A Golden Age of American Medicine: The rapid pace of scientific discovery that began in the early 20th century launched a “golden age” of medicine. As deadly diseases became curable and medical innovations improved quality of life, physicians rose to unprecedented heights of public admiration. By mid-century, Americans placed near-total trust in the medical profession.…

The Corner Drugstore Into the 1970s, Jewish-owned pharmacies where families worked together and lived above their shops dotted cities and small towns alike. The corner drugstore was a fixture in its neighborhood, and the pharmacist was a trusted source for everyday health advice. This section explores how people of different communities met and connected in…

A Community of Care American Jewish communities built hospitals for a variety of reasons: to fulfill the imperative to take care of the community’s poor, to allow Jewish patients to observe their faith, and to create career opportunities for medical professionals who faced discrimination elsewhere. As the 20th century progressed, Jewish hospitals expanded to serve…

Envisioning a Jewish Medicine When medical authorities of the 19th and early 20th centuries labeled Jews in poor urban enclaves as diseased, they lent support to those who saw the growing Jewish immigrant population as a plague on society. But if the language of medicine denigrated Jews, it could also defend them. Explore how medical…

Body Work: Americans became “health crazy” at the dawn of the 20th century. The germ theory of disease inspired a new zeal for spotlessly clean homes. Mothers planned meals according to the latest nutritional science. Physical education in schools established the link between personal and national vigor. This section explores fitness, nutrition, and changing ideas…

Jews and Genes The idea that biology determines identity has been both catastrophic and empowering for Jews.  The racial “science” of eugenics gained widespread influence in early 20th century Europe and America—and the Nazis carried it to malevolent extremes. But Jews have embraced the medical applications of modern genetics, participating in a successful global effort…

My Son, the Doctor Jews pursued medical careers in numbers far out of proportion to their percentage of the population during the early to mid-20th century. The children of immigrants saw medical school as an especially attractive path to the American dream. Not only were physicians respected by mainstream society, a career in medicine also…

An exhibition on Jews and medicine presented us with an ideal opportunity to apply a historical perspective to illuminate how scientific and cultural concerns have intertwined to shape not only the American Jewish experience, but an important field of human endeavor. Moreover, because our museum is based in Baltimore and surrounded by world-renowned hospitals and…

The Beyond Chicken Soup exhibit is full. It includes more than 400 images, documents and objects from the JMM collection and 85 other private and public lenders. Even with all this material, there are more stories to tell, people to recognize, tangents to take. This section of the website is dedicated to our compulsive side.…