The institution is operated by the Free Church of the Seventh-day Adventists. In 1876, the first two Adventist congregations were established on German soil in Solingen and Vohwinkel (now a district of Wuppertal). Therefore, the Free Church is celebrating its 150th anniversary in Germany this year under the motto 'Courage for Tomorrow' (see APD report from January 27, 2026).
Adventists and Health – A Beginning in Friedensau
From the very beginning, Adventists viewed themselves as a spiritual but also socially responsible church. The preservation of human health plays a special role in this. As early as 1898, the German-American physician Dr. A. J. Hoenes came to Germany from the USA to establish an Adventist health system. A society was founded as a legal basis, which was registered in April 1900 at the Royal District Court of Loburg under the name 'German Association for Health Care e.V. in Friedensau, Jerichow District' (DVG). In Friedensau, located about 35 kilometers east of Magdeburg, the Free Church acquired a 35-hectare plot of land in 1899. This site not only became home to a missionary school but also a food factory for producing products of the Kellogg Company, a sanatorium with an attached nursing school, the Friedensau Sisterhood as an independent professional association, and a senior home. Additionally, the magazine Good Health was launched (see APD report from May 22, 2026).
During World War I, the sanatorium temporarily served as a hospital. In 1919, the sanatorium ceased operations due to the effects of the general collapse in Germany and the poor transport connections to Friedensau. Instead, a facility was to be established near a large city.
Continuation in Berlin
In 1919, Dr. Louis E. Conradi purchased a property on behalf of the Free Church leadership in Berlin-Zehlendorf, located on the edge of the Grunewald and near the Schlachtensee, along with the associated buildings of the former lung sanatorium owned by Dr. Ziegelroth. Dr. Conradi, his wife, a nurse, a caregiver, and an administrative staff member were the true pioneers of the then 'Sanatorium and Clinic Waldfriede.'
Following the model of the Adventist Battle Creek Hospital established in 1886 in Michigan, USA, which was led by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, who invented cornflakes among other things, the focus in Waldfriede was not only on medical treatment but especially on preventive and holistic approaches. On April 15, 1920, the acute hospital Waldfriede was opened. The health facility started with 39 beds in 27 patient rooms and an unfinished operating room.
In 1922/23, donations and internal funds enabled an expansion. In 1922, the hospital received state recognition and permission to open a nursing school. This institution still exists today as an academy for health and nursing with over 70 training places and has been located in neighboring Teltow since autumn 2023.
Over the following decades, the hospital site experienced ups and downs. Especially in the first 25 years, significant challenges arose due to the effects of inflation, the Great Depression, National Socialism, and World War II. The hospital was spared from the bombings in the 1940s.
Social Station and 'Prima Vita'
In recent years, a volunteer assistance service was established in 1986, which helps patients from admission to support on the wards. That year, the hospital reached its peak with 230 beds (now 175 beds). On October 1, 1989, a social station was founded and was the first of its kind to be located in an acute hospital in Germany. Since then, the goal of this work has been to care for sick and dependent individuals in their familiar home environment and to maintain and promote their independence as much as possible.
In 1993, the 'Health Center PrimaVita' was established, adding a health promotion center with a structured preventive program to an acute hospital in Germany for the first time. As early as 1984, long before the legislator addressed preventive programs, health seminars were held at the Waldfriede hospital. In 2002, the health center was expanded in terms of content, personnel, and partners. Since then, a wide range of preventive medical courses and seminars on topics such as exercise, nutrition, weight management, and general lifestyle have been offered by physicians, nutritionists, movement therapists, psychologists, and volunteers.
In 1999, the 'Service Company Hospital Waldfriede' (SKW) was founded, which primarily provides economic and supply services and is responsible for catering, cleaning, transport services, and bed management.
Baby Cradle and Daycare
Since September 2000, Waldfriede has offered a comprehensive counseling and care concept with the 'Baby Cradle' (baby hatch), being the first hospital in the world to do so. The project was terminated in March 2025 due to a lack of demand, as a new law now allows women to safely and anonymously give birth to their child.
In 2005, Waldfriede became one of eight recognized breast cancer centers in Berlin with a DMP contract from health insurance companies. In the same year, the hospital was certified for the first time according to KTQ (Cooperation for Transparency and Healthcare). It also received an award as a 'smoke-free hospital.' In 2006, the Center for Intestinal and Pelvic Floor Surgery was established. Since September 2007, the hospital has operated a daycare center in collaboration with the Advent Welfare Association e.V. (AWW) with 60 places.
Fear-Free Hospital
To strengthen international relations, Waldfriede signed a cooperation agreement in 2008 with the Florida Hospital chain in Orlando, USA. This includes collaboration in the medical, nursing, and administrative sectors. Additionally, Waldfriede became a European training center for surgical techniques with its 'Interdisciplinary Center for Intestinal and Pelvic Floor Surgery,' where physicians from Germany and abroad participate. In 2008, the hospital took over the swimming pool on Teltower Damm from the Berlin district of Steglitz-Zehlendorf to conduct all swimming courses and medical water applications as part of the preventive course program.
The 'Fear-Free Hospital' project has been a special offering since 2011, aimed at reducing the suffering of patients and thus promoting their rapid healing. On September 11, 2013, the 'Dessert Flower Center Waldfriede' opened its doors. In the world's first center of its kind, women and girls whose external genitals have been mutilated are treated. Mutilated genitals are surgically reconstructed, and the affected women receive psychological support and are rehabilitated as best as possible.
Private Clinic and Day Clinic
Since 2012, the 'Private Clinic Nikolassee' has been the second Adventist acute hospital in Berlin. The clinic, with 16 treatment places for internal medicine, psychosomatics, and psychiatry, is located just three kilometers from the Waldfriede hospital. While the private clinic addresses individuals with psychiatric-psychosomatic disorders with an inpatient offering, the 'Psychiatric-Psychosomatic Day Clinic Waldfriede,' opened in 2017, offers outpatient treatment.
A Robot for Waldfriede
At the beginning of 2021, the new department 'Center for Oncological Upper Abdominal Surgery and Robotics' was put into operation with the acquisition of the surgical system 'DaVinci.' With the certification of three additional cancer centers, the anal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and visceral oncology cancer center, the hospital expanded its competencies in the field of oncology in 2022.
In 2025, the Waldfriede hospital received the award from the American magazine 'Newsweek' for the fifth consecutive time as one of the best hospitals in the world (see APD report from March 3, 2025).
In 1996, Waldfriede was designated an 'Academic Teaching Hospital of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.' Since 2025, the hospital has been allowed to carry an additional title: 'Academic Teaching Hospital of HMU Health and Medical University Potsdam.'
Interesting Facts
The Waldfriede network has become one of the most diverse medical and nursing providers in southwest Berlin and, with around 950 employees, is also one of the largest employers and training companies in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district, reports Bernd Quoß, the hospital's board member and managing director of all subsidiary companies. Approximately 15,000 patients are treated inpatient and 120,000 outpatient each year. Waldfriede has the following specialties: internal medicine, gynecology and obstetrics, breast center, anesthesiology and intensive care, general and visceral surgery, center for intestinal and pelvic floor surgery, center for endocrine surgery, and radiology.
Bernd Quoß sees his task as leading the hospital 'with the help of my employees to the highest level of medical and nursing care and to withstand the competitive pressure from around 80 hospitals in Berlin. At the same time, I want to continue to uphold our Christian ethics and social responsibility towards our patients and employees. Many national and international awards confirm our chosen path. Despite all challenges, we care for and support our patients according to our Christian principle, 'Our service to humanity is service to God.'
The Waldfriede hospital is a member of the Diakonisches Werk Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz, the German Evangelical Hospital Association e.V. (DEKV), and a cooperation partner of the Adventist hospital network Advent Health in the USA. For more information: www.krankenhaus-waldfriede.de
'The Sisters of Waldfriede'
In 2023, the fourth and final volume of the novel series 'The Sisters of Waldfriede' by bestselling author Corina Bomann was published. The book series is largely based on true events from the Waldfriede hospital. All four volumes have made it onto the Spiegel bestseller list (see APD report from August 4, 2023). With this, the author pays a special tribute to the Waldfriede hospital. The idea for this series came to her during a stay there, where she discovered historical documents and photos. This sparked her interest in the history of the hospital, and she contacted the hospital management, which then provided her with the chronicle of nurse Hanna Rinder. In her chronicle, Hanna Rinder described some adventures of the doctors, nurses, and caregivers, as well as weddings and funerals, joy, troubles, and suffering. This chronicle inspired Corinna Bomann for her novel series, which tells the story of the birth and further history of the Waldfriede hospital.
The four volumes from Penguin Publishing are as follows:
1. 'Moment of Glory - The Sisters of Waldfriede' (ISBN 978-3-328-60205-7)
2. 'Beacon of Light - The Sisters of Waldfriede' (ISBN 978-3-328-60226-2)
3. 'Stormy Days - The Sisters of Waldfriede' (ISBN 978-3-328-60234-7)
4. 'Miracle Time - The Sisters of Waldfriede' (ISBN 978-3-328-60235-4)
Author Corina Bomann lives in Berlin-Zehlendorf – in direct proximity to the Waldfriede hospital.