Felix Kersten

Felix Kersten, who lived from 1898 to 1960, was a Baltic German therapist best known as the personal physical therapist of Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler. Born in Dorpat, now Tartu in Estonia, he fought in the German army in the First World War, took Finnish citizenship in 1920 and studied physical therapy in Helsinki, then in Berlin under a Chinese therapeutic masseur known as Dr Ko, who passed his practice on to him in 1925. His skill at easing Himmler's severe stomach pains won him Himmler's trust, which he said he used to obtain pardons and releases of prisoners. His wartime claims, including credit for saving Dutch and Finnish civilians, have been disputed by historians. He took Swedish citizenship in 1953 and died in 1960.