In service to the anthroposophical cause.
On the night of July 18, 2025, Jürgen Schürholz passed away unexpectedly. He was 93. Just the evening prior, he’d told a fellow resident of the Nicolaus Cusanus House (NCH) in Stuttgart that he really felt quite healthy. It was only at the age of ninety that he finally decided to move into the NCH, soon becoming fully integrated into the daily life of the grounds by participating in a wide variety of activities. Up through his final days, he followed current events in society and in the field of medicine with great interest, made many phone calls, and had many conversations. He was always happy to be able to participate and was grateful for the opportunity.
Georg Soldner, a long-standing colleague on the Executive Board of the Society of Anthroposophic Physicians in Germany [Gesellschaft Anthroposophischer Ärztinnen und Ärzte in Deutschland, GAÃD], wrote that “Jürgen Schürholz embodied the constructive impulse of anthroposophy in medicine in a unique way. As an internist, he was not only familiar with the broad spectrum of internal medicine but also well-versed in the use of endoscopic techniques that were becoming established during his time. He also worked for many years at the University of Tübingen’s Institute for Pathology, where he investigated kidney diseases using electron microscopy. ‘During that time, I learned that the actual cause of death remains hidden from the pathologist, that people die with and not only from a disease.’ (Life retrospective by J.S.) Thus prepared, he decided to become a co-founder of the Filderklinik (1975) and the Association of Anthroposophical Clinics [Verbandes Anthroposophischer Kliniken]. As chairman of Commission C (1978–1993) at the Federal Institute for Pharmaceuticals [Bundesamt für Arzneimittel], managing executive of the Society of Anthroposophic Physicians [GAÄD] (1983–1999), and as a delegate of the Baden-Württemberg State Medical Association [Landesärztekammer Baden-Württemberg], he was able to act as a pioneer who understood how to establish anthroposophic medicine and pharmaceuticals as an integral part of the German healthcare system; thus, continuing the work of Gerhard Kienle, who died in 1983. Under his aegis, the East and North German work groups of anthroposophic physicians also merged to form the GAÄD in its present form.” (see forthcoming fall edition of Der Merkurstab)
From 1988 to 2001, another focus of his work was the rebuilding of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum, “which had to be supported from Germany, the country that provides more than half of the members working in the therapies worldwide.” (quoted from his life retrospective read out at his funeral service at the NCH) In his life retrospective, he also succinctly described this invaluable investment of time and force as a “must.” In his role as class holder in the First Class of the Free School for Spiritual Science, this form of supportive collaboration was near to his heart. He became vice-chairman of the International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations [Internationalen Vereinigung Anthroposophischer Arztegesellschaften, IVAA], was present at all important international conferences and meetings, and through his warm interest in the concerns of all countries, his fraternal behavior, his wealth of experience in the social field, and his constant willingness to offer advice and support, he ensured that the Section was able to become what it is today. At his funeral service on July 24, researcher and physician Helmut Kiene described his commitment to the whole medical movement as simply “gigantic.”
This also included his selfless taking on of positions and responsibilities. He examined what lay ahead of him, accepted all the tasks offered him that he could, and was always dependable. But he was also prepared to relinquish responsibilities when a more harmonious solution emerged or another request took priority. For example, he handed over to the new heads of the Section the leadership of the worldwide meeting of pharmacists and doctors working in anthroposophic pharmaceutical companies, the so-called Filderkreis, which he’d co-founded. Afterwards, invitations came from the Section, but the meetings continued to be held at the Filder Clinic. This gave Michaela Glöckler a close insight into this important field of work in the medical movement.
Jürgen Schürholz was also the first to advocate for effective public relations work for the Section. With financial support from Weleda, he collaborated with Annette Bopp’s press office in Hamburg to write brochures on anthroposophic medicine, remedies, and therapies, which were then printed in large quantities. Translated into many other languages, they reached an international audience and raised awareness of this still quite new therapeutic approach. This is just one example of what an individual can achieve when they’re devoted to the flourishing of an anthroposophical professional movement with initiative and love for the cause. And he did so behind the scenes, unpaid, just like that. When he moved to the medical leadership of Weleda full-time in 2001, the Section was standing on its own two feet, and he was able to turn his attention to other tasks.
Jürgen Schürholz enjoyed a happy childhood and youth, though he lost his father to a brain hemorrhage at the age of five. His mother then moved with him to idyllic Murnau in Upper Bavaria, where she’d found a job as a teacher. His two older sisters, however, spent the war years with their mother’s twin sister and grandfather in Hamburg. It was not until 1946 that his mother returned there with Jürgen. In Hamburg, he was allowed to attend the newly re-opened Waldorf School, where the school’s founder and student of Rudolf Steiner, Heinz Müller, became his father figure. He didn’t have him as his class teacher, but he got to know him around the school, in subject lessons, and especially in the Sunday services of free religious education (introduced by Rudolf Steiner), which made a deep impression on him. The impetus to study medicine came from the physician Maria Glas during her anthropology lessons at the Michael Hall Waldorf School in England. Jürgen had gone there on a student exchange. Maria Glas and her husband Norbert were among the medical persons with whom Rudolf Steiner had established the core of the Medical Section in 1924.
A stroke of fate came as a result of a skiing accident in the Innsbruck mountains. Jürgen fell from a great height while downhill skiing; while falling, he saw himself as if from above and miraculously remained almost entirely uninjured. He then decided to join the Anthroposophical Society and marry Ortrun Debus, whom he’d met in the Anthroposophical Student Work [Anthroposophischen Studentenarbeit]. Throughout his life, anthroposophy and love for his family remained his sources of strength. “Gratitude connects us forever”: Jürgen Schürholz felt this deeply and said so. And this applies to the many people—patients, friends, and colleagues around the world—who met him personally and remain connected with him now.
Translation Joshua Kelberman
Image Jürgen Schürholz in northern Finland on his trip to see the Northern Lights in 2023. Photo: Wolfgang Held
