["...that subsequently homeopathy will become nowhere as common as in veterinary medicine"--the history of veterinary homeopathy in Germany].
The subject of this article is the historical development of veterinary homoeopathy in Germany until 1945. Turning away from drastic healing methods around 1800, Samuel Hahnemann started to develop his homoeopathic system which since the 1820ies was also applied in the treatment of animals, especially by laymen. The number of homoeopathically-oriented veterinarians remained small. This is also true for veterinary-homoeopathic articles claiming to be scientific while there was a considerable number of popular articles to be found. The professors of the veterinary teaching institutions rejected homoeopathy. At the end of the 19th century hardly anything was heard about veterinary homoeopathy, at least among the professionals. Scientific success in human and veterinary medicine pushed Hahnemann's teachings and those of his successors into the background. In the 1920ies homoeopathy was revived and the position of the renowned surgeon August Bier played an important part in that. Members of the "Studiengemeinschaft für tierärztliche Homöopathie" (Study Group for Veterinary Homoeopathy) which was founded in 1936 started to investigate the effects of homoeopathic drugs systematically. The war put an end to this project. The present situation of veterinary homoeopathy in Germany can be described as follows: Neither have allopathy and homoeopathy been united, as it had been predicted, nor has classical medicine accepted homoeopathy as a scientific discipline. Hahnemann's demand to make his teachings a part of the veterinary studies remains unfulfilled until today.
Giese
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Institut für Geschichte der Medizin, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen.
Gellert
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D000818:Animals; D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006705:Homeopathy / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000266:history*