Elsbeth von Keudell (1857–1953) was a German nurse and senior coordinator of the Countess Rittberg Sisters' Association of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. She was one of the first people to receive the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

for her service to those in need.

Life and work

Keudell was born 21 May 1857 in

Tilsit Sovetsk (; ) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. History Early history Tilsit, which received civic rights from Albert, Duke of Prussia in 1552,''Sło ...

, Kahlingrad, Russia as the youngest daughter of an officer and landowner and she was trained as a nurse at Berlin's

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine; ) is Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...

Hospital. From 1902 to 1903 she was head nurse at the surgical clinic of the hospital in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

-Altsta, Germany. She was one of the first nurses in the country to receive additional training to become a superior at the Red Cross school founded by Clementine von Wallmenich. Keudell passed the exam in early 1904, and on 1 May, she took over management of the Countess Rittberg Sisters' Association of the Red Cross, named for its founder Hedwig von Rittberg, in Berlin- Lichterfelde. (In 1975, the organization became part of the German Red Cross.) Keudell gained public notoriety when the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (GRC) ( ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. During the Nazi era, the German Red Cross was under the control of the Nazi Party and played a role in supporting the regime's policies, including the exclusion ...

(DRK) was asked, for the first time, to respond to a natural disaster outside the country. On 28 December 1908, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

destroyed the city of

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on the island of

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causing massive casualties and destroying access routes to the area. Only 48 hours later, Keudell arrived in

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

and led a relief expedition with five other sisters to offer care for the many wounded people there. Soon, the DRK, under Keudell's supervision, sent 37 railway carriages and the steamer ''Illyria'', laden with barracks, tents and other supplies to aide efforts there. Later, during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, She was responsible for the coordination of around 300 sisters in her association for voluntary war nursing. In 1920 Keudell was awarded one of the first Florence Nightingale Medals in recognition of her dedication during the earthquake as well as her work during the war. The medal, still awarded every two years, remains the highest award given to nurses worldwide. Keudell resigned from the management of the association on 1 July 1929, and her successor was Alexandrine Countess of Üxküll-Gyllenband. In 1930 Keudell published a biography of Clementine von Wallmenich, who had greatly influenced her career in her early years. Keudell died on 4 April 1953 in

Berlin-Lichterfelde Lichterfelde () is a locality in the Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Steglitz, along with Steglitz and Lankwitz. Lichterfelde is home to institutions like the Be ...

, Germany.

References

External links

* Stölzle, A. (2012)
Die freiwillige Krankenpflege im Ersten Weltkrieg. Die Arbeit der Schwestern und Pfleger in den Kriegslazaretten der Etappen/The voluntary medical care during the First World War. The work of the nursing staff in the military field hospitals on the eastern and western frontlines.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keudell, Elsbeth von 1857 births 1953 deaths People from Tilsit Florence Nightingale Medal recipients German nurses German women nurses 19th-century German women 20th-century German women Female wartime nurses 19th-century nurses 20th-century nurses 20th-century German people 19th-century German people