Family of Guernsey WW2 doctor meet with patient's relative

BBC News

06-05-2025

'I would not be here if not for WW2 doctor'
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Olivia Fraser
BBC News, Guernsey
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Kowald family
Dr Albert Kowald, who is known as the "good doctor", with his daughters Helga and Irmtraud
The family of a doctor who risked his life to supply medicine to islanders during the Occupation of Guernsey has had an encounter with a relative of one of the people he helped.
Luftwaffe officer Dr Albert Kowald was stationed in Guernsey during World War Two.
However, the former SS officer was imprisoned by the Germans after he was discovered to be helping islanders and was not released until Liberation Day.
At a book launch on Monday, there were a number of surprises in store for the family, including a meeting with Margaret Richardson, whose father and grandfather were treated by Dr Kowald.
Dr Kowald's family and researchers who worked on the book attended the launch
The book about Dr Kowald's life, called The Good Doctor, was published with the help of his daughters, sons in laws and researchers.
Enlisting historian Richard Heaume, researcher Olivier Bailey started to piece together the story using letters and artefacts back in 2018 for the family.
It was launched at the Occupation Museum, where Dr Kowald's son-in-law Horst Schmidt-Bischoffshausen and daughter Irmtraud Zotti signed copies.
Mrs Zotti said: "It means quite a lot and I am so happy that now this book has been finished. I nearly didn't believe that it would be."
Mr Schmidt-Bischoffshausen expressed how proud he was of his father-in-law.
"It was very risky for him, fortunately he survived," he said.
Margaret Richardson's father penned a letter of support for Dr Kowald
Mrs Richardson, whose father William Carre suffered with asthma, said she had "such a debt of gratitude for this family".
Without Dr Kowald's medication, she said she did not know if her father would have survived.
"If this hadn't happened and hadn't got through this, I wouldn't be here," she said.
Mr Carre wrote a letter of gratitude in support of Dr Kowald in the hope he could use it as evidence of his good actions.
The letter was signed by 16 islanders, but it did not help, and just days after being freed by the British, Dr Kowald was taken away from the island and moved through a number of prisoner of war camps.
It was not until 1947 until he was fully free and allowed to continue to practise as a doctor.
The family of Dr Kowald were keen to hear from any others whose relatives may have been helped by him.
Dr Albert Kowald kept his daughter's birth announcement with him
Researcher Oliver Bailey presented Mrs Zotti with a second surprise at the evening.
During his research, Mr Bailey said he had found her birth announcement, which her father had kept with him during his imprisonment.
He said there had been "ups and downs" to the research but he was proud to have helped uncovered so much.
"There are more leads now, so we might have to do a second edition," he said.
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