Death in Hamburg: Society and Politics in the Cholera Years

Richard J. Evans

Why did cholera hit Hamburg so hard in the nineteenth century, and what did the disaster show about water, class and politics?

At a glance

You will understand why a city that drew river water without sand filtration left every tap open to sewage from ships and toilets
You will know why bottled mineral water gave false protection, since most makers took river water and added carbon dioxide
You will see how the losses an epidemic inflicted on artisans and shopkeepers fed votes for an antisemitic party