Fritz Dieter Schroers — Compiler and Editor of Several Important Homeopathic References, Passes at the Age of 87

Fritz Dieter Schroers. “Courtesy of the Institute for the History of Medicine/BHC.” Photographer: “Fotostudio M42/Heilbron”

Fritz Dieter Schroers was born on November 17, 1935 and, though not a homeopath, devoted himself, for much of his work life, as a jurist for the German homeopathic concern, Institut für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung (Stuttgart, Germany).

During the latter part of his tenure there, he meticulously researched and then wrote Lexikon deutschsprachiger Homoopathen (2006; “Dictionary of German-Speaking Homeopaths,” which remains untranslated; ISBN: 978–3-8304–7254–4). This 171-page hardback monograph, published by Karl F. Haug Verlag, provides succinct biographies of over 600 German-speaking homeopaths along with citings of their writings or bibliographies. Schroers worked tirelessly on this book for 5 years, from September 2000 through the end of 2005. He was fluent in five languages.

Although his dream to become a doctor went unfulfilled, his love for the law allowed him to become a jurist (he was not a lawyer), which he studied in Erlangen and Munich. He then worked as an export manager with power-of-attorney in various companies before joining the Robert Bosch GmbH in 1970. There, his responsibilities involved in-company informational services, which began in 1975. His specialty in law proved advantageous during his employment at the Bosch Institute, as he worked in the media or press department of the company. Schroers was primarily responsible for creating and updating various press reviews. He retired in 2021 and crossed the threshold on the 18th day of December, 2022.

After the Lexikon deutschsprachiger Homoopathen was published, he worked on a database project indexing homeopathic journals. This aspect of journalism helps organize and preserve homeopathic history, as you can well imagine.

Schroers indexed and cataloged articles from the following list of German homeopathic journals that were published in the 19th and early 20th centuries:

• Populäre Homöopathische Zeitung (Vol. 1–17, 1855–1871) complete; Zeitschrift für Homöopathische Klinik (Vol. 1–5, 1852–1856) complete.

• Neue Zeitschrift für Homöopathische Klinik (Vol. 1–24, 1856–1879) complete.

• Berliner Homöopathische Zeitschrift (Vol. 1–37, 1882–1919) complete; Vol. 38 (1920–1921). These are just three small booklets (postwar period) complete.

• Deutsche Zeitschrift für Homöopathie (Berl. Hom. Ztschr.) Vol. 39 (1922) to Vol. 52 (1936) complete.

• Deutsche Zeitschrift für Homöopathie und deren Grenzgebiete Vol. 53 (1937) to Vol. 60 (1944) complete. For the years, 1945 through 1947, there was a gap because of the Second World War. Issues continued with no. 61.

• Zeitschrift für biologische Heilweisen (Vol. 61, 1948–1949).

• Arzt und Patient (Vol. 62, 1949 to Vol. 63, 1950).

• Hippokrates (Vols. 1–49, 1928/1929–1978) partly complete.¹

Schroers, although a little known figure, left the homeopathic community a very useful book, while his scholarly contributions and translation works for the Bosch Institute are a fine testament to an individual's life lived in love, devotion, and service.

Note

1. The database for the above citings can be accessed via the Bosch homepage: https://datenbanken.igm-bosch.de/fmi/webd/Zeitschriften-Index_WEB.

Publication History

Article published online:
10 April 2024