Maria Flora Stricker-Barolin (geb. Barolin)

Born:	07-15-1886
Faculty:	Philosophical School
Category:	Expelled teacher

Maria Flora BAROLIN-STRICKER (born on July 15th, 1886 in Vienna/Austria, died in 1962 in Vienna/Austria and was a physician (gynecologist) and academic teacher ("Universitaetslektorin") for medical supervision of women in the physical education curriculum ("Turnlehrerausbildung") at the Philosophical School of the University of Vienna. She was persecuted in times of Nazism for racist reason as her husband was regarded as a Jew, lost her position and was forced to leave the university. Flora Barolin had graduated at the University of Vienna on December 23rd, 1910 and earned her academic title "M.D." ("Dr. med.univ.") (and belonged in many aspects to the pioneer generation of women in medicine and women at the university – 10 years after opening up the university studies in Vienna to female students she was only the 141st women ever, and the 48th at the Medical School who graduated). She got married to Dr. med. Oskar Stricker (1886-1972) on October 7, 1920 and after their marriage both changed their surnames to the double-name "Barolin-Stricker" in 1921. She was the first female surgical senior physician ("Oberaerztin") in Vienna (1st surgical department of the General hospital of Vienna ("AKH") to professor Konrad Buedinger (1867-1944), a pupil and successor of Theodor Billroth. She was medical specialist in gynecology and opened up a medical practice in October 1924 in Viennas' 7th district, Apollogasse 8, where also her husband, urologist, opened up his medical practice. The couple had three children: Dr.med. Eva Barolin-Stricker (1921-2014); Martha (born 1924), Dr.med. Gerhard Barolin-Stricker (1929-2011). In 1938 she was forced to leave the university under National-Socialist regime and lost her position as university lecturer but her contract with the health insurance fund ("Krankenkassenvertrag") was cancelled, because her husband was regarded as a "Jew" in NS-definition and she did not accept to get divorced. Oskar Stricker-Barolin was no more allowed to continue to practice after the "Anschluss" but became "Krankenbehandler für Juden", restricted only to treat Jewish people and only in the "Leopoldstadt", the main area of the Jewish community in Vienna. The status of living as a "privileged mixed couple with an Ayrian" first protected him of further perpetration, but when he intensified his activities in the resistance movement he got caught and was arrested on October 24, 1944 by NS secret police ("Gestapo") and tortured, to get more information about fellows in the resistance movement. To avoid giving any information he tried to commit suicide and jumped out of a window in the 4th floor in the interrogation building, but survived, badly injured and was imprisoned in a detainment area at the hospital of the Jewish Community of Vienna at Malzgasse 16, where he experienced the liberation of Vienna in April 1945. After recovering he continued to practice as a urologist, together with his wife Maria Flora Stricker-Barolin in Apollogasse in 1945 (since 1943 she had been forced to practice ("kriegsverpflichtet")). He later became head of the uroly department ("Primarius") at hospital "Sophienspital" in Vienna. Maria Flora BAROLIN-STRICKER died in 1962 in Vienna and is burried at the central cemetery in Vienna.

Lit.: Personnel Roster ('Personalstand') of the University of Vienna 1937/38, 87; FIGDOR 2007, 191-192.

Herbert Posch