[Chronic alcoholism between the wars. The "Alcohol Sanatorium" for men in the "Wittenauer Heilstatten" (Berlin) 1928 to 1934].
During the twenties of this century addicted patients were increasingly admitted to the "Wittenauer Heilstatten". The largest group were men with the diagnosis "chronic alcoholism". In this paper we describe the care and treatment of these patients, with an emphasis on new approaches for treatment of chronic alcoholism. In the course of World War I and its aftermath, the number of alcoholics admitted to hospitals had considrably decreased, which was partly due to alcohol shortage. However, during the twenties numbers rose close to pre-war level. In the beginning of 1928, a special ward called "Alcohol Sanatorium" with a capacity of 60 beds was opened in the "Wittenauer Heilstatten". This sanatorium was part of a broad welfare system. In the first place, the publicly financed alcohol care and information centers played a decisive role for the care for an alcoholic. Next in line were the clinics for the cure of alcoholics, predominantly under private or non-profit maintenance. Finally, municipal psychiatric hospitals like the "Wittenauer Heilstatten" and the wards for alcoholics in the workhouses or the workhouses themselves were part of the system. In spite of all the shortcomings due to "Zeitgeist" and prevailing circumstances, the therapeutic approach during the 1920's was progressive in the respects of treating "alcoholics" as patients. After 1933 this approach changes to judging addicted persons primarily as socially and biologically inferior which finally led to the exploitation of their capacity for work or compulsary sterilization. Due to this change, the number of admissions to the Wittenau "Alcohol Sanatorium" at last lost its special character as a ward within the clinical formation of the "Wittenauer Heilstatten".
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VI Polsko-Niemiecki Zjazd Historykow Medycyny, Drezno.
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D000437:Alcoholism / Q000266:history*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005858:Germany; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011057:Politics
Chronischer alkoholismus in der zwischenkriegszeit: das alkoholsanatorium fur manner der Wittenauer Heilstatten in Berlin 1928 bis 1934.