Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 200-201. (Budapest, 2007)

KISEBB KÖZLEMÉNYEK — COMMUNICATIONS - KÖLNEI Lívia: Kuruzslás elleni kiállítás 1928-ban

abban reménykedtek, hogy ez a fejlődés töretlenül folytatódik, belátható időn belül elvezet majd az emberiség valamennyi nagy egészségügyi problémájának megoldásához. A 20. század első évtizedeiben a társadalomegészségtan felívelése ezt a globális társadalmi gondolatot, ezt a reménységet tükrözi. Ilyen körülmények között más orvosi elméletek és módszerek szükségtelennek, feleslegesnek tűntek. LÍVIA KÖLNÉI, MA Art historian Semmelweis Museum, Library and Archives For the History of Medicine H-1023 Budapest Török.u.12. HUNGARY SUMMARY In September of 1928 an exhibition was arranged in the Museum for Public Health, in Budapest. The thematic exhibitions of the Institute and Museum for Public Health always followed the main issues of the contemporary health policy, being actually tools of public education and propaganda. The renewed institute's first enterprise was the exhibition against superstition and quackery. The director of the museum, György Gortvay explained his choice with the „psychic troubles" of the age. He told, that after disasters, like World War I. people were much more inclined to mysticism and superstition. The campaigne against quackery was backed even by the medical media. A great deal of the articles was published in the official periodical, Népegészségügy (People's Health). Almost all the reports and articles of the volume 1928 represented a cohesive professionally coined propaganda-project. Hungarian health politicians of the 20ies ranged the quack-folk into two main groups. Fortune-tellers, miracle-men, rabbis of miracolous power, barbers, healers, gypsies, beggars, shepards belonged to the group of untrained quacks, while pharmacists, dentists, natural healers, hydrotherapeutists, homeopaths, botanists, gymnasticists, magnétiseurs, masseurs, astrologers, naturopaths, occultists, chiropractors, vegetarians etc belonged to the group of the „trained quacks". The therapies of folk medicine were regarded also as quackery, e.g. the inflation, sauna, incantation, hypnosis, herbal teas, what's more, „apparates improving hearing" as well. The physicians collating these lists were deeply conservative even in comparison to their contemporaries. They rigidly rejected even experimentally proved methods, e.g. hypnosis, gymnastics, psychotherapy or massage. The exhibit however was arranged on a high professional level. Its effect was based on contraposition and exaggeration. It suggested, that academic medicine will solve every problem of mankind sooner or later. The emblematic personalities of conservative medicine were regarded as heroes. On the other side however healers and alternative therapeutists were presented as evil, greedy, demonic figures.