Albert Schweitzer – A Biography

As far as I know, this is the first biography of Albert Schweitzer for some time. I have read most of the earlier ones, including by James Brabazon first published in 1975, with a revised edition in 2000. Others date from earlier periods and take more or less critical views. It used to be said that biography was one of the new terrors of death, but these began to come out during Schweitzer's lifetime. He is a good example of someone put on a pedestal as perhaps the greatest man in the world subsequently found to have feet of clay in some respects, hence such titles as Verdict on Albert Schweitzer. Although he himself cultivated his public image, he was equally aware of some inconsistencies, remarking to his daughter that he was not a book with a well-constructed plot, but a man, with all a man's contradictions.

This very fair-minded and detailed biography by a professor of ethics at Leuphana University seeks to discover the real Schweitzer behind the facade. However, it is true of all of us that we reveal different aspects of ourselves in different contexts. There may therefore be many equally real identities. The biography is very strong on Schweitzer's overall life history, a familiar tale to many, although much less so than 50 years ago. We see his early development combining faith with reasoning and a strong sense of empathy. However, Schweitzer was far from a model student, especially in subjects that did not interest him, and the author shows how this continued to be true even at doctoral level with his studies of philosophy and theology. He evidently failed to prepare properly for the practical theological subjects in his doctorate interview in 1900. Many were wary of his liberal views, especially in the Paris Missionary Society with whom he eventually worked. For Schweitzer, Jesus was essentially an ethical role model, which he himself strove to follow through his path of service. Other theologians accused him of failing to understand God as a personal presence. His approach was mystical and life-affirming, as he eventually formulates his ethic of Reverence for Life and the notion of ethical mysticism.

Schweitzer wrote his original biography of Bach in French, then re-worked it into a much longer German version, much to the dismay of his German publishers, although the book actually sold very well, and royalties from this and other books made a substantial contribution to his income. He considered Bach as the fifth evangelist and developed the idea of his music as pictorial, which he also interpreted beautifully himself in playing the organ preludes and fugues, always seeking to convey their architecture (he studied with Widor in Paris as a young man). Listening to his organ playing was my first encounter with Schweitzer as a teenager before becoming acquainted with his philosophical work. He completed the Bach biography during his medical studies by burning the candle at both ends, supplemented with copious coffee and keeping himself awake by soaking his feet in cold water!

One of the special features of this biography is the light it sheds on the role of his wife Helene Bresslau and their relationship, drawing as it does on extensive correspondence (the archive contains overall 65,000 letters to Schweitzer himself). Their correspondence between 1902 and 1913 was only published in 1992. She had equally wide ranging interests, and had spent two years studying at the conservatory as well as art history. They first met in 1898 and she too came up against family resistance when she announced that she intended to study as a nurse (Schweitzer's mother never accepted his career change). They shared a vision of responsibility and service, but this was to prove more difficult for them to realise together, to a large extent because of Helene's health problems which included a serious back injury after a skiing accident - few women skied in those days - and long-standing tuberculosis. Moreover, the African climate with its 100% humidity was extremely challenging for Europeans, even those with robust health. Helene also corrected and discussed his proofs, and at a later stage took an active part in fundraising for the hospital.

Work in the hospital at Lambarene, where Schweitzer was chief builder and foreman, was seriously affected by both world wars. In 1917, the Schweitzers were sent back to an internment camp near the Pyrenees, and the hospital had to be more or less rebuilt when he returned in 1924. In addition, there were considerable financial challenges over many years, eased when Schweitzer began to win prizes, culminating eventually in the Nobel Peace Prize. The period immediately after the war corresponded to Schweitzer's low point, and he felt that people had forgotten about him. A turning point came with a letter from Archbishop Soderblom in Sweden around Christmas 1919, inviting him to give a series of lectures at the University of Uppsala over Easter 1920. These were followed by invitations from Oxford and Cambridge, and eventually from Edinburgh where he delivered the Gifford Lectures, sadly never published. At the same time, he would give organ recitals, which were one of the main ways in which she raised funds for the hospital.

The lectures themselves frequently addressed the philosophy of civilisation and ethics, to which he had turned his attention. The two volumes published were The Decay and Restoration of Civilisation and Civilisation and Ethics (1923). For Schweitzer, philosophy should issue in practical ethical action, rather than being preoccupied with abstract speculations. He did not share the pessimism of Oswald Spengler, and the biography shows the extensive influence of Nietzsche as well as Goethe on his thinking - indeed, I think his lectures on Goethe are among the most interesting of his writings, and it is fascinating to understand the parallels that he saw between himself and Goethe. Schweitzer's practical and ethical approach reflects his theology and impatience with dogma - the dogmatic theologian Karl Barth regarded Schweitzer as 'problematic'.

Schweitzer was catapulted to international fame by a series of articles and especially by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. People had been lobbying for this award as far back as the 1930s and he had even asked his Swedish benefactress to prevent the award, as he thought it might undermine his existing support base for funding the hospital. He was apparently told on arrival at the Nobel ceremony that he only had 30 minutes instead of the anticipated 80 for his speech, so he had to cut it drastically and did not deliver it in the impassioned manner he had hoped. However, apparently 30,000 predominantly young people gathered in front of the town hall and a collection over the next three days yielded 315,000 crowns, more than double the prize money. In the late 1950s and at the instigation of Norman Cousins as well as Einstein (who regarded his moral influence as equivalent to that of Gandhi), Schweitzer became involved in the nuclear issue, and his 1957 Declaration of Conscience was broadcast and translated around the world. He was concerned about the way in which we had sunk deep into inhumanity during the world wars and he promoted the politics of peace over the politics of power.

Schweitzer's stance did not go unnoticed by leaders of the German Democratic Republic, who tried to enlist him as a supporter of the cause by association. They were trying to bring his engagement against nuclear armament into line with their own political agenda, and the book discusses this issue of political neutrality in some detail, including that he understood that he was being co-opted but from a pragmatic point of view he was not going to refuse contributions to this hospital. The author characterises him as a remarkable homo politicus who kept up with current affairs even from the jungle, although he tried to avoid advancing any specific political agenda 'staging himself as if he were a politician without acting as a politician'.

In the summer of 1964 at the age of 89, he made his own wooden coffin, and it seems that he was only ill for a few days before he died, handing over the direction of the hospital to his daughter Rhena only a fortnight before his death. Coming to the end of the book, I do think that the author has achieved his aim of describing the 'real' Schweitzer, despite my caveats above. He may well be right that Schweitzer was promoting a certain image of himself by travelling third class in a threadbare jacket, but I think Norman Cousins hit the mark when he said that in Schweitzer's life and work will be found energy for moral imagination. As the author points out, in addition to his authenticity and integrity he added man- sided talents in terms of 'organisational skills combined with leadership qualities as well as the ability to think strategically and practically.' He goes on: 'quite a few people have degrees in both theology and philosophy, but not many of them can raise the money for a hospital then build it, all the while writing bestsellers and performing as a world-class organist.' For me, Schweitzer has always been about inspiration and making the most of one's capacities – uniting thought with action and living one's convictions in a global context for the common good. As he himself said, our overall task is to become more finely and deeply human.