Paul Ehrlich
Founder of chemotherapy; Salvarsan, the first effective drug against syphilis
He received the Nobel Prize in 1908, shared with Ilya Mechnikov, and in 1909, with Sahachiro Hata, found compound number 606, Salvarsan. Of everyone on this list his case is the simplest: he was born a Jew and never converted. His father Ismar headed the Jewish community of Strzelin; his grandfather Heymann kept a distillery and lectured his neighbours on natural science. Ehrlich remained a member of the community and is buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery in Frankfurt, section 114 N.
The Nazis removed his name from the Frankfurt street named for him; it was restored after 1945. So far as is known he had no involvement with Zionism or communal affairs, and none may be attributed to him.
Sources
Scholarship
- NobelPrize.org, the 1908 prize; Wikipedia, “Paul Ehrlich” — the wording of the prize; his community membership and burial place
Basis: documents and evidence.