Hf01-03 Medical Research on and Treatment of Venereal Diseases in the German Colonies, 1880-1920

You have accessJournal of UrologyHistory of Urology Forum I (HF01)1 May 2024HF01-03 MEDICAL RESEARCH ON AND TREATMENT OF VENEREAL DISEASES IN THE GERMAN COLONIES, 1880-1920 Friedrich H. Moll, Thorsten Halling, Florian Mildenberger, and Matthis Krischel Friedrich H. MollFriedrich H. Moll , Thorsten HallingThorsten Halling , Florian MildenbergerFlorian Mildenberger , and Matthis KrischelMatthis Krischel View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/01.JU.0001008828.35887.de.03AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Sex, gender and sexuality where enormous powerful in the connection with "race" and social class in German colonial history. Only in the last three decades, the violence of German colonialism has been explored by academic historians (Eckard 1997). The experiments of Robert Koch (1843-1910) on sleeping sickness have been a focus of research. Interestingly urologic topics, e.g. STD, s have rarely been studied in German colonial contexts (Walther 2015). In general investment in health was seen as crucial to the economic development of the colonies. Syphilis and gonorrhoea, although less deadly than other endemic or epidemic diseases such as yellow fever, sleeping sickness and bubonic plague, were some of the most widespread infections in German and other colonies. METHODS: We analyse secondary and primary sources (files form the Reichskolonialamt, textbooks on colonial hygiene, original articles) in a hermeneutical manner. RESULTS: Research at Paul Ehrlich's lab led Hata Sahachiro (1873-1938) and Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) to identify the efficacy of "compound 606" – originally targeted at sleeping sickness – against syphilis. The drug was produced under the trade name Salvarsan from 1910 and is credited as the "first antibiotic". Many colonial physicians actively conducted research on Salvarsan involving colonial populations in order to explore toxicity and adverse effects before widespread use in Europe. CONCLUSIONS: German colonial physicians used and abused colonial populations to benefit treatment of venereal diseases in Germany. They also employed public health policies in the colonies to educate and discipline populations there. Assumptions about "race" played a similar role in this context to that of social class in Germany at the same time. Source of Funding: None © 2024 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 211Issue 5SMay 2024Page: e279 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2024 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.Metrics Author Information Friedrich H. Moll More articles by this author Thorsten Halling More articles by this author Florian Mildenberger More articles by this author Matthis Krischel More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...