
Dr. Carl Birkenstock
From Review and Herald, October 11, 1990, 18.
Birkenstock, Carl Frederick (1897–1958) and Lenora Alexandra (Smith) (1901–1981)
By Godfrey K. Sang
Godfrey K. Sang is a historical researcher and writer with an interest in Adventist history. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Eastern Africa Baraton and a number of qualifications from other universities. He is a published author. He is the co-author of the book On the Wings of a Sparrow: How the Seventh-day Adventist Church Came to Western Kenya.
First Published: October 8, 2024
The Birkenstocks were pioneer medical missionaries and founders of the Malamulo leprosarium in Malawi. They pioneered new medical treatments to help combat the scourge of leprosy in Africa.
Early Life
Carl Frederick Birkenstock was born on September 12, 1897, in Vryheid, Natal, South Africa, to Coenraad Johannes Abraham Birkenstock and his wife, Elisabeth Catharina Pogtieter.1 His family were members of the Dutch Reformed Church, and Carl was the last of twelve children. His father was a farmer on a large farm of 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres), which was granted to him by a Zulu chief.2 Carl grew up at the height of the Anglo-Boer War and, while still a boy, he and his mother, together with five siblings, became Seventh-day Adventists.
Education
His brother Evert Frederick Birkenstock moved to the United States and trained to become a doctor. Motivated by this, Carl also left for the United States in 1918 to go to Pacific Union College, where he enrolled in their pre-med program. In 1923, he moved to the College of Medical Evangelists (now Loma Linda University), where he completed his medical degree.
Marriage and Family
He then married Lenore Alexandra Smith, who had already trained as a nurse. Lenore was born on July 29, 1901, in Forestville, Sonoma, California, to Sydney Alexander Smith (1879-1963) and Lydia Ellen Hoff (1877-1957).3 She was the eldest of six children. They were married in 1922, and they became the parents of two daughters, Kathryn Jeanne Birkenstock (1923-1979) and Sheila Elenore Birkenstock (1930-2007).4
Leaving for Africa
As soon as they had qualified, they both left for Edinburgh, Scotland, where they joined the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in order to prepare to practice medicine in South Africa.5 In 1924, Dr. Birkenstock became medical secretary of the then-South African Division and administrator of the Cape Sanitarium and Hospital. The following year, when an urgent call came for a physician at Malamulo Mission in Nyasaland (now Malawi), he and Lenore eagerly accepted the challenge. He became the founding medical director for the hospital.
Working there proved to be very difficult for them. There was no electricity or modern facilities. They encountered wild animals including poisonous snakes, lions, mosquitoes, and even white ants. Both Carl and Lenore caught malaria in their first year there. Lenore contracted blackwater fever, from which she nearly died.6 Lenore, being a graduate nurse, trained women in nutrition and hygiene. Dr. Birkenstock treated up to 150 patients a day, which was a demanding task. Within eight months of 1926, Dr. Birkenstock and nurse Daisy Ingle assisted more than 17,000 patients.7
Work with Lepers
Leprosy was already endemic there, and so many of their patients were suffering from leprosy and disease that consigned the sufferer to a slow and lonely death, in total isolation from their family and friends. Touched by their plight, Dr. Birkenstock pioneered new methods of treating lepers, some of the methods considered radical. Since leprosy is a contagious disease, Dr. Birkenstock began by isolating the patients with leprosy and had the mission staff construct 100 separate one-room brick huts with thatched roofs and cement floors in which the lepers and their families could live together and each patient could be treated separately. When one patient was all that left, his hut was then burned down to sanitize the area, then a new hut was constructed on the same foundation and another family sent there.8 There was no known cure for leprosy. Dr. Birkenstock introduced new medications such as chalmoogra oil9 to slow the progress of the disease.
The Birkenstocks carried on their work for the lepers of East Africa despite many obstacles. Their dispensary, riddled by white ants, had hundreds of holes in its roof. Rain filtered through during operations, and ants built up dirt clumps on the walls and ceiling. Bushels of these muddy deposits littered the floor every time a tropical shower hit. Many patients had to sleep on this floor because of a lack of beds in this tiny ward.
Encounters with Wildlife
One night, as he returned to the mission from a visit to the villages, Dr. Birkenstock accidentally dropped his lantern, which broke apart. He had to continue his journey in total darkness, but then, while still on his way, he sensed that a lion was stalking him in the bush.10 He kicked the donkey to a gallop, so it raced ahead for the safety of the mission compound.
On another occasion, an African boy was playing in the tall grass and was mauled by a lion that sprang on him and dragged him into the bush. The villagers quickly sent for Dr. Birkenstock, who formed a hunting party with one of the teachers, Miles Cadwallder, and about 200 other men. They stalked through tall grass as they banged on pots and pans to confuse the lion. Dr. Birkenstock climbed up a tree to have a clear view of the animal when it stood on a tree branch and peered through the bush. The animal charged into a clearing, and Dr. Birkenstock had a clear shot and pulled the trigger, ending its life.
Money from Strangers
In 1927, Carl and Lenore prayed for funds to build a proper leper hospital. Letters with money from complete strangers began arriving to be used “in whatever way you see fit.” The colonial government gave approval, and before the year ended, Malamulo had a new hospital with an office, surgical room, lab, and two 15-bed wards.11
Death and Legacy
In 1928, Dr. Birkenstock became the chief surgeon and medical administrator of the Hinsdale Sanitarium and Hospital, a position he held until 1930. He then moved into private practice. On November 9, 1958, he suffered a massive heart attack from which he passed away. He was 61. He was survived by his wife Lenore and their two daughters. Lenore passed away on August 6, 1981, in Santa Ana, California.12 This dynamic couple of God are remembered for their pioneer medical missionary work that brought hope to thousands of lepers in Malawi and also modernizing the hospital.
In 1925, the Birkenstocks helped with the establishment of the Helderberg College in Somerset West before they returned to the United States in 1928. They also established a three-year training program at Malamulo to prepare African hospital assistants.13 By 1930, the Malamulo Hospital had established two leper colonies with a total of 344 patients. Much of the treatment that took place there followed the script that had been set by Dr. Birkenstock.
Sources
“Carl Frederick Birkenstock.” Familysearch.org. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/2CBR-W62, accessed March 19, 2024.
“Lenore Alexandra Smith.” Familysearch.org. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2G9-C2H, accessed March 20, 2024.
Strayer, Bryan E. “He brought hope to lepers.” ARH, October 11, 1990.
Notes
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https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/2CBR-W62, accessed March 19, 2024,↩
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Bryan E. Strayer, “He brought hope to lepers,” ARH, October 11, 1990, 18.↩
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https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L2G9-C2H, accessed March 20, 2024.↩
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Ibid.↩
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Strayer, 18.↩
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Ibid.↩
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Ibid.↩
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Ibid.↩
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The oil is derived from the seed of the Hydnocarpus wightianus or chaulmoogra tree in the Achariaceae family. The Hydnocarpus wightiana seed oil is widely used in traditional Indian medicine, especially in Ayurveda, and in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of leprosy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnocarpus_wightianus, accessed March 20, 2024).↩
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Ibid.↩
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Ibid.↩
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Ibid.↩
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Ibid.↩