Georg August Benjamin Schweickert was born in Zerbst, Germany in 1774, the son of a pastor. It was initially intended for him to follow in his father’s footsteps and he began his studies in theology, but upon his father’s death, switched his interests to medicine. 

Upon completing his studies and receiving his degree, he married and began his private practice in his home town of Zerbst. But when his wife died two years later, he became unhappy in Zerbst and took an opportunity to move to Wittenberg to become an Lecturer in Obstetrics. In 1812, he was appointed Director of the French Military Hospital in Wittenberg but was so outspoken about his German nationalism that the French courtmartialed him and sentenced him to death. Two days before his execution, the Prussians captured Wittenberg and liberated him.

He moved to Grimma and became the city physician. Keeping up with new trends in medicine, he began reading Samuel Hahnemann’s writings on homeopathy and began conducting clinical trials on this new method. In 1824, he put himself on homeopathic treatment for a persistent abdominal complaint and the successful results made him a most fervent advocate for this developing field. When a homeopathic hospital was created in Leipzig, Georg offered to take charge at no fee. He was appointed director in 1833.

His conversion was remarkable for its time. Albrecht wrote this about him, “He ranked among the most eminent advocates of Homeopathy and, to a certain extent, with justice. He was a singular character, and his experience in the practice of medicine was most remarkable. At first, devoted heart and soul to Allopathy, experimenting and curing by purgatives, emetics, bleeding, leeches, bucketfuls of infusion of Peruvian bark (in scarlatina), the towns of Wittenberg and Grimma not only experienced, but suffered, from his practice. Suddenly he abandoned his allopathic principles, resigned his office of physician of a public school, and like a genuine Paul, he became a convert to Homeopathy.”

His interests seem to have passed on through the family. Not only did his son Julius became a well-known homeopathic physician in his day but they are related to us through my daughter-in-law, a Chiropractic doctor and Reiki Master practicing in Colorado.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.