Karl Bonhoeffer (; March 31, 1868 – December 4, 1948) was a German

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

and

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

Life

Bonhoeffer was born in

Neresheim Neresheim is a town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated northeast of Heidenheim an der Brenz, Heidenheim, and southeast of Aalen. It's the home of the Neresheim Abbey, which still hosts monks, was ''Reich ...

in the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

to Friedrich von Bonhoeffer (1828–1907), who worked as judge in Ulm, and Julie Tafel (1842–1936). His brother was chemist Gustav-Otto Bonhoeffer. From 1887 to 1892 Bonhoeffer studied medicine at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. From 1904 to 1912 Bonhoeffer worked as a professor at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. From 1912 to 1938 Bonhoeffer worked at the

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 ...

in Berlin. In 1898, he married Paula von Hase (1876–1951). Two of his children were Klaus Bonhoeffer and

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the s ...

, both of whom were executed by the Nazis. One of his daughters was Christine von Dohnanyi and one more son was chemist Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer died in Berlin at the age of 80 after the end of World War II. Bonhoeffer was a part of the resistance movement against the Nazis after the

Aktion T4 (German, ) was a campaign of Homicide#By state actors, mass murder by involuntary euthanasia which targeted Disability, people with disabilities and the mentally ill in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post-WWII, war trials against d ...

campaign was begun in 1939. He forged the documentation of disabled patients, suggested sources to other doctors to save patients. Along with Emil Kraepelin, Bonhoeffer was a major opponent of sexual reform movement that advocated for gay rights in the Weimar Republic. His medical education served to legitimize Kraepelin's calls for "educational discipline" against gay people, including severe punishments for 'corruption.' These policies extended beyond the bounds of homosexual intercourse, instead applying to any act that involved sexual gratification. These arguments were later taken up by the Nazi party, providing the grounds to treat homosexuality as an epidemic deserving of severe punishment, in doing so providing the Nazis with the rhetoric needed to persecute gay men under the guise of conforming to scientific knowledge.

Works by Bonhoeffer

* "Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis des großstädtischen Bettel- und Vagabundentums. Eine psychiatrische Untersuchung." ''Zeitschrift für die gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft'', vol. 21, 1–65. Berlin 1900. * ''Die akuten Geisteskrankheiten der Gewohnheitstrinker.'' Jena 1901. * ''Die symptomatischen Psychosen im Gefolge von akuten Infektionen und inneren Erkrankungen.'' Deuticke, Leipzig, Wien 1910. * "Die Psychosen im Gefolge von akuten Infektionen, Allgemeinerkrankungen und inneren Erkrankerungen." In: ''Handbuch der Psychiatrie. Spezieller Teil.'' 3:1. Deuticke, Leipzig, Wien 1912, p. 1–120. * "Die exogenen Reaktionstypen." ''Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten'' vol. 58, Berlin 1917, pp. 50–70. * with P. Jossmann (ed.): ''Ergebnisse der Reiztherapie bei progressiver Paralyse.'' 1932. * with K. Albrecht et al. (ed.): ''Die psychiatrischen Aufgaben bei der Ausführung des Gesetzes zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses. Mit einem Anhang Die Technik der Unfruchtbarmachung. Klinische Vorträge im erbbiologischen Kurs.'' Karger, Berlin 1934. * (ed.): ''Die Erbkrankheiten. Klinische Vorträge im 2. erbbiologischen Kurs.'' 1936. * "Die zentralen Bewegungsstörungen. Die akuten und chronischen choreatischen Erkrankungen und die Myoklonien." In: S. A. Kinnier-Wilson: ''Die zentralen Bewegungsstörungen.'' 1936.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonhoeffer, Karl German neuroscientists German neurologists German psychiatrists Academic staff of the University of Breslau 1868 births 1948 deaths German Protestants Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina University of Tübingen alumni Physicians of the Charité People from Neresheim Physicians from Berlin Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni

Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cac ...