, called "Hamer foci", which correspond to the location of the disease in the body. The subsequent development of the conflict determines the development of both the brain focus and the disease.
* 2nd law (Two phased nature of disease): A patient who has not solved their conflict is in the first, active conflict phase, where the
sympathetic nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is one of the three divisions of the autonomic nervous system, the others being the parasympathetic nervous system and the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system is sometimes considered part of t ...
predominates and which manifests as a "cold disease" accompanied by cold skin and extremities,
stress
Stress may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition
* Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...
, weight loss and
sleep disorders. If they manage to resolve the conflict, they enter a second, post-resolution healing phase, in which the
parasympathetic nervous system
The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is one of the three divisions of the autonomic nervous system, the others being the sympathetic nervous system and the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system is sometimes considered part o ...
predominates, commonly diagnosed as a separate "warm" (
rheumatic,
infectious,
allergic
Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, refer a number of conditions caused by the hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include hay fever, food allergies, atopic der ...
, etc.) disease. This second phase is the one that usually entails more risks, and a complete cure only comes upon its completion. In some circumstances, not solving the conflict but downgrading it to a reasonably livable level may be preferable to facing the second phase.
* 3rd law (Ontogenetic system of diseases): Hamer proposes that disease progression is primarily controlled by the brain, either by the "old brain" (
brainstem
The brainstem (or brain stem) is the posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. The midbrain is ...
and
cerebellum
The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebe ...
) or the "new brain" (
cerebrum
The cerebrum, telencephalon or endbrain is the largest part of the brain containing the cerebral cortex (of the two cerebral hemispheres), as well as several subcortical structures, including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfactory bulb. ...
). The old brain controls more primitive processes, having to do with basic survival, such as breathing, eating, and reproduction, whereas the new brain manages more advanced personal and social issues, such as territorial conflicts, separation conflicts, and self-devaluation and identity conflicts. Hamer's research is tied to the science of embryology because he links the type of disease progression—whether involving tissue augmentation (tumor growth), tissue loss (necrosis or ulceration), or functional impairment—with the embryonic germ layer (
endoderm
Endoderm is the innermost of the three primary germ layers in the very early embryo. The other two layers are the ectoderm (outside layer) and mesoderm (middle layer). Cells migrating inward along the archenteron form the inner layer of the gast ...
,
mesoderm
The mesoderm is the middle layer of the three germ layers that develops during gastrulation in the very early development of the embryo of most animals. The outer layer is the ectoderm, and the inner layer is the endoderm.Langman's Medical Emb ...
or
ectoderm
The ectoderm is one of the three primary germ layers formed in early embryonic development. It is the outermost layer, and is superficial to the mesoderm (the middle layer) and endoderm (the innermost layer). It emerges and originates from t ...
) from which both the organ tissues and the corresponding brain regions originate. Conflicts which have their focus either in the brain stem (which controls body tissues that derive from the endoderm) or the cerebellum (which controls tissues that derive from the mesoderm) show cell multiplication in the conflict active phase, and destruction of the resulting tumors in the healing phase. Cerebrum directed conflicts (affecting the rest of mesoderm-derived tissues and all ectoderm-derived ones) show either cell decrease (necroses, ulcers) or function impairment or interruption in the active phase, and the replenishment of the damaged tissues in the healing phase (which can also be diagnosed as a tumor).
* 4th law (Ontogenetic system of
microbes): Microbes do not cause diseases but are used by the body, coordinated by the brain, to optimize the healing phase, provided that the required microbes are available when needed. Fungi and
mycobacteria
''Mycobacterium'' is a genus of over 190 species in the phylum Actinomycetota, assigned its own family, Mycobacteriaceae. This genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis ('' M. tuberculosis'') and ...
work on tissues that originated in the endoderm, as well as on some of the tissues originating in the mesoderm. Bacteria work on all mesoderm-derived tissues and viruses on ectoderm-derived ones. Hamer maintains that these microbes, rather than being antagonistic to the body, actually perform a necessary role in healing, and that some of the interventions of conventional medicine are counterproductive, by interfering with these natural processes.
* 5th law ("Quintessence"): The conflict active phase and the healing phase of diseases, as described above, constitute "special meaningful programs of nature," developed during the
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
of the species, to allow
organism
In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells ( cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and fu ...
s to override everyday functioning in order to deal with particular emergency situations.
Therefore, according to Hamer, no real diseases exist; rather, what established medicine calls a "disease" is actually a "special meaningful program of nature" (''sinnvolles biologisches Sonderprogramm'') to which bacteria, viruses and
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...
belong. Hamer's GNM claims to explain every disease and treatment according to those premises, and to thereby obviate traditional medicine. The cure is always the resolving of the conflict. Some treatments like
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemother ...
or pain relieving drugs like
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...
are deadly according to Hamer.
These "laws" are dogmas of GNM, not laws of nature or medicine, and are at odds with scientific understanding of human physiology.
Olivia Pilhar case
In 1995, Hamer was associated with the case of Olivia Pilhar, a six-year-old Austrian girl who suffered from a
Wilms' tumor. Pilhar's parents were members of
Fiat Lux, a
new religious movement
A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in ...
whose leader
Uriella referred them to Hamer. He diagnosed the girl as having several "conflicts" rather than cancer. When the parents refused conventional medical therapy for Pilhar, the
Austrian government
The Government of Austria (german: Bundesregierung der Republik Österreich) is the executive cabinet of the Republic of Austria. It consists of the chancellor, who is the head of government, the vice chancellor and the ministers.
Appoin ...
removed their rights of care and control. The parents fled with their daughter to Spain, which was Hamer's place of residence at the time.
After negotiations, including the intervention of the
Austrian President Thomas Klestil
Thomas Klestil (; 4 November 1932 – 6 July 2004) was an Austrian diplomat and politician who served as President of Austria from 1992 to his death in 2004. He was elected in 1992 and re-elected into office in 1998.
Biography until 1992
Bor ...
, the parents were persuaded to return to Austria. By then, Pilhar's health had deteriorated. The tumor had grown very large, weighing four kilograms, filling most of her abdominal cavity and was pressing against her lungs. The lack of treatment had reduced the estimate of survival probability from 90% to 10%. After a court ordered conventional cancer treatment with surgery,
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemother ...
and
radiation therapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Rad ...
, Pilhar recovered completely and was still alive in 2010. Her parents received an eight-month suspended jail sentence in Austria.
Jewish conspiracy theory
Hamer purported that his method is a "Germanic" alternative to mainstream clinical medicine, which he claimed is part of a
Jewish conspiracy
Belief in an international Jewish conspiracy or world Jewish conspiracy has been described as "the most widespread and durable conspiracy theory of the twentieth century" and "one of the most widespread and long-running conspiracy theories". Alt ...
to decimate non-Jews. In this, Hamer repeated the
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Ant ...
claims of
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
physician
Gerhard Wagner. More precisely, Hamer asserted that chemotherapy and morphine are used to "mass murder" Western civilisation, while such treatment is not used in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Hamer promoted the idea that most German
oncologists
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...
are Jewish and that "no Jew is treated with chemotherapy in Germany." According to him, hypodermic needles are used during chemotherapy to implant "chips" containing "chambers of poison" that can be activated by satellite to specifically kill patients. He proposed that the
swine flu vaccination campaign of 2009 was also used to mark people with those "chips" and
denied the existence of HIV. Hamer also believed that the denial of recognition of his theories and the revocation of his practitioner's licence is due to a Jewish conspiracy.
[Germanisch gegen Krebs]
TAZ 30 January 2006
In 2008, Hamer presented a document where one "
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...
" "Esra" Iwan Götz confirmed the existence of a conspiracy among Jewish oncologists to use the "torture" of chemotherapy on all non-Jewish patients, while Jewish patients were to receive the "correct" treatment of GNM. Götz, a German
holocaust denier
Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements:
* ...
active in the
German Reich revivalism scene, has been repeatedly convicted by German courts for
fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...
,
defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
, misuse of academic titles (the title "Chief Rabbi" is not legally protected in Germany), and the falsification of documents, among others.
Response by medical authorities
The Swiss Cancer League of the Swiss Society for Oncology, Swiss Society for Medical Oncology, and Swiss Institute for Applied Cancer Research say that no case of a cancer cure by Hamer has been published in the medical literature, nor any studies in specialised journals. Reports in his books "lack the additional data that are essential for medical assessment" and the presentations of his investigations, at medical conferences "are scientifically unconvincing."
Additionally, the
German Cancer Research Center,
[Krebsinformationsdienst des Deutschen Krebsforschungszentrums Heidelberg über die "Therapie nach Hamer"]
PDF, Stand 2006
) the German Cancer Society,
the
German Medical Association and German Consumer Councils strongly disagree with Hamer.
Proponents of alternative cancer treatments also regard Hamer's theory skeptically and argue for supportive evidence and proven patient cases.
The Hamer foci that Hamer saw in the brain CTs are identified by radiologists as common
ring artifacts.
The medical establishment in Germany and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
warns of the threat posed to patients by Hamer's therapies. If effective treatment is neglected, the applying of Hamer's theories is punishable in some countries as malpractice.
There are ongoing press reports of victims of Hamer's practice throughout Europe.
[''Kampf gegen die Stärksten'', Der Spiegel 32/1995, S. 154–162.]
Publications
*
*
*
*
See also
*
List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
This is a non-exhaustive list of alternative treatments that have been promoted to treat or prevent cancer in humans but which lack scientific and medical evidence of effectiveness. In many cases, there is scientific evidence that the alleged tr ...
References
External links
Hamer's official web pageIlsedora Laker web pageKaroline Markolin web pageSearchlightmagazine and Hamer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamer, Ryke Geerd
1935 births
2017 deaths
20th-century German physicians
Alternative cancer treatment advocates
German conspiracy theorists
German anti-vaccination activists
Medical malpractice
People from Mettmann
People from the Rhine Province