Stadthygiene im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert: Die Wasserversorgung, Abwasser- und Abfallbeseitigung unter Besonderer Berucksichtigung Munchens (review)

It is only when one reads the subtitle of this book that its narrow scope becomes clear: rather than being a general study of municipal hygiene in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it is mainly concerned with the technology and administration of water supply in nineteenth-century Munich. (The twentieth-century sections are more schematic.) Moreover, the concentration on water supply, sewers, and garbage disposal means that “hygiene” is virtually absent from this study. Cholera and typhoid make fleeting appearances, but the urban epidemiology is not analyzed. References to relevant international literature are sparse, and there is little attempt to place the Munich story in a comparative German context. The narrow approach means that public baths, washhouses, and showers are also absent, as are any concerns with popular behavior or health education.

Yet despite its limited conceptualization the book is useful. Münch has diligently studied local administrative archives, and he carefully documents long-term shifts of the provision in terms of costs and the interplay of the involved social interests. Although the documentation is thorough, some of the references are difficult to follow; for example, “Feldhaus, Ka-Pi-Fu” (on p. 23) is mysterious. The index, limited to names of persons, is inadequate. Pettenkofer hovers on the margins, adding to the book’s interest, although no substantive attempt is made to analyze the activities and impact of his pioneering hygiene institute. We can, however, be grateful for all the assembled details of and statistics on water supply and its implications.