# Marie Simon

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**Marie Simon** (hsb: *Marja Simonowa*; (*Janašec*); 26 August 1824 – 20 February 1877) was a [Sorbian](/source/Sorbs) nurse who co-founded the [Albert Association](/source/Albert_Association), a precursor to the [German Red Cross](/source/German_Red_Cross), following her experience as [battlefield nurse](/source/Military_nurse) during the [Austro-Prussian War](/source/Austro-Prussian_War). She later became one of the principal German nurses of the [Franco-Prussian War](/source/Franco-Prussian_War), organizing the nursing staff and food distribution at the [military hospital](/source/Military_hospital) in [Nancy](/source/Nancy,_France). Simon later established several medical facilities in [Dresden](/source/Dresden) and devoted the rest of her life to the training of new nurses. She was highly regarded in Germany, with a contemporary physician referring to her as the "Saxon [Florence Nightingale](/source/Florence_Nightingale)".

## Biography

Marie Jannasch was born on 26 August 1824 in the predominately [Sorbian](/source/Sorbs) village of [Doberschau](/source/Doberschau) in the [Kingdom of Saxony](/source/Kingdom_of_Saxony).[1][2] Born [out-of-wedlock](/source/Out-of-wedlock) to Anna Jannasch, her father was allegedly a shepherd from [Göda](/source/G%C3%B6da) named Johann Haucke.[3][4] She was primarily raised by her maternal grandfather Johann Jannasch, a local innkeeper, and was Protestant.[2][3] She attended elementary school in [Gnaschwitz](/source/Gnaschwitz), where she learned German; prior to this, [Sorbian](/source/Sorbian_languages) was the only language she spoke. Orphaned at age 11, she spent much of her adolescence in the neighboring [Austrian Empire](/source/Austrian_Empire).[1][3] Sometime around this period, she was married to a man surnamed Rohseck, though they later divorced.[3][4] In 1852, she moved to [Dresden](/source/Dresden) in Saxony and married Friedrich Anton Simon, a white goods merchant, the following year. Together they ran a [lingerie](/source/Lingerie) store on the [Altmarkt](/source/Altmarkt), and their daughter Olga Eugenie later married Saxon court photographer [Hugo Engler](/source/Hugo_Engler). She received a nursing education through internships at the [Deaconess Institute Dresden](/source/Deaconess_Institute_Dresden) and the [University Hospital Leipzig](/source/University_Hospital_Leipzig), and was granted Saxon citizenship in 1863.[1][3]

Simon was a volunteer nurse during the [Austro-Prussian War](/source/Austro-Prussian_War) of 1866, and was present in the aftermath of the [Battle of Königgrätz](/source/Battle_of_K%C3%B6niggr%C3%A4tz), where over 900 wounded soldiers had been left in the field without medical care. Returning several days later with a large stock of supplies, she tended to the wounded for 17 weeks.[3][4] In 1867, Simon and [Carola of Vasa](/source/Carola_of_Vasa) co-founded the [Albert Association](/source/Albert_Association), a precursor to the [German Red Cross](/source/German_Red_Cross) named for Carola's husband [Crown Prince Albert](/source/Albert,_King_of_Saxony). Carola personally appointed Simon to the board of directors, where she was tasked with supervision over the nurses – referred to as "Albertines" – and management of treatment for the poor.[1][4]

During the [Franco-Prussian War](/source/Franco-Prussian_War) of 1870, Simon and twelve other Albertines were embedded with the German army.[1] Present at the [Siege of Metz](/source/Siege_of_Metz_(1870)) and the [Battle of Sedan](/source/Battle_of_Sedan), she then proceeded to [Nancy](/source/Nancy,_France), a major rail depot which had the largest [military hospital](/source/Military_hospital) in the entire German network.[5][6] In addition to tending to wounded soldiers, she "organized the deployment of nursing staff" and oversaw the distribution of food at the hospitals.[1] In total, she served from 5 August 1870 to 11 March 1871.[5] Simon was highly regarded for her actions during the war, and was awarded the [Order of Sidonia](/source/Order_of_Sidonia) from Saxony; the [Order of Franz Joseph](/source/Order_of_Franz_Joseph) from Austria; and the [Cross of Merit for Women and Girls](/source/Cross_of_Merit_for_Women_and_Girls) from Prussia.[1][3]

Following the war, Simon "devoted herself intensively to the training of nursing staff". Largely at her own expense, she established a [sanatorium](/source/Sanatorium) for disabled soldiers – which was also used as a training facility for nurses – in [Loschwitz](/source/Loschwitz) in 1872, as well as a [polyclinic](/source/Polyclinic) in [Neustadt](/source/Neustadt_(district)). In addition, she led a three-year training program for nurses, the last six months of which was under the instruction of doctors at the University Hospital Leipzig.[1][3] Simon died at her sanatorium in Loschwitz on 20 February 1877, aged 52. Her funeral was held two days later with a large attendance, and she was buried in Dresden's [Trinity Cemetery](/source/Trinity_Cemetery_(Dresden)).[4][5] Her grave, which was destroyed by [Allied bombing](/source/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II), was restored in May 2023 with financial support from the German Red Cross and the local government.[1][4]

The German Red Cross considers Simon to be "a pioneer of modern nursing" who played a key role in establishing the organization in Saxony, while contemporary physician [Ludwig Mayer](/source/Ludwig_Mayer_(physician)) eulogized her as the "Saxon [Florence Nightingale](/source/Florence_Nightingale)".[4][5] In 1907, a street in Dresden was named after her.[3] Publicist [Jürgen Helfricht](/source/J%C3%BCrgen_Helfricht) is writing a biography about Simon which will be published in 2024.[4]

## Honors and awards

Simon was the recipient of the following honors and awards:[3]

- [Austrian Empire](/source/Austrian_Empire): [Order of Franz Joseph](/source/Order_of_Franz_Joseph)
- [Prussia](/source/Prussia): [Cross of Merit for Women and Girls](/source/Cross_of_Merit_for_Women_and_Girls) (1871)
- [Kingdom of Saxony](/source/Kingdom_of_Saxony): [Order of Sidonia](/source/Order_of_Sidonia) (1871)
- [Württemberg](/source/W%C3%BCrttemberg): [Order of Olga](/source/Order_of_Olga)

## Bibliography

- Simon, Marie (1872). [*Meine Erfahrungen auf dem Gebiete der freiwilligen Krankenpflege im Deutsch-Französischen Kriege 1870-71*](https://books.google.com/books?id=9lpUAAAAcAAJ) [My Experiences in the Field of Voluntary Nursing in the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71] (in German). Leipzig: [F. A. Brockhaus AG](/source/F._A._Brockhaus_AG)

## References

1. Venske, Ruth (August 25, 2009). ["Biografie von Marie Simon (1824-1877)"](https://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/Marie_Simon_(1824-1877)) [Biography of Marie Simon (1824-1877)] (in German). *[Sächsische Biografie](/source/S%C3%A4chsische_Biografie)*. Retrieved 2023-08-26.

1. ["W Drježdźanach počesća wuznamnu Serbowku"](https://www.serbske-nowiny.de/index.php/hsb/politika/item/72468-w-drje-d-anach-po-es-a-wuznamnu-serbowku) [In Dresden, They Pay Tribute to an Important Sorbian Woman] (in hsb). *[Serbske Nowiny](/source/Serbske_Nowiny)*. March 5, 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-26.

1. Wittneben, Karen (2010). ["Simon, Marie"](https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd117394068.html#ndbcontent) (in German). *[Deutsche Biographie](/source/Deutsche_Biographie)*. Retrieved 2023-08-26.

1. Haufe, Kay (May 14, 2023). ["Die vergessene Dresdner Heldin: Marie-Simon-Grab erneuert"](https://www.saechsische.de/dresden/lokales/die-vergessene-dresdner-heldin-marie-simon-grab-erneuert-5858585.html) [The Forgotten Dresden Heroine: Marie Simon Grave Renewed] (in German). *[Sächsische Zeitung](/source/S%C3%A4chsische_Zeitung)*. Retrieved 2023-08-26.

1. ["145. Todestag vom Marie Simon"](https://web.archive.org/web/20230810062323/https://drksachsen.de/aktuelles/presse-service/news-details/145-todestag-vom-marie-simon.html) [145th Anniversary of Marie Simon's Death] (in de-DE). *[German Red Cross](/source/German_Red_Cross)*. February 20, 2022. Archived from [the original](https://drksachsen.de/aktuelles/presse-service/news-details/145-todestag-vom-marie-simon.html) on 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2023-08-26.

1. Gemberg, Adine (1895). ["Frauen im Felde: Veihnachten 1870"](https://books.google.com/books?id=jzc10lLqVUQC&dq=%22Marie+Simon%22+%22S%C3%A4chsische%22&pg=PA176) [Women in the Field: Christmas 1870] (in German). *Die Frau*. **3**: 176. Berlin: F. A. Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung.

## Further reading

- Hesekiel, Ludovica (January 15, 1872). ["Mutter Simon: Ein deutsches Frauenbild aus der Gegenwart"](https://books.google.com/books?id=T0JTAAAAcAAJ&dq=%22Marie+Simon%22+%22S%C3%A4chsische%22&pg=PA29) [Mother Simon: A German Image of Women from the Present] (in German). *[Der Bazar](/source/Der_Bazar)*. No. 4. pp. 29–30.
- Kürschner, Joseph (1898). [*König Albert und Sachsenland*](https://books.google.com/books?id=iBYvAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Marie+Simon%22+%22S%C3%A4chsische%22&pg=PA137) [King Albert and Saxony] (in German). Berlin: Reinhold Schwarz. p. 137.
- ["Marie Simon: Dresdnerin machte sich um die Verwundeten von 1866 und 1870/71 verdient"](https://www.dnn.de/lokales/dresden/wie-sich-eine-dresdnerin-um-die-verwundeten-von-1866-und-187071-verdient-machte-2BFI2GQLG55S2BUPVHMGWY3JWE.html) [Marie Simon: How a Woman From Dresden Rendered Services to the Wounded of 1866 and 1870/71] (in German). *[Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten](/source/Dresdner_Neueste_Nachrichten)*. 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
- ["Mutter Simon"](https://books.google.com/books?id=StDvAzZZiO4C&dq=%22Marie+Simon%22+%22S%C3%A4chsische%22&pg=RA22-PA5) [Mother Simon] (in German). *[Neue Freie Presse](/source/Neue_Freie_Presse)*. No. 4489. February 24, 1877. p. 5.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Marie Simon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Simon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Simon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.