Deutsche Mütter, schützt Eure Kinder vor der Tuberkulose (German Mothers, Protect Your Children from Tuberculosis)
A dark portrait of a mother holding a small child sits under a headline addressed to 'German mothers' that calls tuberculosis 'the worst enemy of public health'. Fear-appeal tell: the child-at-risk image and enemy framing. The two text columns beside it are plain instructions (do not spit on floors, ventilate, disinfect) and state that TB is preventable and curable in its early stage.
- Date
- 1906
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- Deutsches Central-Komitee zur Bekämpfung der Tuberkulose, Berlin (illustration after Emil Doepler the younger)
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- German Empire
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- NGO
- Regime
- German Empire
- Leader
- Wilhelm II
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- Health, Home front
- Techniques
- Fear appeal
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wellcome Collection (London), work b20026936, reference 2002693i, retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (Wellcome Collection Public Domain Mark; published 1906)
Wellcome Collection
Text on the object
Deutsche Mütter schützt Eure Kinder vor der Tuberkulose dem ärgsten Feinde der Volksgesundheit! [Left column, headed:] Die Tuberkulose ist eine übertragbare Krankheit, namentlich auf Kinder. Die Gefahr der Uebertragung ist um so größer, je jünger die Kinder sind. Die Tuberkulose ist auch vermeidbar und im Anfangsstadium heilbar. [remainder of column: hygiene rules on sputum, handkerchiefs, cleaning; illegible at committed resolution] [Sub-heading, left column:] Den besten Schutz gegen die Tuberkulose bieten: Peinlichste Sauberkeit in der Wohnung und am Körper. [remainder illegible] [Right column, sub-headings:] Mit besonderer Aufmerksamkeit müssen diese Regeln befolgt werden [...]; Verdächtige Krankheitserscheinungen: [...] [body text illegible] [Box below image:] Die Befolgung der Regeln ist nicht leicht und erfordert dauernde Aufmerksamkeit. Wenn Ihr Mütter sie befolgt, so tragt Ihr dazu bei, daß ein gesundes tuberkulosefreies Geschlecht heranwächst. Deutsches Central-Komite zur Bekämpfung der Tuberkulose Geschäftsstelle: Berlin W., Eichhornstraße 9. [Printer's line:] Wilhelm Greve, Königl. Hofbuchdruckerei, Berlin SW.
German mothers, protect your children from tuberculosis, the worst enemy of public health! ... Tuberculosis is a communicable disease, especially to children. The danger of transmission is greater the younger the children are. Tuberculosis is also avoidable and curable in the early stage. ... The best protection against tuberculosis is offered by: the most scrupulous cleanliness in the home and on the body. ... [Box:] Following the rules is not easy and demands constant attention. If you mothers follow them, you contribute to a healthy, tuberculosis-free generation growing up. German Central Committee for Combating Tuberculosis, office: Berlin W., Eichhornstrasse 9.
Headline, box and printer's line read from the committed image; the two narrow columns of small Fraktur type are transcribed only where legible and the rest is marked [illegible]/[...]. Fraktur rendered in modern German spelling as printed (ß, ä, ö).
