Nachmann Frey

Born:	02-16-1892
Faculty:	Medical School | Medical University Vienna
Category:	Deprivation of academic degree

Nachmann FREY (born on February 16th, 1892 in Bolechov/Galizien [Bolekhov/Ukraine]), son of Joseph Frey (merchant) and his wife Rachel, nee Weisbard, had graduated at the Medical School at the University of Vienna on July 11th, 1921 with the academic degree 'Dr. med.'.
Nachmann Frey married Malcia (Malka) Reich (born on September 11th, 1897 in Stryi [Ukraine]) on June 4th, 1922 in Vienna. After his studies he worked as a physican at the Rothschild-Spital of the Jewish Community (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde, IKG) and at the Ortner-Klinik in Vienna and concurrently was chairman of the district’s synagogue and of the Prater-district of the General Zionist Organisation of Vienna. In 1934 he also became board member of the IKG, head of the Palestine office in Vienna and member of the main board of the Zionisti Organistion of Austria. In 1938 Nachmann Frey emigrated to Palestine [Israel], where he opened a privat practice of internal medicine and concurrently worked as a physician and member of the board of directors of the Assutah-Hospital and as a physician at the City Hospital in Tel Aviv. He became president of the central synagogue Tel Aviv and member of the General Zionist party executive of Israel. In times of Nazism he was deprived of his academic degree on July 14th, 1942 with the racist argument, that he as a Jew was not considered dignified an academic degree of a German university ('eines akademischen Grades einer deutschen Hochschule unwuerdig').
It took 13 years since the deprivation - and a very long time since the end of Nazism - until the regranting of the doctorate took finally place on May 15th, 1955. Nachmann Frey died on February 10th, 1970 in Tel Aviv/Israel.

Lit.: ROEDER Vol. 1 1980; information from Traude Triebel, 2014.

Katharina Kniefacz