Robert Koch and the Economy of Pathogens

Robert Koch is one of the superstars of science. The standardized visualization of pathogens was a revolutionary turning point in the history of medicine. The methods he developed made it possible to bring disease into the laboratory and thus laid the foundation for the development of a medical industry. In countless publications, Koch is effusively celebrated as a savior of mankind, but on closer examination, many of the backgrounds of his research appear questionable today and can only be understood from the context of his time. Koch's stellar career in the Wilhelmine Empire is a prime example of how scientific discoveries are always linked to political and economic conditions. Using original locations from Koch's life as a researcher in Egypt, Uganda and India, the film questions his life's work and draws an arc to the problem areas of infectious medicine today.