Mediziner und die Erziehung der „Massen“

A new arena opened to physicians in the Weimar Republic with a government subsidizing health education programs. Professionals delved into discussions on effective ways and means for disseminating hygiene habits among the population. However, when physicians, scientists and medical authorities took counsel on public hygiene education, there was more involved than protecting the people’s health. As the author illustrates, these discussions encompassed an underlying confrontation with the emergence of democracy and mass society. Intrinsic issues were the role of healthcare professionals in the new state as well as the call to lead the masses and to build bridges in a polarized society.