Ingeborg Syllm-Rapoport (1912-2017): An Exemplary Life for Children and Paediatrics

Ingeborg Syllm-Rapoport, the first Chair in neonatology in Europe, passed away on March 23. Her biography illustrates how medical and scientific work has been influenced by social, ideological, and economic frames and boundaries in the 20th century. Regarded as a "Half-Jew" by the Nazi racist laws, she was denied her medical doctorate. She went to the USA, where she trained in paediatrics and met her husband, the biochemist Samuel Mitja Rapoport. During the "McCarthy Era" both were persecuted as communists. They returned to Europe and became two of the most influential figures at the Charité Hospital in East Berlin. She had to wait until 2015 to finally undergo the doctoral examination at the age of 102 years, making her the oldest person in history to receive a doctorate. We describe Syllm-Rapoport's life and the challenges she had to face living in several countries under different political systems in the 20th century.