Das Neue Wissen vom Menschen. Entstehung und Entwicklung des Deutschen Hygiene-Museums in Dresden 1900 - 1931

Masterarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Gesch. Europa - Deutschland - I. Weltkrieg, Weimarer Republik, Note: 1,0, Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: This paper is a study of the formation and development of the Deutsches
Hygiene-Museum in Dresden. It tells the history of the Museum ranging from 1900
to 1931. Its main objective is to point out essential stages in the development of
the institution and identify important persons as well as essential cultural trends
which influenced the museum. Furthermore ideas concerning the human as a being
which structured the hygienic teachings of the museum and its predecessors are
examined. Considering this the methodical approach is a dual one. On the one hand
a chronological overview is given and important cultural developments are treated
in short digressions. On the other hand relevant original sources are analysed.
The genesis of the DHMD is divided into two major periods. In the first
phase Karl August Lingner had a strong influence. This was until about 1912. The
second phase covers the development of the institution after this time 1931.
In the first part of the paper the importance of the Hygiene discourse is
discussed, as well as the development of the city of Dresden. Finally the analysis of
Lingners social engagements serves as a key towards the understanding of the
hygienic developments in Dresden. The institution had
developed to be a hybrid ensemble of very different parts ranging from exhibitions,
to academy, to the profit-oriented production of educational materials. The
museum conveyed its messages by using the most sophisticated methods of
communication available in the 1920s. It was the protagonist of a very rational,
science-based and body-focussed view of the modern human. Thus it was a reaction
to the instability brought by the modern constantly changing industrialised way of
living. Five main ideas were identified which structured the hygienic education of
the museum. 1. Given the difficult social, political and partly economic time, it is
necessary to devise means for a human economy. 2. The human body is seen
analogue to a well constructed machine. 3. Furthermore the body can be seen as
similar to human society. Thus it is deduced that each individual needs to
contribute towards the health of the Volkskörper (folk body). 4. In order to achieve
an effective and adequate health care the individual must be hygienically educated
because a knowledge deficit exists. The basis must be to inform about human
anatomy and physiology. 5. The hygienic education must take into account its
recipient and must strive to convey its contents vividly.