Abstract:
The unexpected discovery of two lifebelts in the storeroom of the Schussenried psychiatricclinic (ZfP Südwürttemberg, Bad Schussenried) was not only a big surprise, but also posed amystery to the medical historians and further staff of our Research Unit. The rural locationsurrounding the former Premonstratensian monastery consisting mainly of fields and forestshad, with the exception of a handful of small ponds, no large bodies of open water. The discoveryof these lifebelts in this seemingly unusual context and their subsequent inclusion intoa permanent museum exhibition documenting the local history of psychiatry, generated notonly research into their history, but also brought to light significant new discoveriesin respectto what was previously known about the everyday life and history of such institutions from thelate 19th to the middle of the 20th century. The objects, so untypical in a psychiatric environment,pointed beyond their obvious meaning as a real swimming aid for patients in a nearby pond:the study of their origin and use deepened the knowledge in other fields such as body care,procurement of foodstuff (fishing) and nutrition, straw and ice making, patient work and leisureactivities (bathing, boating, ice-skating). As progress was made with this research, a newchapter in the local history of psychiatry was revealed, one which was undoubtedly worthpursuing.