Przyrodolecznictwo wobec szczepień ochronnych na podstawie publikacji „Przewodnika Zdrowia” (1895–1914)

Abstract

The article discusses the views of natural medicine advocates regarding smallpox vaccination, based on texts in the popular Polish natural cure magazine ‘Przewodnik Zdrowia’ (‘Health Guide’), published in Berlin in 1895–1914. The article also presents theses and opinions on vaccination in one of the pamphlets issued by the ‘Przewodnik Zdrowia’ publishing house. Advocates of naturopathy in many European countries and the United States formed the backbone of the 19th-century anti-vaccination movement, and strongly opposed vaccination, appealing primarily to health and legal arguments. The article sketches the main lines of argumentation against vaccination, formulated by proponents of naturopathic treatment in the Polish journal, in the context of antivaccination views and movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.