Biography

Friedrich Joseph Haass

Friedrich Joseph Haass (in Russian – Fyodor Petrovich Gaaz) was born August 24, 1780 in the ancient city of Bad Münstereifel, not far from Cologne. His father was a pharmacist, and his grandfather was a medical doctor. Friedrich studied philosophy and mathematics at the University of Jena and graduated from the department of medical sciences in Vienna, where he specialized in ocular diseases. Having successfully cured the Russian nobleman Repnin, Haass, at his invitation, traveled to Russia, and from 1802 he lived in Moscow.

Soon the energetic young physician grew comfortable there and built a large practice. In 1806, he began treating those ill with ocular diseases at the Preobrazhenskaya almshouse – free of charge and very successfully – which drew the attention of Empress Maria Feodorovna. She recommended him for the position of senior physician at the Pavlavskaya Hospital in Moscow. Haass managed to accomplish a great deal. For his work in the Yekaterininskaya almshouse, he was awarded the Cross of St. Vladimir, and for a book on the health benefits of mineral waters from the Caucasus, he was made a court counselor.

During the war with the French, Haass, enlisting for active duty in the army, went all the way to Paris, and at the war’s end, he retired from the service. After having visited his family in Germany and attending his father’s funeral, he returned to Russia – this time, forever.

Nonetheless, he did not convert, remaining a Catholic his entire life. His private practice made him one of the most visible and wealthy physicians in Moscow. Thanks to his spotless reputation, he was in August 1825 appointed city-physician to the Moscow Medical Bureau, supplying the army with medicine, as well as 30 military and civilian hospitals. Fyodor Petrovich’s efforts to bring medical care in Moscow up to the European standard failed entirely, and he eventually left the post. Universal apathy, hatred toward the “German,” and the envy and denunciation of his colleagues were the primary reasons.

Haass again took up his private practice. Having a house in Moscow, an estate with a cloth factory and his own horse-drawn carriage, he led the life of a well-to-do, respected individual, spent time with his friends and corresponded with the famous Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling. He was carried away with his public activity.

“Hurry on to do good things!” became his motto for the remainder of his life. In early 1825, Haass successfully contained a typhus epidemic in a prison at the request of Moscow’s General-Governor D.V. Golytsin; in 1826, he stopped an epidemic of an ocular disease and helped organize and equip a new hospital, in part with his own funds. During the cholera epidemic of the ’30s, Fyodor Petrovich led one of the hospitals; managed the registration of all cholera infections in Moscow; and daily participated in meetings of the Medical Council.

Appointed as a member of the warden’s committee on prisons and the head doctor of Moscow’s prisons, he was shocked when he saw how prisoners lived. 

For a long 25 years, day and night, through severe cold and sweltering heat, this individual could be seen in transit prisons, hospitals, at stopping points walking beside exiled convicts, and in officials’ offices, where he sought the mitigation of punishments or funds for those under his care.

In 1840, at the insistence of General-Governor Prince A.G. Shcherbatov, Haass took the post of head doctor of the Yekaterininskaya Hospital. He very successfully reorganized it, expending all of his funds on the project. He built showers and new, modern bathtubs, both with sulfur and water…. He himself was declared an insolvent debtor, and his estate was sold at a public auction.

Thanks to his endeavors, on May 2, 1845 the Aleksandrovskaya Hospital for the Homeless began operating, marking his second happiest day. Haass was named head doctor, and he occupied a small apartment there, where he lived until his death. Despite his poverty, he turned down rewards for his work during the cholera epidemic of 1847 and 1848. Fyodor Petrovich admitted to his pupil, Norshin, that his ideal of happiness was making others happy. He was always ready for the passage into eternal life.

F.P. Haass passed away in 1853. A crowd of 20,000 walked with his casket to the cemetery with hot, earnest tears in their eyes. When the famous doctor died, the police had to cover the cost of his burial. The once wealthy doctor had no money left of his own, as he had given it all away to the poor. “Hurry on to do good things!” was the motto of this surprisingly energetic individual.
 

Background

"Hurry on to do Good Things!"

Russia, the beginning of the 19th century. Wooden Moscow, merchants behind their stands, destitute invalids on church porches, prisoners clanking their chains along Vladimirsky Highway. What a contrast with the sparkling salons, the wealth, the education and the brutal exclusivity of high society... The events of the film “Doctor Haass” take place against this historical backdrop.

Friedrich Joseph Haass, a young German physician and Catholic, went to Russia on the invitation of a nobleman whom he successfully treated in Germany, and soon his private practice brought him fame, respect and money. He lived and worked in Moscow from 1802 until his death in 1853. Fyodor Petrovich – that was the Russian version of his name – had a large private practice, though he treated many almshouse residents free of charge. His success was so great that in 1807, Haass was named the head doctor of the Pavlovskaya Hospital. He found himself with a large house, a personal horse-drawn carriage and an estate with a cloth factory outside Moscow. He led the life of an entirely respectable and reputable man. Twenty years passed that way.

Haass took up the positions of head doctor of Moscow’s prisons and secretary of the warden’s committee on prisons and was shocked about the conditions in which the prisoners lived: There were no latrines, no washstands, no government-issued garments, and no plank beds. Many were completely naked. They all slept side by side on the floor among the swarming insects. Overnight, they were left with a bucket for sewage. It was crowded and there wasn’t enough air. Lechery, cold, hunger and torment reigned. Women and men, children and sick, contagious prostitutes were imprisoned side by side; suspects and those arrested for debts were thrown in with the most inveterate criminals. The heating was bad. In the winter, it was frigid. Of course, in such conditions, epidemics are not a rarity. During the transportation of prisoners, eight to 10 people were chained to a thick, iron rod. They slept and went to the bathroom in front of one another, women and men together…

Having seen the brutality with which all human rights were trampled in prison and on stopping points for exiled prisoners, Fyodor Petrovich dedicated his life to alleviating outcasts’ suffering. His steadfastness in following Christian principles inspired the committee and made its work more effective.

Taking everything he did seriously and managing a multitude of positions – leading several hospitals and serving on a number of committees – the most important thing for Doctor Haass was, all the same, his work with prisoners. He frequently visited jails; he was present at Vorobyovy Gory when prisoners were being sent to Siberia, he raised money to free serfs and bustled about seeking the review of prisoners’ cases. He didn’t have any time for his private practice.

Haass was convinced that crime, misfortune and disease are closely related. Therefore, it is necessary to be fair and humane to those found guilty of crimes, to show an active compassion for the unfortunate and to heal the sick. Care, sympathy – and when necessary – impassioned defense were his primary means of treatment. Medicine was less important. The instructions he left for prison doctors required that they “treat the prisoners with sincerity, with complete selflessness, with friendly concern about their needs, and use every chance to influence them to improve their moral condition.” Fyodor Petrovich himself believed that “this is easy to achieve, one must simply be a kind Christian.” For several years, Haass attempted to deal the final blow to – and eventually got rid of – the iron rods. He considered that day the happiest in his life. Society, however, did not share his delight. “Such philanthropists … haven’t brought any good to humanity,” Leo Tolstoy grumbled; “Haass has the most kind and weak soul. … He pampers prisoners to the point of absurdity,” wrote Haumova, a lady from a charitable committee.

Doctor Haass’ philanthropic activity in Russia is the main subject of this documentary film. The example of the Catholic doctor’s saintly service in an Orthodox environment is underscored by the participation in the film of Catholic and Orthodox priests. Father Winfried is gathering materials for the beatification of our hero; his Orthodox colleague is working with prisoners, following the example of Doctor Haass. The makers of the film managed to get to the essence of the active Christian charity that was characteristic for Haass. He was convinced that there was a close relationship connecting crime, misfortune and disease, and therefore it is correct and necessary to censure the guilty, show active compassion toward the unfortunate and care for the sick. It’s a good thing that the authors touched upon such an important subject. It gives the film a certain depth, holds the narrative away from sugary kitsch, and reminds us that the famed doctor was not so much a kind-hearted eccentric as he was an active Christian and entirely well-educated physician who was ahead of his time. The Orthodox priest’s account about the specific character of work in prisons in the present is naturally connected.

The film – which is a biography, or one could even call it a hagiography, since the question of Doctor Haass’ beatification is currently being considered – is important, particularly nowadays, amid widespread inter-confessional conflicts. The authors of the film managed to find an abundance of interesting evidence from the life of this renowned doctor and to recreate the atmosphere of 19th-century Russia.