Summary Background and Objectives The Hospital de la Magdalena , a care home for female prostitutes with venereal diseases, operated in Barcelona from 1923 to 1959. The purpose of this investigation is to highlight how this hospital was used to educate female prostitutes morally in addition to providing medical treatment. Patients and Methods We analyzed contemporary reports of the Spanish and the Catalan organization for fighting venereal diseases as well as contemporary articles in both medical journals and in local newspapers. To examine these sources, we implemented the historical‐critical method. Results Female prostitutes from Barcelona and its neighboring towns were isolated and treated as inpatients at the Hospital de la Magdalena . They were admitted by force and against their will without legal basis. An educational program was established in the hospital to rehabilitate the patients. Conclusions The Hospital de la Magdalena was not only a medical institution, but also a disciplinary authority. Attempts to re‐educate female patients whose lifestyle did not correspond to the traditional Catholic image of women can be documented for the entire study period. There was no comparable institution in Western or Central Europe at the time.
Grafl et al. (Wed,) studied this question.