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‘Images from our orthopaedic hospital’: photography in the rehabilitation of disabled war veterans in Croatia during the First World War

  • Orthopaedic Heritage
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Abstract

Purpose

To demonstrate that Špišić’s photographs were used as a tool in representing the strategies and public health position of orthopaedics as an emerging medical specialty in Croatia in the period from 1915 to 1917.

Methods

Formal and contextual analysis of photographs included in the book How we help our invalids: Images from our orthopaedic hospital and courses for disabled people, which was published in 1917 by the founder of orthopaedics in Croatia Božidar Špišić (1879–1957), as well as historical documents and articles.

Results

Špišić’s 102 photographs cover all phases of the rehabilitation of disabled war veterans and depict them holistically and during typical everyday activities.

Conclusion

Špišić’s visualization of disabled veterans attempted to demonstrate the transformation and reactivation of disabled bodies, using them as a persuasive tool in the rehabilitation not only of individuals, but of the society as a whole.

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Funding

This work has been fully supported by Croatian Science Foundation under the project IP-2019-04-1772.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division for the History of Medical Sciences, Institute of the History and Philosophy of Science, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Gundulićeva 24/III, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Stella Fatović-Ferenčić & Martin Kuhar

Authors
  1. Stella Fatović-Ferenčić
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  2. Martin Kuhar
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Correspondence to Martin Kuhar.

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Fatović-Ferenčić, S., Kuhar, M. ‘Images from our orthopaedic hospital’: photography in the rehabilitation of disabled war veterans in Croatia during the First World War. International Orthopaedics (SICOT) 45, 1109–1115 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-020-04837-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-020-04837-x

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