Dr. Käthe Beutler, 1896–1999

Abstract

In recent years Jewish pediatrician Kathe Beutler and her family, refugees from National Socialist Germany, have come to attention through her grandson Bruce Beutler’s award of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. However, the complex history of this family has not been investigated in detail, despite the fact that Kathe Beutler presented the rare example of a married physician, who was able to reestablish a pediatric practice in her new home country. The following study draws from a wide variety of archival resources and personal documents, to trace the history of the Beutler family through a century of political turmoil. It contributes to the so-far limited knowledge of the life of women doctors before and after forced emigration, exploring Kathe’s experience as a professional, a member of the German Jewish middle-class, a wife and a mother. The Beutler family demonstrates the societal impact on the potential fates and achievements of the members of one family unit, a potential that when realized under conditions of political, economical, and personal support, can result in the highest academic achievements, but a potential that is lost under conditions of prejudice and persecution. The story of Kathe Beutler and her family could not be more relevant than at the present, at a time of the global resurgence of nationalism, displacement, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.