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My grandfather, a physician, made house calls 7 days a week. It was just assumed in those days. When he couldn't drive during WW2 (German refugee = enemy alien)

My grandfather, a physician, made house calls 7 days a week. It was just assumed in those days. When he couldn't drive during WW2 (German refugee = enemy alien) he couldn't be in private practice. Replacing doctors with nurses in that story is a perfectly sensible modern adaptation. But the house calls are a really good idea. Not coincidentally, they're a central aspect of the exploding trend toward assisted living.

jnbiche 13y ago
Please forgive me for going off-topic and for asking a personal question (and please don't answer if it's too personal), but how did the government inform your grandfather that his movement was restricted during WWII? Did he receive some sort of notice from the FBI? I'm sorry that our government chose to restrict the civil liberties of a very important member of his community during WWII on the basis of his ethnicity. A cautionary tale for today's America.
- adestefan 13y ago
  Note that the OP's grandfather was not a US citizen, but a refugee from a declared enemy during a time of war. There's a huge difference between the two. That fact that he was even allowed to practice medicine is amazing.
  - Evbn 13y ago
    The atomic bomb was built in large part by refugees from a declared enemy during time of war.
    - gngeal 13y ago
      But those weren't doing house calls and were under guard. :)
    - adestefan 13y ago
      Most of the US based scientists were either US citizens (some natural born; others naturalized) or came to the US in the 20s or early 30s. Even then very, very few of these men were German citizens. Fuchs, who was one of the few German refugees, was part of a contingent from the UK. The only reason why Fuchs was even allowed to be a part of the project was because of political pressure outside the project. This is all documented in exrutiating detail in Rhodes' series on the making if both the atomic and hydrogen bombs.
    - philwelch 13y ago
      Was it? The Germans and Austrians involved, for the most part, left for the US years before the war, often by receiving academic positions in neutral or allied countries. Leaving during the war would naturally be treated with greater suspicion.
  - CurtMonash 13y ago
    You nailed it. He was early in the immigration process. In odd bureaucracy, he DID get a doctor's special gas ration anyway. (He had a good institutional job in the Kaiser shipyards.) Come to think of it, that's another reminder that in those days, medicine --> home visits.

jnbiche 13y ago

Please forgive me for going off-topic and for asking a personal question (and please don't answer if it's too personal), but how did the government inform your grandfather that his movement was restricted during WWII? Did he receive some sort of notice from the FBI? I'm sorry that our government chose to restrict the civil liberties of a very important member of his community during WWII on the basis of his ethnicity. A cautionary tale for today's America.

adestefan 13y ago
Note that the OP's grandfather was not a US citizen, but a refugee from a declared enemy during a time of war. There's a huge difference between the two. That fact that he was even allowed to practice medicine is amazing.
- Evbn 13y ago
  The atomic bomb was built in large part by refugees from a declared enemy during time of war.
  - gngeal 13y ago
    But those weren't doing house calls and were under guard. :)
  - adestefan 13y ago
    Most of the US based scientists were either US citizens (some natural born; others naturalized) or came to the US in the 20s or early 30s. Even then very, very few of these men were German citizens. Fuchs, who was one of the few German refugees, was part of a contingent from the UK. The only reason why Fuchs was even allowed to be a part of the project was because of political pressure outside the project. This is all documented in exrutiating detail in Rhodes' series on the making if both the atomic and hydrogen bombs.
  - philwelch 13y ago
    Was it? The Germans and Austrians involved, for the most part, left for the US years before the war, often by receiving academic positions in neutral or allied countries. Leaving during the war would naturally be treated with greater suspicion.
- CurtMonash 13y ago
  You nailed it. He was early in the immigration process. In odd bureaucracy, he DID get a doctor's special gas ration anyway. (He had a good institutional job in the Kaiser shipyards.) Come to think of it, that's another reminder that in those days, medicine --> home visits.