Arno Philippsthal

Dr. med. Arno Philippsthal was born in Güsten (Anhalt) on 13 September 1887. After serving as a medical officer during the First World War, he opened an office in Biesdorf as a general practitioner. Arno Philippsthal was seen as a caring and socially committed physician and was very well-liked by his patients. He had planned to open his own clinic in Biesdorf in April 1933. This did not come to pass, because the SA Field Police arrested the Jewish doctor on 21 March 1933 and tortured him to such a degree in the SA Prison Papestrasse that he died in the state hospital on 3 April as a result of his severe injuries. Preliminary proceedings that were subsequently initiated were soon dropped and the perpetrators were amnestied. A large crowd of family members, friends and other mourners attended the burial of Arno Philippsthal at the Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weissensee.