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Chapter 3
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
(WEST GERMANY)
Like France and
Britain, Germany has traditionally been one of the top
ranking countries in the world in the advance of biological
and medical knowledge. In the 19th century, Germany took
second place to none in science, but with the coming of
World War I and particularly the Nazi regime of the nineteen
thirties, followed by World War II, Germany’s scientific
position declined, and is only now coming back into its own.
Furthermore from our particular point of view here, the
destruction occasioned by World War II was so great that
much of Germany’s visible and tangible scientific heritage
has gone forever. Nevertheless, some things survive, which
we will describe, and we will also explain other important
aspects of which there is virtually no surviving record.
Germany is politically divided into West and East, a
division stemming from the end of World War II. West Germany
is a very beautiful country, and has excellent roads, their
“Autobahns” being the originators of our freeways. However,
there are often much more pleasant routes than the
Autobahns. All road directions we give are from Bonn, the
capital, unless otherwise stated. In addition their national
railway, the Deutches Bundesbahn, is unsurpassed, and there
are many good bus services as well.
CLAUSTHAL-ZELLERFELD
Location - 340 kilometers northeast of Bonn, and about 50
kilometers northeast of Göttingen.
Train - From various places.
Road - From Bonn take the A59 north towards Köln, but skirt
Köln to the east and join the A1 or E73 towards Wuppertal
and continue towards Dortmund. Just west of Dortmund join
the E63 towards Kassel. Just south of Kassel turn north
along the E4 or A7 towards Göttingen. North of Göttingen
turn off along the 241 to Northeim and follow this through
Osterode to Clausthal-Zellerfeld.
Clausthal-Zellerfeld is situated in the beautiful
Harz Mountains not far from the border of East Germany.
The town was the birthplace of the great German doctor and
bacteriologist Robert Koch (1843-1910).
Robert Koch was contemporary with Louis Pasteur (see under
France), and between the two of them they founded the
concepts and techniques on which modern bacteriology is
based. To put it in more meaningful terms they established
the ideas which formed the basis for the conquest of
infectious diseases.
Koch was born the third child
in a family of 13, and his parents encouraged their children
to learn and to travel. By the age of 5 he had taught
himself to read and write, and before entering school he was
an avid and knowledgeable collector of plants and animals.
He did well at the local Gymnasium School, and at 19 he
entered Göttingen University to study natural sciences.
However, he soon transferred to medicine and was greatly
influenced by the professor of physiology, Jacob Henle. No
bacteriology was then taught in medical schools, but Henle
firmly believed that contagious agents were living
organisms, and there can be little doubt that this had a
profound impact on Koch’s mind.
He received his doctor’s
degree in 1866, and in 1867 married Emmy Fraatz, also from
Clausthal. For five years after this the couple moved to a
variety of places, but none suited them until they settled
in Wollstein (now Wolsztyn, Poland), and it was here that
Koch did the basic work which established him as one of the
foremost scientists of his day. Whenever his practice would
permit he spent his spare time at the microscope in his
makeshift laboratory, and more and more began to observe
bacteria. In particular, he started to examine the rod-like
bacteria causing the disease anthrax in sheep, and with a
stroke of true genius he cultured these (in vitro) using the
aqueous humor of a cow’s eye as the medium. The aqueous
humor is the fluid in the chamber of the eye between the
cornea and the lens, and is about as free from bacterial
contamination as any living substance can be. Thus he was
able to get a pure culture of the anthrax bacillus,
something never achieved before. Later he used solid gelatin
to ensure pure cultures. He described the whole life cycle
of the organism, and demonstrated that when his pure
cultures were injected into mice they did indeed contract
anthrax. With this work he established the basic principles
of bacteriology, which are still valid today; namely, that
bacterial cultures must be pure to have any biological
meaning, and that these pure cultures will produce a
specific disease when injected into an appropriate animal.
Koch’s work soon brought him
recognition, and in 1880 he was appointed an advisor to the
Imperial Department of Health in Berlin, and this became his
permanent home. From Berlin, Koch’s techniques rapidly
spread throughout the world. He demonstrated that steam
surpassed hot air and carbolic acid sprays (see Lister under
England) in its sterilizing power, and thus revolutionized
hospital procedures. In fact Koch’s ideas of hygiene were
soon applied to every aspect of private and public health,
and are still in use today. Perhaps his greatest achievement
of all came in 1881 when he isolated the tuberculosis
bacillus, and demonstrated the disease could be transmitted
by inoculation. It is almost impossible for us today to
realize the scourge of tuberculosis, since in the last 100
years it has been virtually eradicated in many parts of the
world, principally due to the pioneer work of Robert Koch.
He tried unsuccessfully to use so called “tuberculins” to
control tuberculosis. Its control had to wait for more
modern techniques.
Koch did not confine his investigations to Berlin. Wherever
there was epidemic disease, it was likely that he would be
found there to investigate its causes at first hand. He
studied cholera in Egypt and India, sleeping sickness in
Africa, and malaria in New Guinea. In all cases preliminary
controls were effected.
The latter half of the 19th
century was a time of imperialist expansion, intense
nationalism and rivalry between nations, particularly
between France and Germany. It is really not surprising
therefore that Koch as a German and Louis Pasteur as a
Frenchman became embroiled in this, and their scientific
judgements suffered the consequences. In addition Koch was
not the easiest of men to deal with. He was authoritarian,
often aggressive, and vicious in his criticisms of other
people’s ideas. Thus he had many enemies, and his reputation
was not helped in 1893 when he separated from his wife to
marry a young actress by the name of Hedwig Freiburg, with
whom he had become infatuated. However, his scientific
achievements were so great that his reputation survived all.
He was awarded the Nobel prize for medicine in 1905, and
died 5 years later a national and international hero. His
ashes were deposited in his institute in Berlin.
The Birth House
of Robert Koch
Osteröder Strasse 13 (corner of Bartelsstrasse)
Clausthal-Zellerfeld
This house was where Robert Koch was born. It is state
property and preserved, but is privately occupied. There is
an easily visible plaque over the front door which reads:
ROBERT KOCH
wurde am 12 Dezember
1843 in diesem Hause geboren.
Robert Koch House
Kronenplatz (near the Post Office)
Clauthal-Zelerfeld
This is the house where Koch spent his childhood, and like
his birth house it is state property but privately occupied.
A plaque over the front door reads:
In diesem Hause verlebte
ROBERT KOCH
seine Jungendzeit
1854 - 1862.
FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN
Location - 140 kilometers southeast of Bonn and one of the
principle cities of Germany.
Train - From all major cities direct.
Road - From Bonn take the A3 or E5 towards Frankfurt and
Wiesbaden, and exit at Frankfurt (there are many exits).
Frankfurt-am-Main is a huge industrial city, badly damaged
during World War II but largely rebuilt. It was here that
Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) did much of the work that has so
profoundly affected modern medicine.
Paul-Ehrlich-Institut
Paul-Ehrlich-Strasse 42-44
Frankfurt-am-Main
Opening hours:
Normal business hours.
No charge for admission.
Paul Ehrlich’s place in the history of medicine, rests not
on any one major discovery, but on the fact that his work
laid the foundations on which modern hematology, immunology
and chemotherapy are built. Through his demonstrations of
the chemical reactions of dyes with living cells, hematology
and later histology came into their own as sciences.
Likewise his methods of assaying and standardizing
antitoxins are still the basis of immunology. Finally he was
the first person to produce a chemical substance which had
meaningful chemotherapeutic effects. All remarkable
contributions to biology and medicine.
Ehrlich was born of middle
class parents in Strehlen (now Strzelin, Poland). His mother
and father encouraged education, and by all accounts Paul
was a happy and enthusiastic boy. He attended the local
primary school, and at age 10 went to the Gymnasium in
nearby Breslau. He entered the University of Breslau at 18
to study natural sciences, but soon transferred to
Strasbourg University to study medicine. His student days at
university were checkered, for he returned to Breslau and
also attended Freiburg and Leipzig Universities, finally
receiving his medical degree in 1878. However, before he
graduated, he had already published his first paper on the
effects of aniline dyes on living cells, and his doctoral
dissertation was on the same subject. Fortunately the
importance of his work was recognized at once, and upon
graduation he was appointed to the research staff of the
famous Charite Hospital in Berlin.
In Berlin, Ehrlich continued
his research on the reactions of dyes on living cells, and
gradually developed the fundamental concept that to
understand biological processes, it would be necessary to
describe them in chemical terms. The importance of this in
the future development of biology cannot be overstressed.
In 1883 Ehrlich married
Hedwig Pinkus, and the marriage proved extremely happy. They
had two daughters to whom both mother and father were
closely attached, and the family relationship no doubt
helped Ehrlich in his somewhat troubled and insecure
professional career. Shortly after his marriage he received
an appointment at the University of Berlin, but due to
changes in those in control this did not last long. In 1889
he was without appointment, but set up his own private
laboratory where for many years he conducted fundamental
experiments in immunology. In particular he worked out
methods for assaying toxins and antitoxins, and for
determining their correct physiological doses.
As a result of this work,
Paul Ehrlich’s genius was once more recognized, and in 1899
he was made director of a new “Serum Institute” in
Frankfurt-am-Main. Here he spent the rest of his active
life, during which time he developed the first effective
chemotherapeutic drug, Salvarsan. It was particularly
effective against a bacterial group referred to as “spirochaetes,”
which includes the organism causing the deadly disease
syphilis. Salvarsan can be described as a first step only,
for it had many undesirable side effects, but it was
effective enough that it gave hope for the future discovery
of better chemotherapeutic drugs, and this has indeed proved
to be the case, first with sulpha drugs and later penicillin
(see under London and Fleming). He was awarded the Nobel
prize in 1908.
Paul Ehrlich’s great work
“die Experimentelle Chemotherapie der Spirillosen”
(Experimental Chemotherapy of Spirochaetal Diseases) was
published in 1910, and although the last 5 years of his life
were personally happy for him, he was very distressed by the
tragedies of World War I. He died in 1915 after a short
illness. Paul Ehrlich was basically a simple man, who never
sought fame or fortune, but his life’s work has had a
lasting effect on biology and medicine. He is buried in the
Jewish Cemetery in Frankfurt.
Paul Ehrlich founded the institute which bears his name, and
directed it for the last 15 years of his life. It is now
owned and operated by the Ministry of Health and its
function is the control and testing of vaccines. There is a
small “Memorial room” of Ehrlich memorabilia which is open
to the public, and worthwhile seeing. It is also of great
historical interest that although Paul Ehrlich was Jewish,
he was so highly regarded by the German people that the
Nazis saw fit not to rename Paul-Ehrlich-Strasse to suit
their political ends.
HEIDELBERG
Location - 85 kilometers south of Frankfurt-am-Main.
Train - From many major cities direct.
Road - From Frankfurt-am-Main take the A5/E4 Autobahn south
and then take the A656 turnoff to Heidelberg.
Heidelberg is one of the oldest and most picturesque towns
in Germany. It is on the river Neckar, which is a tributary
of the Rhine. Its origins are lost in time, but its famous
castle (the Schloss) was begun as early as the 13th century,
and its university was founded in 1385, making it one of the
oldest in Europe. During the reformation the latter was a
center of Calvinist doctrines, and the same was true of Nazi
doctrines under the Hitler regime. However, after World War
II the university was reestablished on traditional free
academic foundations, and today it is one of the leading
universities in Germany. Fortunately, Heidelberg escaped any
serious damage during World War II.
The University
The university of Heidelberg has throughout its history been
noted for its achievements in areas other than natural
sciences. Nevertheless, it would be a pity to miss it
entirely for this reason. Its facilities are scattered, but
much of the historical aspects are centered around the
Gabengasse, and these are well worth a visit. In particular
do not miss their famous library, with holdings going back
many centuries.
Apotheken-Museum
Heidelberg Schloss
69 Heidelberg
Opening hours:
Daily, 10.00 - 17.00
Small charge for admission.
Apothecaries were the forerunners of the modern druggist.
However, the transition was not a simple one. Very often
they competed with physicians, and the two professions were
often at odds. By modern standards most apothecaries would
be considered quacks, but it must be remembered that their
transition into druggists was completely dependent upon the
development of modern chemistry, and this did not really
occur until well into the 19th century. Be that as it may,
“the wares and the arts” of the apothecary, throughout the
ages, are a major part of medical history. Since
apothecaries were an important part of society, there were
many of them, and a lot of their materials have survived.
Throughout Europe, and indeed in parts of the United States
too, there are many apothecary museums, but none surpasses
this one in the Heidelberger Schloss.
One has to climb the hill up
to the castle to reach the museum, which is housed in a wing
of a former Renaissance palace built int he middle of the
16th century by the Electro Palatinate Otto Heinrich. Other
parts of the castle are much older, and the whole setting is
very beautiful. The museum was founded in 1937, and opened
to the public in Munich in 1938. There however, it was badly
damaged in 1944 during World War II, and it was not until
1957 that it found a new home in its present location.
There are about 15 rooms,
with displays going back four centuries. The historical
knowledge and artistic abilities of the curators are
outstanding, and in addition to the actual materials used by
apothecaries, whole contemporary laboratories have been
constructed. There is also a priceless collection of old and
rare books on the apolthecary’s profession.
INGOLSTADT
Location - 80 kilometers north of Munich.
Train - From Munich direct.
Road - Take the A9/E6 Autobahn north from Munich and exit at
Ingolstadt.
The town of Ingolstadt, being on the Danube, has played a
long and important role in the history of Bavaria, and
fortunately escaped serious damage during World War II. What
concerns us here is the history of the university, and
particularly what survives in the form of an anatomy
theater, which is now a superb medical museum. The
University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472, and the
original building survives in the form of the Hoheschule in
Goldknopfgasse. For 200 years the university was a leading
educational institution. However, during the thirty years
war (1618-1648) it suffered badly and went into decline, but
rose again in the 18th century. In 1800 the University of
Ingolstadt was moved, first to Landshut and then in 1826 to
Munich, where it became the University of Munich.
TOUR THE MUSEUMS OF INGOLSTADT
Deutsches Medizinhistorisches Museum
Alte Anatomie
Anatomiestrasse 20
Ingolstadt
Opening hours
April 1 - October 31, Tuesday - Sunday, 10.00 - 12.00
and 14.00 - 17.0. Closed Mondays.
November 1- March 31, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10.00 -
12.00;
Saturday and Sunday, 14.00 - 17.00. Closed Mondays and
Wednesdays.
Small charge for admission.
The Anatomy Theater of the University of Ingolstadt was
built between 1723 - 1736, and it is the oldest north of the
Alps. It was a major training place for medical doctors
until 1800, when the university moved, and this magnificent
building fell into private hands, eventually becoming a
laundry! In 1930 it was rescued from complete decay, being
purchased by the town of Ingolstadt, but it was not until
1969 that restoration was begun, with the subsequent
establishment of a medical museum. In 1972 the University of
Munich celebrated its 500th anniversary, and the following
year the museum was opened. It is of interest to note that
it is really the “brain child” of Dr. Heinz Goerke, a
distinguished Munich physician, whose drive and dedication
has created it in its present form.
The exterior part of the
building is completely restored to its original form, and is
most striking. At the back is a little courtyard garden,
which was the original herb garden of the medical school.
The historical displays are on two floors, arranged more or
less chronologically, so that one gets a feeling for the
whole historical development of medicine. Upon entering
there are displays of Egyptian, Grecian and Roman medicine,
and fascinating displays of “home medicine” in the 17th,
18th and 19th centuries. The displays are not confined to
cases of instruments, as is so commonly the case, but
include large pieces of medical apparatus such as
autoclaves, iron lungs, anaesthetic machines, etc.,
including the original sterilizer from the laboratory of
Robert Koch (see Clausthal-Zellerfeld). The second floor is
mainly devoted to military medicine, which has played such a
large role in the development of medicine in general. This
is a medical museum in a lovely setting, with rich
collections and a uniqueness of character with which the
visitor will not be disappointed.
KAISERSWERTH
Location - 80 kilometers north of Bonn. It is a northern
suburb of Düsseldorf near the airport.
Train - From Düsseldorf direct.
Road - From Bonn take the A555 noth skirting Köln to the
west and join the A57 north and then the A52 towards
Düsseldorf. Cross the Rhine and then turn left (north) along
route 1 towards Duisberg. This leads past the airport (to
the west) and straight into Kaiserswerth.
Kaiserswerth is a very old and beautiful town and is best
known today for its famous nursing school, where no less a
person than Florence Nightingale studied (see under London
and Middle Claydon, England).
Diakoniewerk Kaiserswerth
Alte Landstrasse 1221
4000 Düsseldorf 31
Opening hours:
Normal business hours.
No charge for admission.
A literal translation of Diakoniewerk is “service in the
name of God,” and it is an order of Protestant Deaconesses.
In English it is referred to as The Institute of Protestant
Deaconesses. The institute set in a large and beautiful park
is an easy walk through the cemetery from the town center.
It was founded in 1836 by Theodor Fleidner, and quickly
became known for its dedication to nursing the sick, and
eventually for training nurses. Florence Nightingale visited
it twice, first in 1850 for two weeks, and again in 1851 for
three months. The original hospital in which she studied
still stands. It is called Altenheim Stammhaus and is at 32
Kaiserswerther Markt (corner of An St. Swidbert). Florence
Nightingale was very impressed with the administration of
the hospital, and the dedication of the deaconesses, but
thought little of their sanitation procedures. In any case
Florence Nightingale quickly became their most famous
student, and her methods of sanitation soon found their way
to the deaconesses.
The historical aspects of the
institute are preserved in the archives of the library,
presided over by Sister Ruth Felgentreff, who speaks fluent
English. She is very enthusiastic, and delighted to show
everything to interested visitors. Her treasures contain
handwritten letters by Florence Nightingale and first
editions of all her works, as well as many other interesting
things. In 1975 a new 410 bed hospital was added to the
complex and it has been named the Florence Nightingale
Hospital. Inside the lobby is a lovely bronze bust of her.
Of great interest also is the adjacent cemetery segregated
into Protestant and Catholic sections! The Diakoniewerk
Kaiserswerth has a major place in the history of nursing,
and will not disappoint the historically-minded visitor.
MARBURG/LAHN
Location - 130 kilometers east of Bonn, and 80 kilometers
north of Frankfurt-am-Main.
Train - Direct from Frankfurt-am-Main, and may other cities.
Road - From Bonn take route 478 to Waldbröl and Siegen. At
Siegen take route 62 to Biedenkopf and Colbe, and then turn
south along route 3 to Marburg/Lahn.
Marburg is a very old and beautiful university town astride
the river Lahn, and fortunately escaped damage during World
War II. Today it is the home of the Behringwerke and
Institut, which were founded by the great German doctor Emil
von Behring (1854-1917) towards the end of the 19th century.
Behringwerke AG
und Institut
Marbach
D-3550 Marburg/Lahn 1
Opening hours:
Normal business hours.
No charge for admission.
This enormous complex is at the village of Marbach, about 3
kilometers northwest of the center of Marburg/Lahn.
It is to Emil von Behring that we chiefly owe many of the
concepts of antitoxin therapy, and the control of the dread
diseases of tetanus and diptheria. He was one of twelve
children in a teacher’s family in Hansdorf (now part of
Poland). While at school he developed his interest in
medicine, but due to the poverty of his family he saw little
chance of ever becoming a doctor. However, one of his
teachers was able to have him admitted to medical school in
Berlin, on the condition that upon graduation he promise to
serve in the Prussian Army for 10 years. Behring accepted
this and carried out his promise. While still a student he
began to think about the problem of combating infectious
diseases, and shortly after he graduated he wrote a paper
raising the question as to whether it might be possible to
“disinfect” the living organism internally as well as
externally, and he pursued this theme all his life. In 1896
he married Else Spinola. It was a happy marriage and he was
devoted to his wife. They had six sons.
While in the army, Behring
was sent to Berlin where he joined the staff of the
Institute of Hygiene and worked under its director, Robert
Koch (see under Clausthal-Zellerfeld). Here he also met and
collaborated with Paul Ehrlich (see under
Frankfurt-am-Main). On completing his army service in 1889
he stayed on at the institute, and it was here that he
developed his brilliant ideas on serum therapy and his
theory of antitoxins. In good scientific fashion these
theories were tested in the laboratory, and by 1890 he had
proven that the blood of tetanus-immune rabbits possessed a
substance which destroyed the tetanus toxin, and most
important, that this property was maintained when the serum
of the rabbit was injected in other animals. The discovery
made it possible to achieve therapeutic effects by serum
transfusions. It was a giant step along the road to
“internal disinfection.” Behring coined the word “antitoxin”
to describe this effect, and in due course reliable
inoculations were developed for both tetanus and diphtheria.
In 1894 Behring moved to
Marburg/Lahn where he set up what is now known as the
Behring Institut and continued his active research. He later
established the Behringwerke. By this time he was being
hailed as an international hero and honors increasingly
poured upon him. He was raised to the nobility, and in 1901
was awarded the first Nobel prize in medicine for his life’s
work.
At Marburg, Behring devoted
himself to the fight against tuberculosis, although he
admitted that he had little success. His later life was
saddened by the horrors of World War I, but he was able to
take some consolation in the fact that his tetanus
vaccination saved the lives of millions of soldiers. He died
in Marburg in 1917.
Behring’s ideas and
techniques have since been used to combat many other
infectious diseases, and his name is certain to live as one
of the great benefactors of mankind.
The Behringwerke is toay a large corporation, with worldwide
operations, manufacturing pharmaceuticals, and doing
reserach mainly in various aspets of immunology. The Behring
Institut is housed in the library, and comprises Emil von
Behring’s papers and other memorabilia concerning his life
and work. This is all under the direction of Frau L. Zeditz,
the archivist, who is very cooperative. However, the “gem”
is the so-called “Behring room” in another building nearby,
and can be seen by request (in advance). Tours of the works
are also available, but arrangements must be made well in
advance. The “Behring room” itself is not the original
office he occupied, but is an exact replica of it.
Everything in it is the original - his personal library,
desk, furniture, pictures, etc. It is beautifully cared for,
and truly a great experience to be in it. He is buried in a
private mausoleum on company property, but his grave can be
seen by request, again in advance.
In Marburg itself there is also a monument to Emil von
Behring, consisting of a head bust. It is set in a nice
alcove, and located on Pilgrimstein (at the corner of
Deutschhausstrasse) opposite the side of the Elisabeth-Kirche.
Also associated with Emil von Behring, is his former
residence “Villa Behring” (now offices and reserach
laboratories of the University of Marburg), situated at
Wilhelm-Roser-Strasse 2. It is off Ketzerbach, a few hundred
meters from the Elisabeth-Kirche.
MUNICH
Location - 190 kilometers east of Stuttgart.
Train - From many major cities direct.
Road - Take the A8/E11 direct from Stuttgart.
Munich is the capital of Bavaria and the principle city of
Southern Germany. It lies astride the river Isar, a
tributary of the Danube, and its origins go back to at least
the 11th century. From then until now it has played a major
role in the political, cultural and economic life of the
area. Unfortunately Munich was severely damaged during World
War II, and much of its tangible cultural heritage has gone.
However, two major things survived, namely its university
and the Deutsches Museum - the latter only just! Munich has
a modern and magnificent railway system, the S-Bahn and U-Bahn,
with its hub at the Hauptbahnhof.
Universität Munchen
Leopoldstrasse
Munich
Opening hours:
Normal business hours.
No charge for admission.
U-Bahn-Universität.
The center of the University of Munich is located in the
block at the corner of Schelling and Leopoldstrasse, but
there are other parts of it scattered around the area. The
origins of the university go back over 500 years, to when it
was located in Ingolstadt. However, it is only in recent
times that it has played a major role in the sciences, but
it would be a pity to miss it on that account. The
university is close to many of Munich’s great art galleries,
and the visitor will find much of interest there.
Deutsches Museum
Munich
Opening hours:
Daily, 9.00 - 17.00. Closed on public holidays.
Small charge for admission.
S-Bahn-Isartor.
The Deutsches Museum is one of the great science museums of
the world, and is located on an island in the river Isar,
with entrances off the Steinsdorfstrasse and Erhardtstrasse.
Some of their priceless collections were severely damaged
during World War II, but a remarkble job of restoration has
been achieved.
As an introduction to the Deutsches Museum, we can do no
better than quote from one of their guidebooks:
“The Deutsches Museum, which was founded in Munich in 1903
by Oskar von Miller (1855-1934), is a cultural and
educational institution devoted to the whole field of exact
science and technology. Its aim is to familiarize the widest
possible public with the basic phenomena and laws of science
and with the methods and tools of technology. It aims also
to present visually the historical development of scientific
knowledge and of its technical applications. The museum
tries to achieve these objets by the display of originals
and reproductions of historic apparatus and machinery and by
means of models and demonstrations. Many of the
demonstrations are either permanently working or designed so
that they can be operated by the visitor. In many cases
tools and machines are represented together with the workers
using them. Reconstructions of factories and workshops,
either full-scale or in the form of dioramas, give some
conception of industrial conditions at various times. The
Deutsches Museum not only presents German achievements, but
also displays outstanding achievements of other countries.
By showing that so many peoples have contributed to the
growth of science and technology, it seeks to promote mutual
understanding between nations.”
Most of the displays in this extensive museum tend to be in
the physical sciences and technology. However, many of them
have played such a major role in the development of biology
and medicine, that they are entirely relevant to the latter,
and every visitor interested in the development of science
cannot fail to appreciate them. There is, however, some
biology, and a particularly fine “Hall of Fame” with
portraits of many great scientists throughout the ages.
There is also an extensive library in the history of
science, which can be used by qualified scholars upon
application to the librarian.
We cannot recommend the
Deutsches Museum too highly. For what it is, it is
unsurpassed in the world.
NEUSS
Location - 70 kilometers north of Bonn and 15 kilometers
west of Düsseldorf.
Train - Direct from Düsseldorf.
Road - From Bonn take the A555 north, and skirt Köln to the
west and join the A57 north. Exit at Neuss.
Neuss is a heavily industrialized town, but it was here that
one of the founders of the cell theory was born - Theodor
Schwann (1810-1882), and his memory is preserved.
In all probability the English scientist Robert Hooke
(1635-1703) was the first person to see and describe “cells”
as we understand them today. In addition, Jean Baptiste
Lamarck (see under Paris) described them in 1809. However,
it was a long time after this before the universal nature of
cells as the basic unit of life was understood, and this
discovery was made by Mathias Schleiden (1804-1881) and his
compatriot Theodor Schwann. The importance of this discovery
cannot be overestimated: It is one of the basic foundations
on which all modern biology rests.
Schleiden was the son of a physician. He was born in Hamburg
and spent his childhood there. At the age of 20 he went to
the University of Heidelberg to study law. In 1827 he
received a doctorate degree, and returned to Hamburg to
practice law. However, he became deeply dissatisfied with
the legal profession, finally abandoning it, and at the age
of 27 he started in again at the university to study natural
science, with a concentration in botany. At first he
attended Göttingen and then Berlin where he met Theodor
Schwann. Schleiden received his doctorate from Jena
University in 1839, and although he stayed on there for a
while, he had a restless nature and subsequently moved to
Dresden and Dorpat.
In 1838 while still at Jena, and before he got his
doctorate, he published a paper “Beiträge zur Phytogenesis”
(Contributions to Phytogenesis) in which he clearly put
forth the basic cellular nature of plants, and in 1842 this
was elaborated in detail in his textbook “Grundzüge der
wissenschaftlichen Botanik” (Foundations of Scientific
Botany). It is one of the great books in scientific history,
establishing that plans are cellular, and set the stage for
modern botany. This is the work for which he is remembered
most, but he was a very prolific writer on a whole variety
of subjects. He was also popular as a lecturer, and did much
to improve the standards of education in the natural
sciences. He did at Frankfurt-am-Main in 1881.
Theodor Schwann was a rather rare type of individual, who
had a very short productive scientific career, while most of
his life was spent in pondering religious problems and in
teaching. He was born in Neuss, and by all accounts was a
model child and very religiously oriented. In view of this
it was assumed by all that he would enter the church, and at
16 he went to study at a Jesuit College in Cologne. However,
the Jesuits did not quite have the expected effect on him,
and he soon renounced theology to study medicine at the
University of Bonn, and there he met for the first time the
famous physiologist, Johannes Müller. Schwann went on to
Würzburg and eventually Berlin where he received his
doctorate degree in medicine in 1834. In the meantime Müller
had also moved to Berlin, and upon receiving his degree
Schwann immediately went to work in Müller’s laboratory, and
soon afterwards met Mathias Schleiden who was also working
there. Müller, Schleiden and Schwann had an enormous
influence on each other, and it was here between 1834-1839
that Schwann did his brilliant work culminating in the
pulbication in 1839 of his book “mikroskopische
Untersuchungen uber die Übereinstimmung in der Struktur and
dem Wachsthum der Thiere and Pflanzen” (Microscopic
Investigations Dealing with the Parallels of Structure and
Growth in Animals and Plants).
Not only did this firmly establish the “cell theory” as we
know it today, but Schwann argued for the theory in purely
mechanistic terms. In so doing he made it plain that the
theological theories of life were quite unnecessary, and
that it was a phenomenon subject to the same laws as the
physical sciences. Thus just as the cell theory is part and
parcel of biology today, so also is the mechanistic view of
life.
With the publication of this
classic work, Schwann’s productive scientific career was
more or less over. He was violently attacked for his ideas,
and quickly turned backt o theology and teaching. In the
same year as his great work was published he went to Louvain
as a Professor of Anatomy, and finally in 1848 to Liege
where his career was completed. The evidence suggests that
he was a lonely and unhappy man all these years until his
death in 1882. Nevertheles, Schwann’s place in biological
history is secure as one of the chief founders of the cell
and mechanistic theories of life.
Unfortunately very little of the physical associations of
Schleiden and Schwann survive. However, in Neuss there is a
large bronze statue of Schwann. He is seated, and it is
twice life-size. It is located in its own alcove at the
entrance to the Hauptpost (main post office) at the corner
of Neustrasse and Promenadenstrasse. The inscription at the
base reads simply:
SCHWANN
1810 - 1822
We find it a pity that there is apparently no other tribute
to Schleiden and Schwann.
REMSCHEID-LENNEP
Location - 60 kilometers north of Bonn and 30 kilometers
east of Düsseldorf.
Train - Direct from Düsseldorf.
Road - From Bonn take the A59 north and skirt Köln to the
east, then join the A1 or E73 towards Remscheid and
Wuppertal. Exit at Remscheid-Lennep.
Remscheid-Lennep is a manufacturing town known for its
textiles in the heart of the Ruhr industrial region. But
above this it is famous as the birth place of Wilhelm Conrad
Röntgen (1845-1923), the discoverer of x-rays, and in the
town is a large museum dedicated to him.
Deutsches Röntgen-Museum
Schweimerstrasse 41
(near the Moll Platz)
5630 Remscheid 11 - Lennep
Opening hours:
Monday - Thursday, 10.00 - 17.00
Friday, 10.00 - 14.00, Sunday 14.00 - 17.00
Closed Saturdays.
Small charge for admission.
The director (1983) is Herr Ernst Streller and his secretary
is Frau Erika Hamburg. They both speak English, and welcome
visitors from foreign countries.
Wilhelm Röntgen was born at 1 Gänsemarkt (near the Moll
Platz) on March 27th, 1845 and there is a plaque on the
house to this effect. At the age of three the family moved
to Appeldoorn in Holland, and here Wilhelm attended school,
and at 16 he entered the Utrecht Technical School. Some
minor thing happened to him here, which is not clearly
understood, but the result was that he was denied admittance
to the University of Utrecht. However, this did not stop him
and he was soon admitted to the Polytechnic School in
Zurich, Switzerland, as an engineering student. In 1868, at
the age of 23, he graduated as a mechanical engineer, and
the following year received his doctor’s degree. At this
time he became associated with the physicist, August Kundt,
and in 1871 he followed Kundt to the university of Würzburg
(see under Wurzrug). The following year he married Bertha
Ludwig. However, Röntgen did not at this time stay at the
University of Würzburg, but went on to Strasbourg and
Giessen, finally returning to Würzburg in 1888 as Professor
of Physics. In 1894 he became Rector of the university.
Röntgen’s momentous discovery
was made in 1895 in his small laboratory in the Physics
Institute, and it is of greater interest that this was a
case of “chance favoring the prepared mind,” for the
discovery was really outside his main field of research,
which was the physics of solids. The moment Röntgen
suspected he had observed a new phenomenon he concentrated
wholly on it. Within six weeks he had demonstrated the
extraordinary penetrating powers of the rays, had taken what
we would now call x-ray photographs and observed the
outlines in these of the bones in his fingers. He also took
an x-ray photograph of his wife’s hand. So clear and of such
obvious importance was his discovery that before the end of
the year he sent a short paper on it to the Physical and
Medical Society of Würzburg. By January 1896 he was world
famous, and a new tool for medicine was released which in
many respects has revolutionized the science. Röntgen
himself named his new discovery x-rays (they are called
Röntgen rays in Germany), simply because they were unknown,
and he clearly pointed out their potential uses in medicine,
radiology, biology, physics, metallurgy, etc. Since then
they have been applied in even more ways.
Not surprisingly, Röntgen
quickly became a German national hero and was awarded the
first Nobel prize for physics in 1901. But, as was
characteristic of his nature, he gave the prize money to the
University of Würzburg. He also had no intention of seeking
fame and glory, and was soon back in his laboratory studying
the physics of solids. He wrote over 70 papers on physics,
of which only 3 were on x-rays. He was always disappointed
that the rest received little recognition! The later years
of his life were clouded by World War I and the death of his
wife in 1919. He himself retired in 1920 to his country
house at Wilheim, near Munich, and died there in 1923. His
name lives on in the rays he discovered, as does our debt to
this modest man.
The Deutsches Röntgen-Museum was established in 1930 by a
group of local doctors. However, it rapidly became so
important that it was acquired by the town of Remscheid and
is now responsible to a Board of Directors, comprised of
distinguished citizens.
The displays are very
extensive and educational, and are constantly added to by
gifts from manufacturers of their latest x-ray equipment.
The various rooms and displays include:
1. Röntgen’s personal effects, including his many
photographs taken on his travels in Europe.
2. Portraits of his family and other contemporaries.
3. Busts and original articles, letters, etc.
4. A reconstruction of a doctor’s office circa 1905.
5. Röntgen’s private library, also his lovely old desk and
clock.
6. A reconstruction of Röntgen’s laboratory at Würzburg.
7. Reconstructionso f diagnostic treatment rooms with
life-size displays and
equipment.
8. Demonstrations of technical applications of x-rays.
9. Many others.
Röntgen’s birth house is only 300 meters up the road and it
is used as the museum’s library and also as a guest house
for visiting scholars.
In summary, we cannot recommend this museum too highly.
Remscheid is also a pleasant place to spend a night while
visiting the museum, and there is an excellent and
comfortable hotel, the Berline Hof, close by in the Moll
Platz. A nice place to toast Wilhelm Röntgen and his legacy.
WÜRZBURG
Location - 100 kilometers east and slightly south of
Frankfurt-am-Main.
Train - Direct from Frankfurt-am-Main.
Road - Take the A3/E5 Autobahn from Frankfurt-am-Main to the
east and exit at Würzburg.
Würzburg, on the river Main, is one of the oldest cities of
Germany, has been the seat of a Bishop since 741, and its
university was founded in 1582. Despite the fact it was
severely damaged in the final days of World War II, it is an
extremely picturesque and fascinating old town. Of great
interest to us, is that it was here in the University of
Würzburg in 1895 that Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (see also under
Remscheid-Lennep) discovered the rays named after him, more
commonly known as x-rays. The consequent impact of this
discovery on both biology and medicine can hardly be
exaggerated.
Physikal
Institut
Universität Würzburg
Röntgenring 8B
87 Würzburg
Opening hours:
Normal business hours.
No charge for admission.
It was in this building in 1895 that Röntgen discovered
x-rays. It is located on the Röntgenring close to the corner
of the Koellikerstrasse. On the outside of the building is a
large plaque which reads as follows:
In diesem hause entdeckte
W.C. Röntgen Im Jahre 1895
Die nach ihm Benannten Strahlen
which in translation reads: “In this building in the year
1895, W.C. Röntgen discovered the rays named after him.” The
actual room where the discovery was made is still there, but
is now a modern physics laboratory. Permission to see it and
other items of historical interest in the Physics Institute
can be requested at the office. It is also possible to see
the lecture room that Röntgen used. It is more or less the
same as in his day. Of great interest also are three display
cases containing some of Röntgen’s equipment, etc. Amongst
other things exhibited here are:
His Nobel Laureate Certificate;
His hunting gun, with a very early x-ray photograph of the
loading breech;
An x-ray photograph of the hand of Professor G. Koelliker
(Professor of
Anatomy), and another of his wife’s hand;
A commendation from the German Physics Society, signed by
both Max Planck and Albert Einstein!
These are of great interest, but it should be realized that
the main Röntgen Museum is in Remscheid-Lennep (see
previously).
Institut fur Geschicte der Medizin der Universität
Würzburg
Koellikerstrasser 6, Rückgebaude
87 Würzburg
Opening hours:
Normal business hours.
No charge for admission.
It is perhaps a help to know that not far from the Physics
Institute is the Institute for the History of Medicine,
which is in charge of Professor Dr. Gundolf Keil, who is
very knowledgeable about Röntgen. It is located slightly off
the main street, behind some main buildings, and not easy to
find - but persevere!
In concluding this chapter on Germany we would like to say
that no doubt many people who read this may have their image
of Germany tainted by the memories of two terrible world
wards. Be that as it may, in recent years we have found
Germany a magnificent and hospitable country to be in, and
nothing can erase its great scientific tradition and
contributions.
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