To the Rescue: First Responders and Medical(ized) Bodies in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna.

This article examines the role of the Wiener Freiwillige Rettungs-Gesellschaft (WFRG, Viennese Voluntary Ambulance Association), founded in 1881, in shaping first aid and medicalization processes in fin-de-siècle Vienna. It explores how WFRG first responders, composed of physicians, medical students, and volunteers, positioned themselves as intermediaries between patients and medical institutions while seeking legitimacy from both medical professionals and police authorities. The article highlights their involvement in moral and medical policing of patients' bodies, including efforts to identify malingerers and habitual deviants, and their cooperation with police in transporting mentally ill individuals. Through case studies and archival sources, it also addresses tensions within the WFRG related to class, professional status, and antisemitism, as well as the ambivalent experiences of patients subjected to first aid and forensic scrutiny.