Erich Seligmann Collection

Erich Seligmann was born on November 2, 1880 in Berlin. In 1904 he received his medical degree from the University of Heidelberg. His career began with the position of assistant bacteriologist from 1904-1907 at Berlin's Institute for Infectious Diseases (later the Robert Koch Institute) where he worked under such medical luminaries as Robert Koch (who was the first to isolate anthrax, tuberculosis and cholera), Georg Gaffky (who identified the typhoid bacillus) and Bernhard Proskauer.

In 1907 Seligmann entered the public health service, following Proskauer to the newly-founded Investigative Office for Hygenic and Commercial Purposes (Untersuchungsamt für hygienische und gewerbliche Zwecke), later part of the Central Health Office (Hauptgesundheitsamt) of Berlin, where in 1918 he became head of the department of bacteriology and hygiene. During World War I Seligmann served as a captain in the medical corps and chief of the bacteriological laboratories of the army. In 1927 he became the director of the scientific institutes of the Central Health Office (Hauptgesundheitsamt) and deputy health commissioner for the city of Berlin. These laboratories were the largest investigators of bacteriological samples for contagious diseases in Germany. Seligmann's responsibilities here centered on disinfection, vaccination, immunization, supervision of the water and milk supply as well as of the public baths and general sanitation. From 1919 until 1933 Seligmann also taught as a professor for infectious diseases at the Berlin Academy for Social Hygiene. Additionally, he served as an advisor to the Reich and the League of Nations in matters of public health and hygiene. In 1929 he traveled to the United States to conduct research in the control of contagious diseases and public baths.

After 1933, due to official German policies, Seligmann was dismissed from his post as director of the Hauptgesundheitsamt. He then became director of the newly organized Board of Health of the Berlin Jewish Community and president of the Jewish Hospital of Berlin. He was also advisor to the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland for public health and social care.

In 1939 Seligmann immigrated to the United States via England, where he received the position of assistant professor of public health at Columbia University. In 1941 he became chief bacteriologist at Beth Israel Hospital and director of Beth Israel's Salmonella Center.

He died in New York on January 1, 1954. Over his lifetime, Erich Seligman produced more than two hundred articles in bacteriology and related fields such as epidemiology, immunology, general and social hygiene and public health education. He was especially known for his work in diphtheria and salmonella research. In addition to his scholarly papers he wrote articles for popular newspapers and magazines and gave lectures on the radio in matters of public health.