GeSoLei
GeSoLei as a Microcosm of the Weimar Republic
2026 will see the centenary of the Grand Exhibition of Hygiene, Social Welfare and Physical Excercises (Große Ausstellung für Gesundheitspflege, Soziale Führsorge und Leibesübungen, GeSoLei) at Düssledorf, which took place from May 8 to October 5, 1926. With more than 7,500,000 visitors, it was the largest hygiene exhibition of Weimar Republic Germany.
To prepare for the centenary and to foster research into the history of public health and health policy, an interdisciplinary research group has formed. We want to inquire what the history of GeSoLei can help us to understand about the Weimar Republic, concepts of modernity in Germany and the history of health and healthcare.