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Gerhard Fischer (20 September 1921 – 3 July 2006) was a German diplomat, ambassador and humanitarian who received the 1997 Gandhi Peace Prize in recognition of his work for leprosy and polio-afflicted patients in India.〔 Born in Oslo, Fischer grew up in China and studied medicine at Beijing Medical University, where he gained experience as a volunteer with leprosy patients. When he was forced to abandon the course by the Japanese occupation, he travelled to Germany intending to study medicine there, but instead was obliged to fight in World War II, then was held as a POW in France.〔 After the war, he obtained a law degree and entered the German diplomatic service. While at the German consulate in Madras, he helped a German doctor to establish a leprosy treatment and rehabilitation centre at Chettipatty. He was also instrumental in setting up the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras,〔 which was founded with financial and technical support from the West German government.〔 He later became ambassador to Malaysia, Ireland, Netherlands, and finally Switzerland. He resigned from the diplomatic service in order to devote himself full-time to the support of leprosy and polio patients in India. Fischer regarded rehabilitation as the most important aspect of his work, and emphasised the need for attitudes to leprosy to change. His work was recognised by the Indian government with the award of the Gandhi Peace Prize. Fischer used the money from the prize to set up a foundation for his humanitarian work. == Early life and education == Fischer was born in Oslo, Norway, the elder son of a Norwegian mother and a German father, Martin Fischer.〔 When he was about 3 years old, his family moved to China, where his father was a sinologist. As a boy, Fischer had always wanted to be a doctor. He started to study medicine at Beijing Medical University, but was forced to abandon the course when the University was closed by the Japanese occupation. So he decided to travel—via Siberia—to Germany, intending to study medicine there, but was instead compelled to fight in "another huge war", a situation he regarded as a "trap".〔 He spent five years fighting in the war, mainly on the Eastern Front, followed by two years nine months as a prisoner of war. Destitute after the war, studying medicine was out of the question. He worked as a truck driver and various other jobs, and after three years had saved enough money to study again.〔 He entered a legal crammer, and in one year obtained a law degree, a course that normally requires four years' study. While studying medicine in Beijing, he volunteered to look after leprosy patients (an opportunity offered to all medical students there, in the days before Fleming and modern antibiotics). From then on, he wanted to care for leprosy patients.〔 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「Gerhard Fischer (diplomat)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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