ABSTRACT
The first person to be acutely aware of the lack of historical knowledge about Moritz Schreber was the first psychoanalyst. A high school classmate of Schreber reminisced about clandestine Turning activities at the Thomasschule, accompanied by singing of patriotic songs. Schreber's activity was firmly located within a medically inspired humanistic tradition of education. The idea of the medical application of gymnastics, one of the mainstays of modern rehabilitation medicine, was powerfully stated in modern times by the Swede Per Henrik Ling, who was an influence on Schreber. Even though Schreber established himself as a specialist first in internal medicine and later in orthopedics, it was the practice and philosophy of gymnastics as sport and therapy that made him famous. In Greece gymnastics was also employed as a treatment for many diseases and as a means of preventing illness.
