Portal:Scouting/Selected biography/April

Alexander Lion a Jewish surgeon, who converted to Catholicism at age 16, who was the co-founder of the German Scout Movement along with Maximilian Bayer. In March 1908 Lion read an article in The Times entitled "Scouting as a Sport" and in August he began corresponding with Robert Baden-Powell Shortly after Lion wrote his first article about Scouting in the magazine "Ärztliche Rundschau". During a month long study tour of England in 1909 he spent three days in London with Baden-Powell. Following this meeting he set up the German Scout movement, writing the book "Das Pfadfinderbuch", (the Scouting book). He was awarded the Iron Cross while serving as a surgeon in World War I. The Nazis considered him a Jew and sentenced him to 10 months in prison for "treasonous" Scouting activity. He was denounced during World War II but survived and was instrumental in getting Scouting restarted after the war.