"I have had an exceedingly beautiful life" The Jewish gynecopathologist Robert Meyer (1864-1947) and his extraordinary response to Nazi repression

The Jewish scientist Robert Meyer received worldwide professional recognition as a pioneer gynecopathologist. Before his death, he wrote a memoir in which he gave an entirely positive assessment of his life. The latter, however, is at odds with the fact that he was disenfranchised by the National Socialists and driven into emigration. But even before Hitler's seizure of power, he had to cope with several strokes in private as well as in professional life. This article takes these apparent inconsistencies as an occasion for a fundamental analysis of Robert Meyer's life and work. Special attention is paid to his scientific achievements, but also to repressive experiences in the Third Reich, the background of his emigration and his specific handling of these adversities. Various archival documents, Meyer's memoirs, and other contemporary writings by and about Robert Meyer and about the development of the field of gynecopathology serve as central sources. The study concludes that Meyer made fundamental contributions to the embryology of the vagina, ovarian tumors, cancer diagnosis, endometriosis, and genital and fetal abnormalities. Despite his scientific merits, he was never granted a regular professorship - mainly, because he was professionally caught between two stools (gynecology and pathology), but also due to low career ambition. Nevertheless, thanks to influential supporters, he was able to hold out in Germany until 1939, when he emigrated to the United States. Meyer considered his life "beautiful" despite many misfortunes because he defined happiness in life primarily in terms of fulfilling personal relationships and was willing to accept life as it comes. In addition, he found distraction and fulfillment in his scientific work.