Helene Bresslau

Challenges When World War I broke out in summer of 1914, the French military put Helene and Albert, who were Germans in a French colony, under supervision at Lambaréné, where they continued their work. In 1917, exhausted by over four years' work and by tropical anaemia, they were taken to Bordeaux and interned first in Garaison and then from March 1918 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

Medical issues forced Helene to leave Africa many times, and sometimes Albert kept her from returning at times. When Albert decided to return to Africa in 1924, he took on an Oxford undergraduate, Noel Gillespie, as assistant, leaving Helene behind. In 1919 after the birth of their daughter (Rhena Schweitzer Miller), Helene was no longer able to live in Lambaréné due to her health. In 1923 the family moved to Königsfeld im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, where Albert was building a house for the family. This house is now maintained as a Schweitzer museum.

Her not returning to Lambaréné was a sacrifice made "by her husband, not for him." She wrote about not returning, describing it as a "practical matter", but she "never agreed to a separation of three and a half years" from her husband. Despite her poor health, she still took care of her daughter, "engage herself with the Hospital Aid Association," and "enroll[ed] in a three-week course in tropical medicine at the Medical Missionary Institute of Tübingen, Germany." As a motherhood advocate, she gladly took care of her daughter and continued to develop her own personal skills. Helene still remained engaged in helping the mission hospital.

Health complications Helene experienced tremendous health issues throughout her life, mostly in relation to her lungs. She first encountered tuberculosis before she turned ten. She was officially diagnosed in the spring of 1922 with laryngeal tuberculosis after exhibiting symptoms of "pain, fever, and coughing up blood." In addition, the heat of Africa caused many respiratory issues. In 1915, she contracted phlebitis resulting in two weeks of therapeutic bed rest. She also had pneumonia in 1929, almost keeping her from returning to Lambaréné. Despite her already weak lungs, she completed the trip, though she had to return early due to illness again. and her remains are located in Lambaréné.

Legacy Helene contributed greatly to the work done in Lambaréné. A role model as an independent, educated woman with a deep intellectual curiosity, she was "One of the first female students at the University of Strasbourg" and "One of the first female employees in the community administration" at the orphanage. Her aid in the poor relief system, "Armenpflegesystem," mirrored in modern social welfare, saw the illegitimate mortality rate fall. Setting precedence as a female medical missionary in the early 20th century, she established lasting effects of nursing and education in Lambaréné. She co-founded the Schweitzer Hospital, documented much of Albert's autobiography, and "supported the [mission] work with lectures and fund-raising" essential to its upkeep and vivacity.