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Felix Kersten (30 September 1898 – 16 April 1960) was before and during World War II the personal physical therapist of Heinrich Himmler. Kersten used his contacts with Himmler to help people persecuted by Nazi Germany. ==Early life== Kersten was born in a Baltic German family in Yuryev (Dorpat), Imperial Russia, now called Tartu, in Estonia. During the First World War he fought in the German Army and arrived in Finland in April 1918 with the German forces that intervened in the Finnish Civil War. Kersten served for a while in Suojeluskunta, was granted Finnish citizenship in 1920, and in September 1921 was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant (''vänrikki'') into the Finnish Army. After his return to civilian life, Kersten remained in Helsinki, where he studied therapy with the specialist Dr Colander, and after two years was awarded a certificate in phsyical therapy. He then left for Berlin, where he continued his studies and eventually became the pupil of a notable Chinese therapeutic masseur, Dr Ko,〔John H. Waller, ''Felix Kersten and the Secret Plot to Turn Himmler Against Hitler'' (2002), pp.9-10〕 whom he had met at a dinner party. In 1925, Ko told Kersten "You have learned all I can teach you." He then turned his practice over to Kersten and retired to Tibet. Kersten had a number of influential patients, among them Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands (after 1928) and Benito Mussolini’s son-in-law, the Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano. Kersten accepted Heinrich Himmler's request to become his personal phsyical therapist, writing later that he feared for his safety if he had refused. He was able to alleviate Himmler’s severe stomach pains with his skills and gained his trust. Kersten used this trust to obtain pardons and the release of several prisoners. During the War, Kersten also provided information to the OSS, predecessor of the CIA. Towards the end of the War, Kersten arranged a meeting between Himmler and Norbert Masur, a member of the Swedish branch of the World Jewish Congress, in Harztwalde, a few miles from Ravensbrück concentration camp. As a result, Himmler agreed to spare the lives of the remaining 60,000 Jews left in Nazi concentration camps days before their liberation by the Allies. In December 1945 the World Jewish Congress presented Kersten with a letter thanking him for helping to save Jewish concentration-camp victims. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Felix Kersten」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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