Dr. Camillo Vysibla, M. D.
Dr. Camillo Vysibla, M. D.
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| Dr. Camillo Vysibla, Vienna, September 1940 |
Camillo was born August 16, 1907 in Vienna. His mother tongue was German although his parents were from Třebíč, Czechia. He had two sisters, Valerie and Renatta. Of course the country Czechia didn't exist then - it was still part of the Austrian Empire. His parents certainly spoke Czech but they also spoke German because they were now living in Vienna. Their address in Vienna was Sanettystrasse 4, Wien.
Camillo's father Karel was 33 when Camillo was born. His mother Anastàzie Ježková was 25.
Camillo's son Tassilo told me Karel was a pork wholesaler, selling brine-cured Prague ham in Vienna. Karel Vysibla was born just outside of Trevic, Czechia, at Nové dvory Road No. 111, Hrotovice, Třebíč, Czechia. [MyHeritage].
Camillo studied to become a medical doctor in Vienna and worked at Wilhelminenspital. Tassilo said Camillo met Nora Colnago, a nurse at the same hospital, in an ambulance. They got along well after working hours and got married. Tired of the city life, they moved to a small town outside of Vienna and then to Hardegg, Austria.
Camillo published this article in Chemisches Zentralblatt, April 21, 1937.
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| Chemisches Zentralblatt Leipzig, Germany, 1937 |
His journal article is titled "Clinical Experiences with Bismulgin, a Highly Effective Preparation of Bismuth."
It says that this oily emulsion of bismuth oxy-benzoate showed good long-term effects and good compatibility. The abstract doesn't say whether to swallow it or apply it to your skin. I use bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) for indigestion.
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| "Klinische Erfahrungen mit Bismulgin" by Camillo C. Vysibla Published in Chemisches Zentralblatt, 1937 |
On March 11–13, 1938, German troops invaded Austria and incorporated Austria into the German Reich in what is known as the Anschluss.
All Austrian men were conscripted into the German Army, including Dr. Camillo, age 32. Camillo and Nora had one son, Tassilo, in September of 1940. They were living in Hardegg, Austria.
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| Dr. Camillo Vysibla holding his son Tassilo Vienna, September 1940 |
His granddaughter Camilla Hutschinski (born Vysibla) said he served in Stalingrad.
Hi Albert!
He died from cardiac complications after his return from Stalingrad. He „served“ as a MD to the staff....I will ask Tassilo where (I think in Brünn/Brno) he died...he is buried in the Ottakringer Friedhof in Vienna - I can show you where next time you are here!Alles Liebe!C.
Before the army Camillo worked as a doctor in Hardegg, Austria. Before that there were no doctors or clinics in Hardegg. Hardegg is a tiny picturesque town with a castle, about an hour and a half drive north of Vienna, on the Austria - Czech border. (Hardegg is now a National Park).
Nora and Camillo lived in their “Doctor's house” in Hardegg after Tassilo was born in 1940. Being a nurse from Vienna, she took care of the patients while Camillo was away in the army.
Toward the end of the war Eva Colnago and her children also moved into Camillo's "Doctor's house" in Hardegg with Nora and Tassilo. Eva already had four children: Robert Colnago, his older sister Maria, and the twins Bianca and Roswitha. Maria still tells stories about their terrible encounters with the Russian soldiers and the Czech refugees in Hardegg during the war. Tassilo lived in Hardegg until he was 8.
After the war the Colnago family as well as the Böhms and the Kordesches spent summer holidays there and the kids played in and explored the Hardegg castle.
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| Erna Böhm (17) riding on "Blucher." Nora Colnago is standing in the back in white. Hardegg, Austria, circa 1939 |
In fact, on the day I was born (Aug 15, 1949) my father Karl, my grandmother Bianca, and my sister Jo were all on holiday in Hardegg while Nora and my mom remained in Vienna because she was due. Nora had to rush my mom to a hospital in an ambulance when I was born.
Tassilo told us that Camillo died in Regensburg, Germany on June 29, 1944 due to cardiac complications. Nora dramatically arrived minutes before he died. After Camillo passed away and the war ended, Nora and Tassilo left Hardegg and moved in with her sister Bianca Böhm (my grandmother) at Reischachstraße 3 in Vienna, probably until about 1950. Bianca was living with her two children (Peter and Erna) and was also a widow. Her husband Franz Böhm died in 1936.
Below is Nora Colnago (age 14) in 1924. She married Camillo in 1939. She is holding hands with my mother Erna Kordesch (born Böhm).
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| Nora (14) with Erna Böhm (Kordesch), 2 years old. Vienna, Austria, 1924 |
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| Left to right: Bianca Böhm, Peter Böhm, Wera "Gypi" Slapa (born Colnago), Karl Colnago, my mother Erna Böhm "Bäba", Erich Slapa, Erna Colnago, Hans Slapa, "Gigi" Colnago, Nora Colnago. The girl standing in front is Karl's daughter Maria Colnago, about 6 years old. Reichenau an der Rax, 1938 |
Nora lived to age 90 in Vienna, Austria. I remember visiting her apartment at Franz-Josefs-Kai 12 near Schwedenplatz where she lived. Here is Nora with her sister Erna Colnago and my mother Erna Kordesch, circa 1965. Nora and Erna Colnago were both nurses working in Vienna hospitals.
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| Erna Colnago, Erna (Böhm) Kordesch "Bäba," and Nora Vysibla (born Colnago) in Vienna, circa 1965 |
I asked Friedi Colnago if Nora and Erna Colnago worked at the same hospital, where Dr. Camillo worked. Here is her reply:
Dear Albert,I nearly was in bed, but remembered the following: Robert and I got married in January 1966, at that time Erna already had retired and I think to have heard that she worked before in Wilhelminenspital, Nora was born 1908, so she was 58 years old in 1966 and still was working, she worked in Hanusch-Krankenhaus.Perhaps they worked in the same hospital when they were young and and this could have been Wilhelminenspital. But now I really go to bed, good night!
The Vysibla family still lives in Třebíč, Czechia. Camillo's uncle Leonard founded the Pietas Funeral Home in 1906 and despite two world wars, communist regimes and revolutions it is a thriving business today with several branches in other towns.
There is a WWII monument (I believe it is located in Hardegg, Austria) that honors Dr. Camillo Vysibla along with other victims of the war.
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| WWII Monument honoring Dr. Camillo Vysibla (Detail) |
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| WWII Monument honoring Dr. Camillo Vysibla and other soldiers "Vicitms of the war in Hardegg" (From Facebook) |
Another photo of the monument is here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHardegg_-_world_war_I_memorial.jpg
Dr. Camillo Vysibla was buried at Ottakringer Friedhof in Vienna on July 6, 1944.
His son Tassilo still has the head of a wild boar that Camillo hunted. It is hanging up on the living room wall in their house in Schönberg am Kamp, Austria.
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| Bianca Böhm and Nora Vysibla at Bianca's apartment in Vienna |
Below is the funeral notice for Camillo's wife Nora Vysibla (born Colnago). She was laid to rest in Friedhof Kalksburg, Vienna.
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| Funeral notice for Nora Vysibla Vienna, January 5, 1999 |
If you have any more stories or photos of Dr. Camillo Vysibla or his wife Nora Colnago, let me know!
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