[A correspondence in Munich: Karl Valentin and Ferdinand Sauerbruch]

Abstract

Karl Valentin, one of Germany's greatest comic talents, and the surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch probably met in Munich about 100 years ago. Their correspondence is outlined. Another encounter some years later in Berlin has been documented. Sauerbruch was one of many physicians whom Valentin consulted because of his fragile health, especially his "mood depressions." Sauerbruch, himself plagued by mood swings, but as a surgeon not actually responsible for such illnesses, meets this special person with empathy.