Die Tuberkulosebekämpfung im Kreis Kempen, 1918 - 29 (Volume 8) (English shop)

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For a long time, the German state adopted a defensive stance, working against the spread of tuberculosis among the lower social classes only by means of disinfection measures and regulations aimed at indoctrinating hygienic behaviour. Before the First World War, it was primarily associations and welfare organisations founded on private initiative that sought to remedy the social problems underlying the disease among these people. Only after the First World War did the state, too, begin to intervene actively in the elimination of social ills and thus also in the fight against tuberculosis. What led to this paradigm shift and which scientific concepts lay behind it? What conditions existed that called for state intervention? Using the regional example of the former district of Kempen, Yvonne Gavallér shows which measures were taken to combat tuberculosis and assesses them against the background of contemporary criticism of medical legislation and of the implementation of tuberculosis welfare. Where did the laws not go far enough? Was there room for improvement in the fight against tuberculosis? What problems did the health system face with regard to tuberculosis, and could they be solved? How did the disease affect social inequality, and can parallels be drawn between then and today?