Karl Safar

Karl SAFAR (born on February 11^th, 1892 in Vienna, died on November 22^nd, 1963) was lecturer ('Dozent') for Augenheilkunde at the Medical School of the University of Vienna.

He was persecuted in times of Nazism for racist reason and because of his political orientation lost his position and was thrown out of the university on December 2^nd, 1938.

Safar attended the Piarist secondary school as well as the Döbling secondary school in Vienna, graduated in 1911 and then began studying medicine at the University of Vienna. He had to interrupt his studies because of the First World War: From 1914 until 1918 he took part in the war as a medical lieutenant, among other things working as a field surgeon. After the end of the war he again took up his studies and obtained his medical doctorate on March 24^th, 1920. In May of that same year he began working at the 1st University Eye Clinic as an assistant doctor, where he also was a clinical assistant from October 1922 until September 1930.^[1] After his time as an assistant, Safar had to leave the clinic, leaving him time to focus on his private practice.^[2] In March 1933 he habilitated at the University of Vienna with the paper “Behandlung der Netzhautabhebung mit multipler diathermischer Stichelung"^[3] Two years later he became head of the ophthalmological department at the Viennese Kaiserin-Elisabeth hospital^[4] as well as at the Wieden hospital.^[5]

Immediately after Austria’s "Anschluss" to the German Reich Safar was at first not subject to any measures against him. On December 2^nd, 1938, however, his venia legendi was revoked,^[6] because his wife was considered a "Mischling 1. Grades" ("half-Jew") according to the "Nuremberg Race Laws".^[7] The NSD-Dozentenbund (National Socialist University Teachers’ League) at the University of Vienna still considered him a "good ophthalmologist", against whose "character" there were no "objections". Nevertheless, the Dozentenbund^[8] and the dean’s office were against a reinstatement of his venia and the conferment of the title of "Dozent neuer Ordnung" (lecturer under new regulation). Moreover, the dean as well as the vice dean of the medical faculty were opposed to Safar staying on as a doctor, because, according to Otto Reisch from the Reichsstatthalterei (Reich deputy’s office), the "departments of the city hospitals should be staffed by doctors with as close a relationship to the medical faculty as possible". Reisch also blamed Safar for the date of his appointment as chief physician: Safar - just like Heidler and Zdansky - had received this title "during the system time through eliminating all of his nationally minded competition, which clearly proves" that he "had the trust of the Christian-social authorities".^[9]

Shortly afterwards, at the end of December 1939, Safar was sent into retirement from his position as chief physician in accordance with §3 of the career civil servant act for "jüdische Versippung" ("mingling with Jews".^[10] According to his index card at the Reich doctors’ registry, he had already been "struck" from the list of accredited doctors for the public health insurance.^[11]

In the following year, 1940, he was drafted into emergency service, where he first led the ophthalmological department at the Robert-Koch hospital (today the Kaiser-Franz-Josef hospital) and after this was destroyed, the ophthalmological department at the hospital Rudolfstiftung.^[12] On a side note, Safar had also - according to information from the medical council from October 8^th, 1945 - been a member of the National Socialist Kraftfahrerkorps (Motor Corps, NSKK),^[13] which he did not mention in his personnel file on May 22^nd, 1945.^[14]

Already in 1945 he was able to return to the University of Vienna: The Staatsamt für Volksaufklärung (government office for public enlightenment) had reinstated his venia docendi on August 22^nd, 1945,^[15] and two months later he received the title of associate professor.^[16] In the following year he temporarily took over as the head of the 1st University Eye Clinic as well as holding the necessary lectures and courses, while the former head, Arnold Pillar, was suspended because of Nazi-related accusations.^[17] Meanwhile he also became head of the ophthalmological department of the hospital of the city of Vienna in Lainz in 1946, where he worked as chief physician until his death.^[18]

Safar was among the pioneers of electrosurgery of the eye. He gained significant renown for his multiple diathermic scarification of the area of the tear in retina detachment, through which the illness could be cured in 70 percent of cases. The formerly used Golin method only had a success rate of about 25 to 30 percent. Safar also for the first managed time to atrophy intraocular epithelic cysts with electrodes he had constructed himself.^[19]

Lit.: Federal Archives Berlin/Reichsärzteregister; Austrian State Archive/AdR, BKA, BBV, PA Safar, Austrian State Archive/AVA, PA Safar; Archive of the University of Vienna/MED GZ 1200 ex 1938/39; MERINSKY 1980, 214-215; UB MedUni Wien/van Swieten Blog; MÜHLBERGER 1993, 30; TRAGL 2007; Josef Böck, Nachruf, in: Die Feierliche Inauguration des Rektors der Wiener Universität für das Studienjahr 1964/65, Wien 1965, 47-48.

Andreas Huber (translated by Thomas Rennert)