Born in Prague, and raised in a German family in Bohemia (which at the time was part of the Habsburg monarchy), he served as a medical officer in the First World War. After the war, he became a professor of the German Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague and director of the Kinderklinik (children's clinic).
Born in Prague to a German family in Bohemia, which was part of the Habsburg monarchy, he served as a doctor during World War I. Following the war, he became a professor at Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague and director of the Kinderklinik (children's clinic).