Schweitzer
Schweitzer, also translated as "Schweitzer", full name Albert Schweitzer, French thinker, philosopher, theologian, social activist, musician, doctor, humanitarian, has been engaged in medical assistance work in Africa for more than 50 years, known as "African saint"!
Schweitzer's birthplace is the small town of Kaisersburg
Schweitzer was born on 14 January 1875 in the small town of Kaisersburg in Alsace on the German-French border (then part of the German Empire and France after World War II). His father, Louis Schweitzer, was a pastor of a Christian church, and his mother, Alday, was the daughter of a priest, and Schweitzer was born into a family with a strong religious atmosphere.
Due to the special cultural environment of his birthplace, Schweitzer was able to flexibly use both German and French languages at a very young age. Schweitzer was musically gifted from an early age, teaching him piano at the age of 5, accompanying him at the age of 7, playing the organ at the age of 8, and acting organist at the age of 9 at church services.
When he was a child, Shi Huaizhe once had a fight with a child in the village, and the other party lost, and angrily said, "My family should be like your family who has money and can drink broth once a week, so that I will not lose to you." From then on, Schweitzer never drank broth or wore beautiful clothes, and he did not want to look different from other children.
In 1898 he studied at the University of Paris and the University of Berlin, where he received his doctorates in philosophy and theology, and later served as a missionary in the Church of St. Nicholas and dean of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Trasborg. He also played the organ regularly, wrote many monographs on the organ, and at the same time, he became obsessed with the works of the composer Bach and wrote the biography of Bach. He also specializes in repairing organs. If he follows this trajectory of life, he will become a philosopher, a musician, a brilliant scholar and a priest, living a rich and elegant life.
However, a fortuitous event did change his life. One day in 1904, he read a magazine that said that black people in Gabon, Africa, were struggling with poverty and disease, suffering from a variety of diseases, and there was not a doctor for hundreds of miles. At this moment, Shi Huaizhe seemed to be possessed by an angel, and he resolutely decided to study medicine and go to Africa to treat his black brothers.
However, how could his parents and friends agree, it must have been strongly opposed, and the medical school did not accept him. But he did not care for himself, desperately, and worked hard, and finally obtained the qualification of a medical auditor, and finally obtained a medical qualification certificate and a doctorate in medicine at the age of 38.
While studying medicine in medical school, a beautiful girl, Helen Bullerslauer, stepped into his world. He was the daughter of a history professor, and was touched to hear Schweitzer's ideas, and after the two fell in love, she switched to studying nursing in order to help Schweitzer's medical work. On June 18, 1912, Schweitzer married Helen.
Schweitzer who plays the piano
On the evening of March 26, 1913, he and his wife set foot in a distant and unfamiliar Africa, and before leaving, the French Bach Society gave him a piano weighing three tons. Arriving at his destination in Gabon, Africa, it was far more complicated than he had imagined. Located near the equator, it was extremely hot, the climate was humid, the land was sparsely populated, there were beasts of prey, mosquitoes, superstitious and stubborn natives, and rampant infectious diseases, but none of this frightened Mr. and Mrs. Schweitzer.
At first, they rented an abandoned chicken coop, but the couple later carried out hard labor and built the "Schweitzer" Conglin Hospital on the banks of the original forest in Lamballen. Shi Huaizhe served as the dean and doctor, while his wife was a nurse, taking care of seriously ill patients, and also holding several positions such as pharmacist and anesthesiologist, as well as cleaning. The couple works more than 16 hours a day, and although they are tired, they are also very relieved to see the cured patients.
Mr. and Mrs. Schweitzer
When the funds were insufficient, Schweitzer also had to return to Europe to raise funds, often suffering from white eyes, and Schweitzer went back and forth to Africa 13 times. Local blacks were free to wander freely, often taking away the things in the hospital and even defecating on the ground. Shi Huaizhe also formulated the rules of the hospital, carefully and patiently explained to everyone, everyone learned to love things, and the order of the hospital gradually returned to normal.
Schweitzer treats patients
Schweitzer lived through two world wars, and the flames of war also burned to the jungle hospital, the hospital was forced to close, and he was also captured. During World War II, hospitals were on the brink of extinction several times due to the disruption of foreign aid. But he never gave up, and he persisted in solitude for a long time, winning the respect of the whole world. Hundreds of volunteers from all over the world came to the hospital, which eased the burden on Mr. and Mrs. Schweitzer. When de Gaulle's "Free France" and the Nazi puppet government forces fought fiercely near the jungle hospital, both sides reached a tacit agreement not to harm the jungle hospital.
In the last century, even now there was racial discrimination, not to treat black people as people, and Schweitzer did establish a deep friendship with black people, he had no prejudice against black people, he was very respectful in his heart, and was affectionately called "our doctor" by black people.
Schweitzer, who holds a black child in his arms
Schweitzer was also a man of profound thought, and he put forward the concept of "reverence for life", believing that not only people, but also any life should be respected. He believes that human beings, out of necessity, must exterminate some life, if unavoidable, but must blame themselves. If human beings think they have the right to destroy other lives, one day they will self-destruct. Schweitzer affirmed the concepts of "the unity of nature and man" and "harmonious coexistence with nature" in China and India, and believed that it was worth studying and learning.
Schweitzer's book The Useful History of Chinese Thought
In 1952, the Nobel Committee was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of Schweitzer's great contribution to human peace, and he was the least controversial Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Schweitzer used the prize money without reservation to build the hospital.
Schweitzer, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
In his later years, Schweitzer worked with Einstein and Russell to oppose nuclear weapons and nuclear testing, and was the initiator of several peace organizations.
Schweitzer and Einstein, stills from the German TV series Schweitzer
In 1957, Schweitzer's wife Helen died of illness, and Schweitzer buried his wife next to the jungle hospital and made a wooden cross by hand. On January 14, 1965, the ill Schweitzer celebrated his 90th birthday, and feeling that he had little time to celebrate, he prepared gifts for each of his friends who came to congratulate him on their birthdays, and personally waved goodbye to every fruit tree he planted next to the jungle hospital. On September 4, Schweitzer's heart stopped beating at the age of 90. On his deathbed, Schweitzer said to his relatives and friends who were guarding his bedside: "O God! When I ran the road, I ran and tried my best, and I lived a solid life. ”
Tomb of Schweitzer
Schweitzer was buried next to his wife's grave, and many people from all over the world came to pay his funeral, and his black friends prayed around his grave for more than two months.
Schweitzer's autobiography "Reverence for Life"
I have hardly ever found a man like Albert Schweitzer, who ideally combines the desire for good and beauty.
— Albert Einstein
To add a little goodness to the world is to promote the human mind and heart.
--Schweitzer