Historian: There were anti-vaccinations as early as the 19th century

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Cologne (dpa) - Already in the 19th century there were discussions in Germany about compulsory vaccinations and about side effects of vaccination.

This is what the director of the Cologne City Museum, Mario Kramp, found out while researching a book about prisoners of war in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71.

After the German victory 150 years ago, almost 400,000 French prisoners were temporarily held in Germany.

Up to 19,000 of them were stationed in Cologne.

The citizens of Cologne went on excursions to the prison camps and paid admission to see the foreign troops.

The smallpox virus, which spread in the prison camps and then in the city of Cologne, was also transmitted via this intensive exchange.

The authorities then appealed to the population to be vaccinated “at the local vaccination center” or to refresh their previous vaccinations.

However, the city council found that the people of Cologne showed an “irresponsible indifference” despite the epidemic.

A city councilor asked whether it was not possible to introduce compulsory vaccinations.

However, the mayor replied that there was no legal basis for this.

Proponents of compulsory vaccination were referred to as "vaccination friends" or "vaccination fanatics".

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Although the effectiveness of the smallpox vaccination had long been proven, there were many opponents of the vaccination - even among the ranks of doctors. The Cologne doctor Dr. Waegener could not understand this: Of course there are side effects and "sometimes fatal coincidences", he wrote, but the benefit of the vaccination is much greater. "Between two evils" the lesser one should always be chosen, according to the doctor. In total, almost 500 people fell victim to the smallpox epidemic in Cologne in 1871.

By the way, the black soldiers from the French colonies in Africa were perceived as a special attraction at that time.

"You met with a mixture of fascination and racism," said Kramp of the German press agency.

"Some people from Cologne openly stated that these" beasts "would be better off in the zoo."

On the other hand, other Cologne residents and especially Cologne women supplied the Africans with refreshments, coffee or ice cream, which they used to upset nationalist-minded press organs.

The uniforms of the French, which were much more colorful than those of the Prussians, were in great demand.

Many visitors bought uniform parts from the captured soldiers.

These were later used as carnival costumes, among other things.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210419-99-258145 / 2