Mildred Scheel (born Mildred Wirtz; 31 December 1931 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

– 13 May 1985 in Cologne) was a German physician, the second wife of the President of the Federal Republic

Walter Scheel Walter Scheel (; 8 July 1919 – 24 August 2016) was a German statesman. A member of the Nazi Party who joined the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in 1946, he first served in government as the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and ...

and the founder of the German Cancer Aid.

Life and work

Mildred Scheel was the third child of a

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

and his American wife. Already as a child, she was very much interested in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and often accompanied her father in his practice. The family left the bombed-out Cologne in 1944, and moved to

Amberg Amberg () is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate about halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. History The town was first mentioned in 1034 with the name Ammenberg. It became an important trading c ...

After high school

In 1950 she started her university medical studies 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 ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

and

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

. Her first job was as a doctor in Munich. Then she worked in various hospitals and medical practices. In 1963, her daughter Cornelia was born. In 1967 Mildred Wirtz met her future husband in a sanatorium which she was working at that time. The FDP politician was recovering there after a

kidney stone Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cr ...

operation. On 18 July 1969 they married in Munich-Schwabing and moved to Bonn. In October of that year, Walter Scheel was appointed minister of the exterior. The couple had two children, a daughter and an adopted orphan from

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Public life

With the election of Walter Scheel to the office of the Federal President on 15 May 1974, a new life of public service began for Mildred Scheel, with new responsibilities and obligations. According to the tradition of former German First Ladies Elly Heuss-Knapp and Wilhelmine Lübke (wife of the late president Heinrich Lübke), Dr. Scheel chose a social and public health role: the fight against

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. "This can be more successful, only if all the citizens show solidarity in this important fight”, said Scheel in an announcement. She was very active in mobilizing the German public to make donations for this “health-project to benefit everybody”. Even while on

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of state, head of a sovereign state, sovereign country (or Governor-general, representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or ...

s, she collected donations for the organization. In 1980, long time friend

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

immortalized her image with a limited edition screen-print published to raise funds for the German Cancer Aid.

Her life's work

With the establishment of the German Cancer Aid in 1974, the foundation stone was laid for the future non-profit life work of Mildred Scheel. From the very beginning, her organization was marked by the fact that no

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

money was expected and no donations were ever accepted from the pharmaceutical industry. "We must be completely independent of political and economic interests. We only have to serve the people's health and remain committed", was her

credo In Christian liturgy, the credo (; Latin for "I believe") is the portion of the Mass where a creed is recited or sung. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed or the Apostles' Creed are the primary creeds used for this purpose. History After the ...

. Mildred Scheel broke the

taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

in society and started an open and free public discussion about cancer in general, and especially about

uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ute ...

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

and

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

in particular. Shortly after founding the German Cancer Aid, Mildred Scheel had succeeded in winning over the medical profession to cooperate in these efforts. She initiated the first scientific medical

conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

of cancer experts from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, United States and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In 1985 she died of complications from cancer. She kept the diagnosis secret from everybody except her family and very close friends. The Honorary grave of Mildred Scheel is located at the Old Cemetery in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Honors and awards

The major honors awarded to Mildred Scheel include more than 20 state medals of honor. She received the 1976 German Media Prize

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

. In the following years 1977, 1978 and 1979 she was elected the

Woman of the Year ''Woman of the Year'' is a 1942 American romantic comedy drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The film was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin (with uncredited work on the rewritte ...

in Germany. Several institutions, schools and streets have been named after her: for instance, in the cities of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Solingen Solingen (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr. After Wuppertal, it is the second-largest city in the Bergisches Land, and a member of ...

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

and

Calw Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled Kalb accordingly; ) is a Landstadt, town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the Calw (district), district Calw. It is located in the North ...

. In 2008, the city of

posthumously honored the founder of German Cancer Aid by naming a street in the famous

Schwabing Schwabing is a borough in the northern part of Munich, the Capital (political), capital of the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is part of the city borough 4 (Schwabing-West) and the city borough 12 (Schwabing-Freimann). The population of Sc ...

district „Mildred-Scheel-Bogen” (by the decision of the City Council on 14 February 2008). It is also recalled that the doctor lived, studied and worked in the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n capital Munich for many years.

References

External links

Short Biography of Mildred Scheel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheel, Mildred Physicians from Cologne German people of American descent Cancer awareness 1931 births 1985 deaths Spouses of presidents of Germany Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Walter Scheel