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Dr Erwin W Rugendorff, MD, PhD, died on September 10, 2024, at the age of 97, in San Diego, California. Dr Rugendorff was a valuable advisor and consultant to the AUA History Committee for the past 25 years. Dr Rugendorff had a long and illustrious career in urology in Romania and Germany, with sub-specialization in urologic oncology.
He was born in Cernauti, Romania, on 8 February 1927. As a young teenager, he was forced to work for the German Army during World War II. He returned to Romania after the war, where he received his MD degree in 1951 from the University of Timisoara Medical School and his PhD at the University of Bucharest Medical School in 1953. He completed his internship and residency at the Division of Urology in Panduri Hospital, University of Bucharest, Romania, in 1959, and remained on faculty there until 1968, when he moved to Germany. For the next 31 years he held numerous faculty positions including Chief of the Department of Urology at Falkeneck Hospital, Braunfels, Germany from 1970 through 1988. He remained Consultant Urologist in Frankfurt am Main from 1990 through 1999, when he retired and moved to the United States. Throughout his clinical career he was also involved in urologic research and numerous clinical trials. A Fellow of the European Board of Urology, he was a member of numerous international professional organizations including the EAU, AUA, American Association of University Professors, New York Academy of Sciences, New York Academy of Medicine, and many additional European societies. During his career he published more than 115 scientific articles.
Since moving to the United States, Dr Rugendorff was extensively involved with the William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History and influential in the AUA History Committee and the annual AUA History Forum and Exhibits. He was a regular attendee and an avid participant and presenter at the AUA History Booth and the AUA History of Urology Forum at the annual AUA meetings. Some of his written and oral contributions to urologic history included: Uroscopy, The Hunger Disease Study in the Warsaw Ghetto, The Wales Endoscope: The First American Cystoscope, Philately and Urology, Mengele’s Medical Experiments During World War II and the Hunt for the Angel of Death, the Rejuvenation Cure: Blood, Water, and Testes, and Philatelic and Numismatic Ramble Through the History of Signs and Diagnosis. A member of the Medical Collectors Association and renowned collector of medical memorabilia, including medical books, instruments, stamps, bookplates, and currency relating to medicine, Dr. Rugendorff often based his unique, wonderful, illuminating, and educational historical presentations using samples from his collections. Some of the items that he and his wife, Karin, collected are on loan at the Didusch Museum. For his invaluable participation in the AUA History Committee and projects for many years, Dr Erwin W. Rugendorff was honored with the prestigious AUA William P. Didusch Art and History Award at the annual meeting of the AUA in 2018 “for decades of support for the Didusch Center for Urologic History and outstanding writing on the history of medicine.”
Dr Rugendorff was survived by Karin, his wife of almost 50 years, and their daughter, Astrid Spain. Sadly, Karin died this past December 14th, 10 days before what would have been their 50th wedding anniversary. It was Erwin and Karin’s wish that their collection be donated to the William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History.
- Ron Rabinowitz, MD