2026-05-01T23:33:02Z
https://keydocuments.net/oai
oai:jgo:source-223.en
2021-06-17T00:00:00Z
en
Rahel Liebeschütz-Plaut, Diary No. 19, Hamburg, 1922
https://dx.doi.org/10.23691/jgo:source-223.en.v1
Rahel Liebeschütz Plaut
Institute for the History of the German Jews
Online Ressource
In 1923, Rahel Plaut became the first woman to habilitate at the
Medical Faculty in Hamburg and the third woman ever to do so in
Germany, with a thesis on isometric contractions in skeletal muscle.
In this excerpt from her 1922 diary, she describes her attendance of
the 34th Congress of the German Society of Internal Medicine Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin in Wiesbaden in April 1922. The
Congress of Internists was one of the most important congresses of
scientific exchange. In 1922, only one woman, the internist Klotilde
Meier, gave a lecture. Rahel Plaut, with the help of Otto Kestner
(born Cohnheim), who ceded his time to contribute to the discussion to
her, was able to present her research results, which were also
recognized by her colleagues. The notes are included in diary no. 19
of a total of 73 written by Rahel Liebeschütz-Plaut between the age
of eight and 98. They were more important to her than her scientific
papers, which she did not take with her into emigration. The diaries
were not written continuously, some volumes have large gaps of one to
two months while some closely describe every day. She rarely gives
information about her feelings, and her opinions about other people
are sometimes quite harsh. Her diaries are a treasure trove of
experienced history and provide insight into personal, professional
and political matters as well as into the inner workings of
institutions such as the Eppendorf Hospital. The diaries served as a
source for her biographical notes about her father as well as her
manuscript about her time in Hamburg from 1932 to 1938, which she
wrote for her grandchildren at the age of 85. The 73 diaries, along
with many other records, are held in the family archive in
Winchester. Maggie Carver has kindly given me the diaries not only
for digitization but also for further use.
2021-06-17