Oskar Fehr

Who was Oskar Fehr?

Oskar Fehr was a German ophthalmologist. Among his medical specialties were swimming pool conjunctivitis, tumours of the eye, and retinal detachment. He was an internationally renowned eye surgeon.

Fehr was born in Braunschweig to a Jewish family. He studied in Heidelberg, Berlin, and Kiel, receiving his doctorate at Heidelberg in 1897.

From 1897 to 1906, he was assistant physician at the eye clinic of Julius Hirschberg in Berlin. From 1907, he was head physician at the department of eye diseases at the Rudolf Virchow Hospital. He received the title of professor in 1919. Besides his work in the hospital, he had a large private practice in the western part of Berlin, close to the Tiergarten.

In 1934, Oscar Fehr was forbidden to enter the clinic where he had worked for more than 25 years. He continued his private practice and operated in different nursing homes. When Jewish doctors were prohibited to treat gentiles in 1938, he was one of the few who were allowed to remain in practice as “Judenbehandler”. Fehr finally decided to emigrate with his family to Great Britain in 1939, the Fehr family escape to Britain was assisted by Frank Foley. He attended Edinburgh University to prepare for the exams he had to pass to be allowed to practice in Great Britain. After passing his Exams in 1942/43, he started a private practice in London in July 1943. Becoming a British citizen in 1947, he practiced until his second heart attack in 1955 foreced him to retire. Oskar Fehr died on August 1st 1959 in London.