Institute for the History of Medicine

The Institute for the History of Medicine (IGM), based in Stuttgart, is a unique research institution with a history spanning several decades. It owes its existence to the keen interest of its founder, Robert Bosch (1861–1942), in the history of healthcare in general and homeopathy in particular. As early as the 1960s and 1970s, there was a medical history research centre at the Robert Bosch Hospital (RBK) – the predecessor institution of the IGM.

The IGM was finally established in 1980 and headed by medical historian Renate Wittern-Sterzel. Werner Friedrich Kümmel took over from 1986 to 1988. From 1990 to 2020, Prof. Dr. h. c. Robert Jütte headed the institute, promoting and further developing not only the history of homeopathy and complementary healing methods, but also the social history of medicine in particular. The focus on patient history linked these two areas of emphasis and set new standards in medical history throughout Germany. The same applies to the history of nursing established by the IGM and the Robert Bosch Foundation.

Since 2020, the IGM has served as the central archive of the Robert Bosch Stiftung (RBSG) and its institutions under the direction of Dr. phil. Marion Baschin. These include the Robert Bosch Academy, the UWC Robert Bosch College and the International Alumni Centre. Since 2022, the IGM has been part of the Bosch Health Campus (BHC), which was founded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. In addition to the IGM, the BHC includes the RBK, the RBK Lung Centre, the Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute for Clinical Pharmacology, the Robert Bosch Centre for Tumour Diseases, the Robert Bosch Centre for Integrative Medicine and Health, the Bosch Digital Innovation Hub, the Irmgard Bosch Education Centre and the Robert Bosch Centre for Innovations in Healthcare.

The IGM maintains an extensive special library with more than 12,000 volumes on the history of homeopathy and more than 65,000 volumes on the history of medicine, which is unique worldwide. It also maintains an important homeopathy archive, which preserves the estate of Samuel Hahnemann and important students and successors – in particular Clemens von Bönninghausen. The archive also contains the records of international and national organisations of homeopaths. Accordingly, the IGM has a special focus on the history of homeopathy and pluralism in medicine. Another focus is the history of nursing.

The task of the IGM can be described as preserving and maintaining the legacy of Robert Bosch in all its institutions and facets. This makes us an integral part of Robert Bosch's legacy.