Mildred Scheel

Lore & Background

Mildred Scheel was the third child of a radiologist and his American wife. She developed an early interest in medicine, often accompanying her father in his practice. After her family left bombed-out Cologne in 1944 for Amberg, she began university medical studies in 1950 in Munich, Innsbruck, and Regensburg. She worked as a doctor in Munich and later in various hospitals and practices. In 1967, she met Walter Scheel while working at a sanatorium where he was recovering from a kidney stone operation; they married on 18 July 1969 in Munich-Schwabing and moved to Bonn. The couple had a daughter and an adopted orphan from Bolivia.

With Walter Scheel's election as Federal President on 15 May 1974, Mildred Scheel entered public life, choosing a social and public health role in the fight against cancer. She founded the German Cancer Aid that same year, insisting the organization accept no tax money and no donations from the pharmaceutical industry to maintain independence. She broke societal taboos by openly discussing uterine, breast, and prostate cancer, and initiated international scientific conferences of cancer experts. She died of complications from cancer in 1985, having kept her diagnosis secret from all but family and close friends.

Reader's Guide

Mildred Scheel's significance lies in her founding of the German Cancer Aid, a non-profit that reshaped cancer care and fundraising in Germany. By refusing government funds and pharmaceutical donations, she ensured the organization's independence, focusing solely on public health. Her public advocacy, including discussions of previously taboo cancers, mobilized widespread donations and medical cooperation. Even during state visits, she collected funds for the cause. Her work led to over 20 state medals of honor, multiple Woman of the Year awards, and the naming of streets and schools after her. The German Cancer Aid remains her enduring legacy, a model for patient-centered, independent health initiatives. Her death from cancer, kept private, underscores her personal commitment to the cause she championed.

Did You Know?

• She founded the German Cancer Aid in 1974, the same year her husband became Federal President.
• She broke the taboo by publicly discussing uterine, breast, and prostate cancer.
• Andy Warhol created a limited edition screen-print of her in 1980 to raise funds for German Cancer Aid.
• She kept her own cancer diagnosis secret from everyone except her family and very close friends.