In 1932 Franz Kramer (1887-1967) and Hans Pollnow (1902-43) described a hyperkinetic syndrome in children. Basically the symptoms described coincide with what is nowadays regarded as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Hyperkinetic syndrome. The authors of the study thus went down in the history of child and adolescent psychiatry with their eponymous Kramer-Pollnow syndrome, and have had a lasting influence on the development of the concepts relating to this topic. Both worked together at the psychiatric and neurological hospital at Berlin's Charité under its head Karl Bonhoeffer, but as they were both Jewish they were forced to emigrate after the Nazis seized power. Until now, little has been known about the further fate and careers, so this study gives the first comprehensive account of their lives, based on documents found in the archives. It also presents an overview of their work.