HEAL AND CHALLENGE

From 1840 onwards, there was growing criticism of the placement of patients in detention centres and penitentiaries. The idea that »madness« and »insanity« could be cured as diseases of the brain gradually gained acceptance. From the 1890s onwards, institutions were planned and founded in which the sick enjoyed freedom for the first time and were cured of their illnesses. The institutions were built in the pavilion style and were largely self-sufficient thanks to their own operations.

It is a yellowed paper. The text is handwritten in neat cursive script. It can be read that it is a confidential copy. In the centre of the paper, the proposed resolution on the establishment of a fourth institution in the Province of Hanover is pasted on as a scrap of paper. The proposed resolution is printed in Fraktur font. The minutes continue in handwriting below the proposed resolution.

Resolution in the minutes of the 8th session of the Diet of 11 February 1896.

NLA Hannover Hann. 150 Nr. 260.

In 1896, the state parliament decided to establish a fourth institution in the province of Hanover. With 1,500 beds, it was to accommodate almost as many patients as the existing institutions in Göttingen (370), Hildesheim (775) and Osnabrück (482) put together. 300,000 Reichsmarks were made available for the purchase of the site of the future large facility.

Full transcript

Es ist eine kolorierte Karte zur Lage der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Lüneburg. Darauf abgebildet ist der Verlauf der Ilmenau vom unteren zum oberen Bildrand. Unten am Fluss liegt die Stadt Lüneburg. Die Grünanlagen der Stadt sind farblich hervorgehoben. Am Fluss entlang ziehen sich weitere Siedlungen. Am linken Rand des Ausschnitts ist die grüne Anlage der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt erkennbar. Die detailliert gezeichnete Anlage enthält neben den Häusern und Grünflächen auch die geplanten Wege und Hecken. Oben links enthält die Karte das Wappen des Herzogtums Lüneburg-Braunschweig mit zwei Löwen, die das Stadtwappen mit der Kalkbergburg halten.

City map showing the location of the institution in Lüneburg, date unknown, before 1900.

StadtALg K 10-C-18-1.

State architect Carl Wolff designed the »institution in Lüneburg« together with government architect Freytag and the future medical director Otto Snell. The institution was planned as the largest green space in the city at the time. It was built between 1898 and 1901. The second construction phase under the direction of architect Franz Krüger followed between 1902 and 1907. The plan illustrates the size of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. It fundamentally changed the urban space and the economic structure.

Carl Wolff

The planned layout and high-quality furnishings of the institution in Lüneburg reflected the thinking of the time. A spacious park was laid out, and land and a nursery were included. The employees and their families lived in neighbouring residential buildings (»Wardens‘ housing estate«). There were also company flats for employees in the institution buildings. This created a close-knit community with the inmates.

It is a black and white photo. It shows the "warden's settlement" in a long shot; twelve half-timbered houses and a brick house, the head warden's house, can be seen. In the foreground is a park with newly laid paths and freshly planted trees.

»Wardens‘ housing estate« of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home with a villa for the head warden (left foreground), around 1906.

ArEGL 18.

OTTO SNELL (1859 – 1939)

Otto Snell was born in Hildesheim. His father Ludwig Snell was the director of the asylum there. Otto Snell also became a psychiatrist. In 1888, he went to Munich and treated the Bavarian king, among others. In 1892, he took over the second management of the provincial sanatorium and nursing home in Hildesheim. He then successfully applied to Lüneburg. There he put his progressive ideas into practice. He died on 7 July 1939 at the age of 80.

It is a black and white photo. Anna and Otto Snell are standing next to each other and are pictured up to their chests. Anna Snell is on the left, looking past the camera. She is wearing a high-necked dress with piping. Otto Snell is looking directly into the camera. He is wearing a dark suit with a shirt and bow tie. His hair is loosely combed back and he is wearing glasses with round metal frames. Both are in their mid-thirties.

Anna and Otto Snell, around 1890.

ArEGL 18-4.

Otto Snell was an advocate of modern psychiatry and campaigned for the humane treatment and healing of patients.

It is a black and white photo of Otto Snell. He is wearing a dark suit with a dark waistcoat, light-coloured shirt and striped tie. tie. He has a full white beard with a moustache and is bald. The few remaining hairs are cut short and he wears glasses with round metal frames. The photo shows him shortly before his retirement.

Otto Snell, around 1920.

ArEGL 149.

Otto Snell managed the institution in Lüneburg until 1924.

It is a notebook with a leather spine and leather corners. The cover is made of marbled cardboard. Pages 16 and 17 are open.

Otto Snell: Fundamentals of the care of the insane for students and doctors. Berlin 1897.

ArEGL 176.

The handbook written by Otto Snell is an expression of his thinking on the care and treatment of mentally ill people and people with disabilities. He implemented much of it in the institution in Lüneburg.

»First and foremost, however, today’s care of the insane in cultivated countries is characterised by the endeavour to grant the sick the greatest possible degree of freedom. We endeavour to shake off everything that reminds us of the sad times when prison and insane asylum were the same thing. Through suitable occupation, pleasant diversion and careful care, we endeavour to give the sick the best possible chance of recovery and those who cannot be cured a dignified existence and, in many cases, a contented, not purposeless life.«

Excerpt from Otto Snell: Grundzüge der Irrenpflege für Studirende und Aerzte. Berlin 1897.

ArEGL 176.

It is a yellowed page of paper. It is the second page from a set of house rules. It is written in Fraktur script. Many passages are crossed out in ink, e.g. the order that the sick were to be woken at five o'clock in summer and six o'clock in winter to ring the bell. The sentence stating that means of restraint may be used on a doctor's orders has also been deleted. There are handwritten improvements in the text and in the margins. These are mitigations of the draft. They are written in ink and are the handwriting of Otto Snell.

Extract from the provisional house rules, 1.7.1901.

NLA Hannover Hann. 155 Lüneburg Nr. 8.

Otto Snell’s thinking also shaped the rules of everyday life in the institution. He attached great importance to ensuring that inmates enjoyed the greatest possible freedom and had a good life in the institution.

Entire house rules

After 1900, the self-image of nursing staff changed. They went from being overseers, who had to guard and regulate the sick, to warders, who looked after the sick.

Auguste and Ernst Bünger

It is a black and white photo in a wooden picture frame. It is a half-length shot of guard Ernst Bünger, so that he can only be recognised up to his knees. He is wearing his uniform with peaked cap and starched shirt. He stands upright with his hands clasped behind his back. He looks directly into the camera with a serious expression. He has a moustache.

Keeper Ernst Bünger, 1923, provenance Hans-Peter Meier.

ArEGL 102.

The profession of carer was born. Their work was largely characterised by the idea that patients should receive the best possible care and support.

It is a black and white photo in a golden picture frame. It shows twelve carers. Three carers are sitting in wicker chairs. Two are sitting on the floor in front of them and the others are grouped behind them. The carers are wearing their work uniforms. It is a striped, long-sleeved dress with a white apron and white cap. Most of them wear a nurse's brooch on their collar.

Group photo of the nurses at the institution in Lüneburg with Auguste Bünger, born Thiemann (centre back row).

ArEGL 101.

It is a yellowed form in DIN A5 format. It is a telegram from the German Reich. In the centre of the form is the imperial eagle and a reference to the Lüneburg office. The telegram is filled in with a blue coloured pencil. Among other things, it says: "Sick people arrive in Lüneburg tomorrow at 10.30. Lunatic asylum.

Telegram about the admission of the first patients from 10.7.1901.

ArEGL 206.

The population was sceptical about psychiatry. As a result, many patients and their families were reluctant to be admitted to the institution and many beds remained empty. To relieve the pressure on other institutions, Lüneburg admitted patients from Hildesheim on 11 July 1901. On their arrival, the Lüneburg institution began operations.

The accommodation for the patients was modern. The dormitories were designed for around twelve patients. There was hot running water, flush toilets and central heating. The houses had a scullery, a day room, a visiting room, isolation rooms, a veranda and their own gardens.

Entire magazine

The special edition of the Zeitschrift für Architektur und Ingenieurswesen from 1901 and 1902 is a hard cover with the title printed on it and a special size larger than DIN A4. The journal comprises 51 pages. Each page contains two columns, floor plans, plan drawings and photographic illustrations of hospital pavilions and functional buildings at the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. Detailed drawings of patterns, moulds and individual fittings, e.g. windows, doors, banisters, are also included. All buildings and fittings are precisely described.

Journal by Carl Wolff: The provincial sanatorium and nursing home near Lüneburg. Special reprint from the Zeitschrift für Architektur und Ingenieurwesen 1901 and 1902. columns 5 to 6.

ArEGL 97.

The institution in Lüneburg was an expression of the mindset of the modern meritocracy. The judgement that »those who don’t work are worth nothing« prevailed. From then on, a person’s worth was measured by their work. »Labour therapy« was intended to keep patients occupied and heal them. At the same time, »ability to work« became the hallmark of successful treatment. The introduction of »work therapy« was modelled on penitentiaries.

It is a black and white photo. Six sick people of different ages stand in work clothes in front of a brick wall of the infirmary pavilion on the Wienebüttel estate. Except for one, they are wearing various caps and hats and rough boots. One of them is sitting cross-legged with a pipe in his mouth behind a small rhododendron bush in front of the men. A guard stands behind him. He is wearing a light-coloured uniform jacket and his warder's cap. Some of them are smiling at the camera.

Photo of the »Field column« in front of the infirmary pavilion on the Wienebüttel estate, around 1930, provenance: carer Ludwig Cohrs.

ArEGL 125.

The institution in Lüneburg operated six agricultural estates as »outposts«. The patients lived there together with their carers in pavilions. The »work therapy« consisted of field and forestry work as well as livestock farming. Only those patients who did not require extensive medical care and were physically fit were admitted to the outposts. After the Second World War, the outposts were gradually closed until 1981.

Field Offices

For female patients, »labour therapy« in the peeling kitchen, in the laundry and in the households of senior employees was an option. They also helped with the harvest in the fields. The focus was on a useful leisure activity and a contribution to value creation. In reality, however, the work was often monotonous and tedious. If sick people refused »therapy«, this usually led to a derogatory judgement of the course of the illness.

It is a black and white photo of two older women peeling potatoes. They have tied their greying hair back in a knot. The women are seated and each has a large basket of potatoes and the peeled skin on her lap. They are wearing aprons. The woman on the right is focussed on peeling, the other woman looks wearily to the side.

Sick people in »work therapy« in the peeling kitchen, around 1950.

ArEGL 158-3.

It is a black and white photo. It shows a sick, middle-aged man weaving a basket. The man is wearing work clothes and is standing at a table on which the unfinished basket is placed. The basket is roughly the shape and size of a laundry basket. The man is weaving the sides upwards.

Photograph of a sick person during »labour therapy« in the basket workshop, before 1945.

ArEGL 125.

Males who were ill were deployed in the »outposts« and in the »garden column«, in the maintenance of the fish ponds or in various craft workshops. From 1940 to 1945, there was a silkworm farm for parachute production. The labour was unpaid. From time to time, »labour therapy« was used as an escape route. The workshops enabled young people with disabilities to try out their skills.

Over 1,000 different perennials were grown and sold in the nursery of the institution. The »gardening team« helped with the cultivation and care of the splendid grounds. The garden was an expression of the appreciation of the patients. Sufferers still support the nursery today.

It is a black and white photo. It shows the view of the administration building of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. The photo was taken in a long shot, presumably from a considerable height from the water tower. In the lower section of the picture is a bed of perennials, planted as an ornament so that the park resembles a castle park. The bed is enclosed by a wide, curved path. Behind it stretches an avenue of trees that ends at the top of the picture. The main building of the institution forms the end. It is a two-winged brick building in neoclassical style. To the right and left of the avenue are the hospital pavilions.

View from the water tower to the administration building house 29, before 1914.

ArEGL.

The photo album is bound in linen. The cover is made of cardboard. It is in landscape format and has dark grey pages with black and white photos glued in. The photos show the buildings of the sanatorium and nursing home from different perspectives. The buildings in question are labelled in ink in beautiful handwriting underneath the pictures. There are also numerous photos of occupational therapy and the various workshops, the kitchen and the laundry. There are also photos from the field and gardening column. There are also group photos.

Photo album of the provincial institution in Lüneburg, 1906.

ArEGL 1.

The photo album of the institution in Lüneburg contains many photos. They show the interior and exterior of the buildings. There are also photos of patients and employees in »work therapy« and during leisure activities. The images illustrate the treatment of patients and people with disabilities around 1900, which was characterised by an appreciative approach.

Album

It is a black and white photo. It shows the former institutional laundry. It is a half-tiled hall with columns. Large wooden wash tubs and stone basins are visible. There are large pots for boiling laundry and ironing tables. There are pulleys on the left wall of the hall. Between the appliances, 22 women of different ages are lined up and looking into the camera. They are wearing dresses and aprons. One woman is wearing a nurse's cap, another a straw hat. They are washerwomen, ironers and patients in occupational therapy. — »Occupational therapy« in the laundry, 1906.

ArEGL 1.

It is a black and white photo. It shows four sick men at work in the saddlery or mattress workshop. They are wearing aprons. One is sewing with a sewing machine while a second helps him to hold the large piece of fabric. Another is sewing by hand. The guard sits between them, recognisable by his guard's cap. A finished mattress lies on a workbench on the right-hand side of the picture. The room in which the men are working is a cellar. The half-height windows let in plenty of light. There are traces of damp on the walls. — »Occupational therapy« in the upholstery department, 1906.

ArEGL 1.

This is a black and white photo. It is the canteen kitchen, a half-height tiled room with pillars and a patterned stone floor. Four cooks are standing on the left and in the centre of the picture wearing aprons and chef's hats behind large pots on fireplaces. A butcher stands next to them. Another man is recognisable in the background, wearing a suit with a cap and a pocket watch. Six women are standing on the right of the picture. Four are wearing a white apron, two another one. They are standing by smaller kitchen witches. They all have their hair up and are looking at the camera. — »Occupational therapy« in the kitchen, 1906.

ArEGL 1.

It is a black and white photo. It shows six men at work in the tailor's shop. Light floods into the room through large windows. There are coat hooks on which hang patterns and a ready-made suit. In the centre is a workbench with a sewing machine. It is being operated by a man. Two others are sitting on another workbench and sewing by hand. The men are middle-aged and wear white shirts with waistcoats. Only the man at the sewing machine is wearing a jacket. — »Occupational therapy« in the tailoring department, 1906.

ArEGL 1.

It is a black and white photo. It shows three men with aprons doing locksmith and metalwork. In the centre of the picture is a double-leaf workshop door. There are various workbenches for working with metal and sheet metal. One of the men is making milk churns. Another is filing metal. The third is making a grate. — »Occupational therapy« in the locksmith’s shop, 1906.

ArEGL 1.

It is a black and white photo. It shows middle-aged sick people doing braiding work. Some are sitting on a bench with their fencing work in their hands, some are standing. In the background is a half-finished wicker chair, a weaving frame with a finished weaving. A straw hat hangs from a beam. The men are wearing aprons. — »Occupational therapy« in the weaving mill, 1906.

ArEGL 1.

It is a black and white photo. It shows middle-aged sick people doing cobbler's work. They are wearing aprons. One is working on a special sewing machine for cobbler's work, the others are sitting at workbenches and working with hand tools. The workshop room has high windows. Posters and postcards hang on the walls. There is a passageway to a second room where another patient is working. Everyone is sitting on a stool. — »Occupational therapy« in the cobbler’s workshop, 1906.

ArEGL 1.

With the brine baths (1820), the municipal hospital (1900) and the spa gardens (1907), Lüneburg developed sustainable structures for a healthy lifestyle. As the saltworks became less important, the health and recreation industry became the region’s mainstay. To this day, thousands of people are employed in the health and recreation industry.

It is a postcard with a black and white photo. It is the front view of the municipal hospital. It is a wide brick building. The outer wings are three storeys high, the wings facing inwards are two storeys high. A wide street with pavements on both sides leads to the main entrance of the building. Trees have been freshly planted in front of the building.

Postcard of the Lüneburg Municipal Hospital, around 1900.

StadtALg, BS, Druck-8134.

The municipal hospital was opened in 1900. It replaced the previous facilities Am Wandrahm and Am Klostergang. From then on, only physically ill patients were treated in the hospital.

The Lüneburg spa gardens were used for local recreation from 1907. Respiratory diseases could be treated with the help of the graduation tower (1910). The Kurhaus was also used for cultural events. Otto Sachse, the director of the salt works, was the inspiration behind the park. Architect Franz Krüger constructed the buildings while at the same time supervising the second construction phase of the sanatorium and nursing home.

Franz Krüger

This is a black and white photo of the walkway in Lüneburg's Kurpark. The walkway consists of a visible half-timbered structure with large lattice windows. The roof consists of an open beam construction. There are white-painted benches where park visitors can sit and enjoy the sun. A group of children are sitting on one of the benches. They are wearing school uniforms and have rolled-up blankets in their hands. There is a drinks bar in the background. Middle-aged men and women stand in a row with glass jugs, some of them also carrying blankets. The park visitors are dressed in their Sunday best and look towards the camera.

Walkway in the Lüneburg spa gardens, around 1907.

StadtALg BS, Glas-40669.

It is a historical postcard in landscape format with a coloured pencil drawing of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. The drawing forms the upper half of the postcard. The drawing shows the administration building and part of the "warders' housing estate". The water tower is in the background. Below the drawing is written in blue lettering: Lüneburg, Heil- u. Pflege-Anstalt. A message is handwritten in black ink on the bottom half of the postcard. The author expresses his thanks for a picture that has come into his possession. The message is signed "A. Oberheide".

Postcard by A. Oberheide, hand-coloured, dated 29.10.1902.

ArEGL 223-1 | Private collection Rüdiger Schulz.

Postcards that were distributed for mail from patients to their homes or friends show how natural and unquestionable the treatment of a mental illness in a institution was.

It is a historical postcard in landscape format with a coloured pencil drawing of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. In the foreground are the elaborate gardens of the institution. The hospital pavilions, the side view of the administration building and the water tower with bathhouse can be recognised at the top of the picture. Below the drawing is the printed inscription: Lüneburg, sanatorium and nursing home. A handwritten message in pencil covers the drawing; it is a greeting. — Postcard, hand-coloured, 1902.

ArEGL 223-2 | Private collection Rüdiger Schulz.

It is a historical postcard in landscape format with a black and white photo of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. The water tower is on the left, house 13 in the centre and house 6 in the foreground. The photo only takes up a third of the postcard. Below the picture is written: Lüneburg Wasserthurm. A message is handwritten in black ink on the bottom half of the postcard. It is a greeting from August Meyer. — Postcard from August Meyer, 31.7.1902.

ArEGL 223-3 | Private collection Rüdiger Schulz.

It is a historical postcard in landscape format with a black and white photo of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. It shows the view from the water tower to the Gesellschaftshaus, the boiler house behind it and houses 24, 23 and 25 in the background (from left to right). House 17 is recognisable in the foreground. Below the photo is printed text: Lüneburg, Provinzial- Heil und Pflegeanstalt. There is a card border around the photo. It was written on in black ink. — Postcard, 13.11.1914.

ArEGL 99.

It is a historical postcard in landscape format with a black and white photo of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. It is the view from the water tower to buildings 6, 4 and 2, with the administration building in the background. The buildings are connected by paths. The silhouette of the town of Lüneburg is recognisable behind the hospital grounds. — Postcard, before 1906.

ArEGL 223-4 | Private collection Rüdiger Schulz.

It is a historical postcard in landscape format with a black and white photo of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. It is the view of the asylum from the church tower of St Nikolai. There are still no buildings between the town and the asylum, just fields and meadows. I wrote on the postcard in pencil. The writing is in Sütterlin. — Postcard, 16.2.1909.

ArEGL 223-5 | Private collection Rüdiger Schulz.

It is a historical postcard in landscape format with a black and white photo of the main and administration building of the Lüneburg sanatorium and nursing home. The brick building is adorned with stepped gables. The doctors' residential wings attached to the main and administration building are also visible. They are connected to the main building. Printed on the photo: Lüneburg Sanatorium and Nursing Home. — Postcard, before 1906.

ArEGL 223-6 | Private collection Rüdiger Schulz.

From the 1930s onwards, carers no longer saw themselves as warders, but developed a self-image as healthcare professionals.

There are four shiny round brooches in the display case. All the brooches have the same motif: a red cross against a yellow background. The cross is very wide and decorated on the inside with a white horse jumping to the left.

Four brooches of the nurses of the institution in Lüneburg and the Lower Saxony State Hospital, date unknown.

ArEGL 5.

There are six keys in the display case. The keys have a classic shape and are positioned three next to each other. They have round handles at the top and a short bit at the bottom.

Six keys to wards of the institution in Lüneburg, 1901.

ArEGL 6.

The accommodation of patients was not always voluntary. Not all patients enjoyed freedom of movement. The carers also had the task of preventing escapes.

In the display case is a warmer's cap made of dark green felt fabric. The cap has a black peak.

Warder’s cap by Ludwig Cohrs, date unknown.

ArEGL 4.

It is a black and white photo of a guard in service uniform. He is sitting in a wicker chair. The jacket is a high-cut jacket, his guard's cap has a brooch. He is sitting with his legs crossed and looking into the camera with a smile.

Heinrich Köpke, before 1939.

Private ownership Harm Köpke.

Heinrich Köpke (1904 – 1945) was a carer at the institution in Lüneburg from 1927 to 1939. During this time, he was also employed at the Oerrel (Gifhorn district) and Trauen (near Munster) outposts, where he cared for patients in »work therapy« in forestry and livestock farming.

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