Rudolf Hauschka (born November 6 1891 in Vienna, died December 28 1969 in Bad Boll) was an Austrian chemist, author, inventor, entrepreneur and anthroposophist.

He was the founder of the company Wala Heilmittel GmbH and inventor of a "rhythmic" production process that excluded the use of alcohol as a preservative of plant extracts and can preserve the extract for over 30 years.

[edit] Biography

Rudolf Hauschka from 1908 studied chemistry and medicine in Vienna and Munich. He graduated with his doctorate in June 1914. He was involved with Anthroposophy and was president of a migratory bird movement in Austria. It was Karl Schubert who introduced Hauschka to Anthroposophy during this time. He participated in the First World War as a medical officer.

After the War he went on several scientific expeditions. His travels took him to Australia, India and Egypt.

His works take into account rhythmic processes found in nature. Rudolf Steiner influenced him greatly and anthroposophical medicine became his methodological approach to the study of nature, medicine, plants and natural phenomena.

1935 Hauschka founded the first WALA Laboratory near Ludwigsburg and later in 1953 this became WALA- Heilmittel Laboratorium.The people at WALA are not ordinary employees. They are responsible for their own work and share in the company profits. Indeed, WALA has been practising since 1969 what the German President Horst Köhler called on German industry to implement. That is to allow employees to share in the profits or productive wealth of their company in this era of globalisation, to counteract the growing gap between rich and poor.^[1] Karl Kossmann, former Managing Director and co-initiator of the WALA employee profit-sharing scheme, later explained how the profit-sharing model came about.

In 1942 while in Vienna he married the anthroposophical doctor Margaret Stavenhagen whom he had first meet in the Ita Wegman Clinical Therapeutic Institute in Arlesheim in 1929.

R. Hauschka’s weighing experiments were repeated by Stefan Baumgaertner and published in 1992.

[edit] Works

• Substance doctrine. To understand the physics, chemistry and therapeutic effects of the substances. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1942, 12 A. 2007, ISBN 3-465-03518-6
• Nutrition education. To understand the physiology of digestion and the ponderablen Imponderables and qualities of the food substances. With an appendix by Dr. Hauschka Grethe: Practical Diet Tips for Healthy and sick. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1951; 10th A. 1999, ISBN 3-465-03021-4
• Therapeutic teaching. A contribution to a contemporary therapeutic knowledge. With the cooperation of Dr. Margarethe Hauschka. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1965; 6 A. 2004, ISBN 3-465-03328-0
• Wetterleuchten a time shift. Living memory of a natural scientist. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1966 revised paperback edition: Verlag natural human-medicine, Bad Boll, 1997; 2nd unv. A. 2007, ISBN 3-928914-07-3
• The Nature of Substance ISBN 1-85584-122-3
• Nutrition ISBN 1-85584-117-7
• Heilmittellehre
• Ernaehrungslehre (both in German only)
• At the Dawn of a New Age—Memoirs of a Scientist, Canada: Steiner Book Centre 1985. Editor of English edition.

[edit] Sources

• WALA-Stiftung (Hg.): Rudolf Hauschka. To return his 100th Birthday on 6 November 1991. Publisher natural human-medicine, Bad Boll 1991
• Stephan Baumgartner: Hauschkas Wägeversuche. Weight variations of germinating plants in a closed system. Verlag am Goetheanum (Mathematisch-Astronomische leaves NF 16), Dornach 1992, ISBN 3-7235-0646-1

[edit] See also

• Anthroposophical medicine
• Naturopathy

[edit] External links

• Literature By and About Rudolf Hauschka in the German National Library

[edit] References