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The origins of Jewish nursing in Germany date back to the last part of the 19th Century. In the wake of national socialism tyranny (NS-Zeit), the existence of Jewish nursing was completely destroyed. Regarding establishment and solicitous development for Jewish women, owing to a Jewish doctor living in Stuttgart Dr. Gustav Feldmann (1872-1947) whose contribution to developing new profession in the first quarter of the 20th century was not without merit. Up to now, he was hardly recognized by medical history and historical research. The following contribution serves to get a better view of his life and activities; most importantly to introduce his published work to a wide readership.

In 1919, Michael Fischer OSC was appointed to the German charity union "Zentrale des Deutschen Caritasverbandes" (DCV) in Freiburg. He assumed his duties as the acting manager and general secretary for the German catholic union of health institutions "Verband Katholischer Kranken- und Pflegeanstalten". For nearly twenty years, he was involved in expanding and strengthening this specialized organisation. For more than a decade, Michael Fischer influenced catholic medical care in Germany by holding lectures; on the whole, he published the medical welfare journal "Krankendienst" as well as fifteen specialized books and more than five hundred articles in different journals, which were essential. For all his efforts, his enormous engagement, historical health research has ignored him until now. The following essay is meant to give insight into his life and works and pays tribute to his importance in nursing care.

In 1954 the German federal postal service issued a special stamp displaying Bertha Pappenheim (1859-1936) in the series "Helfer der Menschheit" (Helpers for mankind) together with Käthe Wollwitz, Lorenz Werthmann und Johann Friedrich Oberlin. Despite being honoured elsewhere, too, her engagement has not been taken note of by any biographers dealing with the history of nursing. This article which conveys a survey of her life and work therefore concentrates primarily on the importance Bertha Pappenheim gave nursing.