F: This is one of Bönnigheim's church registers. It's been opened on the page showing the register of deaths for the year 1796. Can you decipher the entries?
M: More than two thirds of the deaths at the time were children. Many died shortly after birth ...
F: ... due to poor hygiene. Medical care was also often lacking. Diseases such as diphtheria, rubella, measles and scarlet fever were common. Plus, malnutrition as a result of wars or crop failures.
M: Superstition and occult remedies were in vogue. People tried to ward off evil spirits, believing that would protect the infants' lives. Superstitions and the occult were especially popular during periods when scientific progress was driving societal change.
F: We'd like to show you some of these occult customs in the following display cases. The items include several votive offerings. They were presented to the Virgin Mary in the hope that she would fulfil the wish for a child.
Foto: © Förderverein Museum im Steinhaus e.V.
