Hinrich Medau (1890–1974) und seine Gymnastik

The study deals both with the development of Medau gymnastics as a specific gymnastics system for girls' education in the Third Reich and with Hinrich Medau and his role in National Socialism. The study is based on the analysis of previously unexplored original sources on Medau and his gymnastics, both from state and private archives. The scientific-historical study is supplemented by interviews with contemporary witnesses. Finally, the analysis of the sources was carried out from the perspective of historical gender research. The interest in the genesis of gymnastics as a specific form of female physical exercise and its contextualization in Nazi politics and education was the guiding principle.