Sehende Hände? Überlegungen zur engen Verbindung von Blindheit und Massage nach 1945

This report takes a closer look at the relationship between blindness and massage against the background of the professional development of the massage and physiotherapy professions. On the one hand, fundamental professional development and differentiation processes of these non-medical occupational groups will be presented and, on the other hand, a very specific subgroup, its interests, arguments and negotiation processes will be examined more closely using the example of blind masseurs and their interest groups. This raises the broader question of how society in Germany has dealt with the specific concerns of a socially disadvantaged group within the healthcare professions. The example of blind masseurs is particularly interes ting because, as in many other cases, blindness was not an obstacle but an advantage in their argu-ments.