Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 194-195. (Budapest, 2006)
TANULMÁNYOK — ARTICLES - ELEK, Gábor - MÜLLER, Miklós: Ervin Bauer as pathologist
tions of his observations at the autopsy table and under the microscope. They also reveal the significant impact of his studies of specific pathological problems on the development of his theoretical views. In this paper we wish to review briefly this stage of Bauer's life and examine the role of his early experiences in his development into a major theoretician. English translations from non-English texts are by MM. The young Bauer: pathologist in the final years of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Bauer was born in 1890 in Lőcse (now Levoca in Slovakia) into a highly educated family. His older brother Herbert became a well known literary figure under the name de plume of Béla Balázs, his sister Hilda studied and taught languages. Bauer's father died of cancer in 1896 and at the insistence of his mother Bauer decided to become a physician instead of following his inclination to study mathematics. His mother always hoped that Ervin will find a cure for cancer. The memory of this seems to have kindled a special interest in Bauer for tumors that carried through till the end of his career. He began his studies at the Medical Faculty of the Pázmány Péter University in Budapest in 1909 and completed them in 1914. For two years (1911-1913) he studied at the University of Göttingen. He took only a few lecture courses and began his career as pathologist in the department of Eduard Kaufmann (Fischer 1962, Vol. 1, 744). Kaufmann's authoritative textbook of pathology (Kaufmann 1922 and other editions) was widely used and its second edition, translated into Hungarian, was popular among Hungarian medical men. This inspiring teacher attracted the initially rather mediocre student to research. Bauer learned histological techniques here, which he later used efficiently in Temesvár. His research in Göttingen resulted in a major published paper. It is remarkable that as a student Bauer was the sole author of this paper, in which he acknowledges the support of Kaufmann. Bauer was understandably very happy of this achievement. Fie wrote to his friend György (Georg) Lukács: "Finally I am able to send you a reprint of my first publication. I received them yesterday and I am happy to have them — although they should have arrived quite some time ago. I am getting impatient about the second one, what mars my happiness somewhat" (April 6, 1914; Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Lukács Arhivum). As yet no trace has been found of a second paper from his student years. After the outbreak of WWI, he was immediately drafted and served in the AustroHungarian army until the armistice in 1918. On a leave of absence, Bauer took his final examinations and received the degree of doctor of medicine at the Budapest University late August of 1914 and was sent to the Eastern front soon. He served there as a military surgeon - with one interruption because of illness - until he was found unfit for active service on November 5, 1915. From then on until the end of the war he served as a pathologist in a poorly equipped Military Hospital (K.u.K. Garnisonspital Nr. 21) in Temesvár (now Timisoara in Romania). {Fig. 1) With all its difficulties, the time of WWI was a very happy period in Bauer's personal life. In 1914, he married the well known writer, Margit Kaffka (1880 - 1918), the 125 th anniversary of whose birth we are celebrating this year (2005). Although their time together was fraught with hardships due to the war, the relationship was most happy and harmonious. When they had to be apart, which happened often, Bauer and Kaffka corresponded exten-
