Siegfried Oberndorfer (1874-1944) - A "prophet" not recognized in his own land

On March 21, 1933, the German National Socialist Party banned Jewish doctors from practicing medicine in Germany. Soon after, it was decided to boycott Jewish businessmen, Jewish products and Jewish lawyers and all Jews were banned from working as civil servants. Professor Siegfried Oberndorfer was forced to retire from his post at the Munich Schwabing Hospital's Pathological Institute where he served as the director for 21 years and had to emigrate to Turkey. Obendorfer is known for his description and introduction of the term "carcinoid tumor". A brilliant pathologist, physician, and investigator, he contributed extensively to the pathology literature in many other areas. In Turkey, which he considered as his second home, he was appointed as the director of the newly created Department of General and Experimental Pathology at Istanbul University. There he continued his research and trained countless pathologists, and in 1937 he was the force behind the creation of the first Institute of Cancer of Istanbul University. Obendorfer died in 1944 due to complications of a mediastinal tumor. His wife was allowed to emigrate to Medellin, Colombia, where her three children resided. In September 2007, Obendorfer's grandson, Walter L. Castrillon-Obendorfer, a doctor in Colombia, was invited together with the son and daughter of Phillip Schwartz, another German refugee who emigrated to Turkey during the Nazi period in Europe, and were awarded a plaque in honor of their namesakes at the European Congress of Pathology held in Istanbul. The legacy of Obendorfer, who was a "prophet" that was not recognized in his own land, continues to this day.