Gerhard Max Trabert (born 3 July 1956) is a German public figure.[1] By profession he is a general practitioner and emergency medicine doctor but is also known as a professor of social medicine and social psychiatry,as well as an author of books. In the 1970s,he was involved in professional sports.
Gerhard Trabert was born in Mainz in July 1956. During his childhood,he spent a lot of time in the orphanage where his father worked as an educator. This experience made him aware of the suffering felt by disadvantaged people at an early age.
During his trip through India,Trabert became acquainted with the "outreach health care concept" Medical Streetwork,which primarily treated patients with leprosy. The guiding principle of this concept is:"If the patient does not come to the doctor,the doctor comes to the patient." Inspired by this work and his experiences there,he transferred this medical approach to the health care of homeless people. In 1994,he founded the Mainz Model,[3] a medical care facility for homeless people. With a "mobile doctor",Trabert and his colleagues visit certain locations and offer medical help free of charge. Trabert was the first doctor in Germany to receive statutory health insurance approval for this form of mobile practice.
He is the author of numerous specialist articles on the subject of poverty and health,child poverty,poverty and suicidality,and children of parents with cancer. Trabert is also the author of children's books on the subject of cancer. In 1998 he founded the Poverty and Health in Germany[de] association,and is a member of the National Poverty Conference[de]. He is also the founder and chairman of the Flüsterpost association. From 1999 to 2009 he was a professor of medicine and social medicine at the Georg Simon Ohm University in Nuremberg,and since 2009 he has been a professor of social medicine and social psychiatry in the social work department at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences. He is also the owner of the G. Trabert publishing house.
In 2013,Trabert set up the “Ambulance without Borders”in the city of Mainz. The organisation employs twenty doctors,nurses and social workers and provides uninsured patients including homeless people with free medical treatment.[4]
Sport
Trabert at the 1975 European Junior Championships
Before and during his studies,Gerhard Trabert was part of the German junior and student national athletics team. His sporting successes include the silver medal in the 4 x 400 meter race at the 1975 European Athletics Junior Championships and the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 meter race at the 1977 FISU World University Games. His best time of 1:49.26 minutes for 800 meters,which Trabert set in 1981,is still included in the list of the "Eternal Top Ten" of the USC Mainz.[5]
In the 2022 German presidential election on 13 February 2022,Die Linke nominated Trabert as its candidate against the incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier who was running for another term. Trabert wanted to use this candidacy,in his own words,to draw attention to poverty and social injustice in Germany:"It's not about me. It's about the people I'm committed to," he said.[7][8] Trabert received 96 of the 1,437 votes cast in the Federal Assembly,25 more than the number of representatives The Left had.[9]
Re-elected President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier addressed Trabert directly in his speech on February 13,2022:
"Permit me,dear Professor Trabert,to say one more thing. With your candidacy,you have drawn attention to an issue that deserves more attention:the situation of the poorest and most vulnerable in our country. You deserve not only respect for this,but I hope that your momentum will continue." –Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Steinmeier also suggested a meeting with Trabert in order to "bring more attention to this pressing issue together".[10] This meeting took place on 4 March 2022 at Bellevue Palace. They discussed concrete measures and actions to help poor people.[11]
The promised visit of the Federal President to Mainz took place on June 2,2022. Steinmeier visited the mobile doctor's unit for the homeless and was very impressed by Trabert's work. Long-term cooperation in combating poverty was discussed.
As part of his candidacy,Trabert pointed out the turning a blind eye to the conditions of refugees and poor people in Germany and drew a parallel to the turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed by the Nazis during the National Socialist era:"Just as many Germans knew back then what was happening to the Jews,today we know what is happening to refugees in the Mediterranean,in Libyan and Syrian camps. We know how poverty is increasing,we know about the increased death rate of poor people here in Germany too."
Trabert also said of the situation in Germany:"The courts are also abusing their power to silence criticism in this democracy. We cannot accept that." Although Trabert was referring to the criminalization of sea rescue workers,his statements were criticized from various sides.[12][13][14][15]
In July 2023,the Die Linke Party Executive[de] proposed Trabert for fourth place on the party's candidate list for the 2024 European elections.[17] Since the party received only three seats with 2.7 percent of the vote,he missed out on a place in the European Parliament.
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