Hans Eirew

Orthodontic pioneer who treated “demented” Rudolf Hess at Spandau Prison

THE INTERNATIONAL pioneer orthodontist Hans Eirew, who has died aged 95, campaigned for orthodontic treatment within the NHS. During a distinguished career he visited Soviet East Germany to study with the leading orthodontic innovator Dr Rolf Fraenkel, and returned to the West to lecture on his behalf. He spent his national service in Berlin

in 1950 where he treated prisoners at Spandau prison. When asked to extract a tooth from its most noted inmate, Hitler’s former deputy Rudolf Hess, he found his patient quite demented.“Hess refused to be given any anaesthetic, nor local, as he feared that we might want to kill him,” Eirew recalled at the time. “He also insisted on remaining standing.”

Over the following years Eirew met Andrew Rosthorn, a journalist interested in Hess, and even wrote an article, The Great Hess Mystery, and corresponded with Hess’ prison doctor in Spandau, W Hugh Thomas, who wrote several books about him.

Eirew’s international reputation was enhanced by having German as his mother tongue, which was fortunate at the time when his mentor, Dr Rolf Fraenkel, could not leave East Germany to disseminate his work. In an article describing his dangerous 1970s trip to East Germany, Eirew put the work in the context of cold war geopolitics.

Born in Vienna, he was the son of an oral surgeon who took up one of the few positions in England offered to refugee dentists. When the family left Austria in 1939, Hans was 14 and his sister Margaret, five. In England he was helped by the Quakers to complete his education, studying at Monkton Combe School near Bath and Wigton School. He became a strong swimmer, having learned water polo from the British Admiralty team using the Monkton Combe pool, playing at county level and eventually for his country. He was reserve with the British Olympic squad at the London 1948 Games. His contribution to the sport is honoured with the annual Hans Eirew Cup at Manchester University.

A lifelong supporter of Manchester City, he qualified in dentistry at Manchester University, became consultant at Sheffield University in clinical practice and pioneered “functional orthodontics”, a practice which uses the jaw’s musculature to model facial structure. He was President of the British Association of Orthodontics, Founder of the British Association of Orthodontics and visiting professor at Chicago and Michigan Universities.

A regular correspondent for national newspapers, he was a raconteur, noted for his dry humour. He is survived by his sons Dr Peter Eirew and Richard Eirew, his sister Margaret and four grandchildren. His wife Rosalind predeceased him.

GLORIA TESSLER

Hans Eirew: born August 24, 1924. Died October 10, 2019