History Series / Charite

* {{Foreshadowing}}: some of the vile things that led to Nazism are already present, like anti-semitism and the belief amongst some that there are differences between the brains of different races.
** Quite literally when some anti-semitists insult Doctor Ehrlich in the dark. They do so from the shadows and he can't recognize them, perhaps symbolizing that they are not strong enough yet to come out in the open.
** Also with [[spoiler:Georg. He seems to be a nice guy, but his later bad behavior and Ida's future contempt for him is foreshadowed when he is talking drunkly to him after having been missing while he had been needed in the hospital]].

* GreedyJew: this stereo type is used against Doctor Ehrlich, when he only asks for his rightful part of the money made in the diphteria research.

* MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting: Both Professor Virchow and nurse Edith, political allies, are very outspoken in their critique of the state of affairs in Germany and of the emperor. Virchow can afford it, Edith not so much -- she's harshly reprimanded by the matron, and later endangers herself as her social engagement conflicts with the law.

* NaziGermany: Foreshadowed in the anti-semitism of some characters, as well as the discussions about whether or not there are different races.

* ScienceIsBad: Not so much bad as plain useless, according to Matron Martha who deems modern medicine nonsense in comparison to traditional nursing. [[spoiler:She comes around after Behring's diphtheria serum heals nurse Stine.]]

** With the German Empire in general when it comes to women who want to be doctors as they can not study medicine. Luckily for them, they could study in other countries.

* AWolfInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Tischendorf]] starts off as the quintessential 'nice guy'. He's friendly, shy and full of dreams that[[spoiler: Ida supports him in. Only to discover that he thought her own dreams were just womanly dreams not to be taken seriously. He also turns out to be an anti-semitist]].

* UnbrokenVigil: After [[spoiler:Sister Therese]] falls ill, Ida takes care of [[spoiler:her]] in every free minute she has, and even sits by [[spoiler:her]] bedside talking to her when [[spoiler:she]] dies.

* TransparentCloset: Matron Martha soon rebukes Sister Therese for the "unnatural feelings" she has for [[spoiler:Ida]].

* '''Robert Koch''': the famous bacteriologist at a turning point of his career. The research institute at the Charité hospital is named for him, and he has a lot of prestige, money, and influence on his hands to drive the progress of medicine forward, but also a lot of responsibility on his shoulders -- all the world is looking at him and his Tuberculin, hoping that it will heal consumption. He doesn't think too much of Behring and his project, but a damn lot of himself and his own achievements.

* CallingTheOldWomanOut: When [[spoiler:Sister Therese]] comes down with tuberculosis, Matron Martha sends her away to the deaconesses' motherhouse so she'll die away from the Charité. Ida pleads with her to let her stay, to no avail, and then gets angry.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Nurse Stine brings her cousin Marie to the Charité, a sweet young girl of about 14 years who's been impregnated by a lodger. She's one of six children, her father is dead and her mother a prostitute -- and when she can't find a doctor who's willing to abort the baby because that's illegal (and Stine explicitly warns her from going to some back-alley quack), Marie is too frightened to go home with another mouth to feed and [[DrivenToSuicide tries to kill herself]]. [[spoiler:She initially survives the attempt and thanks God for it, but dies a few days later of the ensuing complications, devastating Stine.]]

* HospitalParadiso: The Charité is to be presented that way when the new emperor, young Wilhelm II, comes for a visit; everything is to be cleaned up, the severely ill patients are to be kept out of sight, and those who have to be shown get a generous portion of opium so they don't moan with pain. Professor Virchow is disgusted as he'd rather have the emperor see the bad state the hospital is in so he can get him to agree to better fundings for them and to a general improvement of the health care system.

* StartingANewLife: How Ida ends the series, walking out of the Charité to travel to Zurich for her medical studies. [[spoiler:She returns about ten years later to work there, even though she's not acknowledged as a doctor in Germany, and she never marries Tischendorf or Behring.]]

* {{Gayngst}}: Realizing that prayers don't help her quit being in love [[spoiler:with Ida]], Sister Therese gets distanced and reclusive and eventually starts cutting herself.

* FunctionalAddict: Behring tries to treat his psychological issues with Laudanum. He also attempts withdrawal a few times, but at those occasions, he winds up with shaky hands and thus useless as a surgeon, and his mood swings get worse to the point of a total emotional breakdown.

* MentorShip: Ida and Emil Behring, oh so much. He lets her listen in on the auditorium in secret, teaches her medical and surgical procedures, writes her a recommendation letter for the University in Zurich -- and kisses her whenever he's in a good mood over his successes. Ida knows very well what a troubled character he is, but she's also fascinated by him and admires him. The fact that he supports her plans and believes in her abilities is what motivates her to give him a chance.
--> '''Ehrlich''': ''*as Ida's leaving the room*'' What did she want?
--> '''Behring''': To marry me. Only she doesn't know it yet.

* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Nurse Stine brings her cousin Marie to the Charité, a sweet young girl of about 14 years who's been impregnated by a tenant. She's one of six children, her father is dead and her mother a prostitute -- and when she can't find a doctor who's willing to abort the baby because that's illegal (and Stine explicitly warns her from going to some back-alley quack), Marie is too frightened to go home with another mouth to feed and [[DrivenToSuicide tries to kill herself]]. [[spoiler:She initially survives the attempt and thanks God for it, but dies a few days later of the ensuing complications, devastating Stine.]]

* HeroicBSOD: Behring has a couple of those, usually when his work on the diphtheria serum is belittled and hindered by others. Interestingly, his personal failure only makes him work harder.

* '''Rudolf Virchow''': a pathologist with quite a reputation, and rival of Robert Koch with whom he regularly has polite, subliminally vitriolic exchanges about their respective professional opinions. He has doubts that the results of Koch's research will save the world from tuberculosis, [[spoiler:and he's right.]] Virchow decries the poor living conditions of the proletarians that lead to the spread of diseases, and uses his bit of influence to demand restrictions on child labor and a new sewer system to better up the hygienics in Berlin.

* '''Edith''': a nurse with a social-democratic orientation who wants better working conditions for the nurses and deaconesses at the hospital. She's friends with liberal Professor Virchow.
* '''Stine''': an uncouth, but kind-hearted nurse who has a soft spot for lost cases.

* RuggedScar: A dueling scar is kind of an identity mark for the members of the fraternity Georg joins; von Minckwitz has one on his cheekbone, and Georg gets his during the fencing bout with which he's accepted in the fraternity.

* WhatTheHellHero: Ida to Georg after he's let Mrs. Ehrlich down in childbirth just to run off and fight an academic duel in his fraternity. The Ehrlich baby died during that, and Mrs. Ehrlich nearly followed, so Ida is not too impressed with Georg's fancy new RuggedScar.

It is set in the RealLife Charité hospital in Berlin, from 1888 to 1893 (presumably; the end is a bit hazy because it compresses historical events like Bismarck's resignation, Behring's success and Koch's second wedding into a relatively short period when, actually, they happened over the course of a few more years), focusing on the research, work, and personal lives of the doctors and nurses around the prestigious Robert Koch, half of which are {{Historical Domain Character}}s.

It is set in the RealLife Charité hospital in Berlin, from 1888 to 1891 (presumably; the end is a bit hazy because it compresses historical events like Bismarck's resignation, Behring's success and Koch's second wedding into a relatively short period when, actually, they happened over the course of a few more years), focusing on the research, work, and personal lives of the doctors and nurses around the prestigious Robert Koch, half of which are {{Historical Domain Character}}s.

* MoralityPet: Ida to Behring. He thinks he has better things to do with his time than performing a surgery on some random young woman, but the moment he recognizes Ida, he's onto the task. To a lesser degree, also his horse Lotte and Else Spinola, for both of whom he always has a few kind words.

* '''Rudolf Virchow''': a pathologist with quite a reputation, and rival of Robert Koch with whom he regularly exchanges polite, subliminally vitriolic conversations about their respective professional opinions. He has doubts that the results of Koch's research will save the world from tuberculosis, [[spoiler:and he's right.]] Virchow decries the poor living conditions of the proletarians that lead to the spread of diseases, and uses his bit of influence to demand restrictions on child labor and a new sewer system to better up the hygienics in Berlin.

In 2019, a follow-up season was made that plays in the same hospital, [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany albeit in a]] [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII different time]] und thus with an entirely new set of characters.

* NightmareFetishist: It seems morbid when Doctor Behring gives Ida her own resected appendix in a glass full of alcohol after the thing almost killed her, but Ida with her interest in medicine is fascinated and asks about details of the appendectomy.

The main protagonist however is the young Ida Lenze (played by Alicia von Rittberg) who comes to the hospital with appendicitis, can be saved with a surgery that's still new and risky at the time, but loses her job and thus stays as a nurse to work off her debt. Soon, it becomes apparent that Ida has the intelligence, the diligence and the resilience to become a doctor in her own right -- but age and circumstances are [[RealityEnsues not conducive to her ambitions]].

* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Hedwig's reaction when she learns of Ida's feelings for "[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Doctor Behring]], that madman".

* SignatureHeadgear: All the deaconesses wear white bonnets, all the nurses a white hood with a short, starched veil.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Nurse Stine is afraid of the young Indian woman Rajani, believing her to be a cannibal and snapping at her that she doesn't understand "foreign". Things change when she has to spend some time taking care of Rajani.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: The nurses complain about the matron domineering them like minors, and especially Edith calls for more freedom and recognition of their hard work. [[spoiler:She eventually gets her wish to found a nursing association to enable better working conditions.]]

* TheGentlemanOrTheScoundrel: Georg Tischendorf is the Gentleman to Ida, closer to her in age, sweet, courting her gallantly and offering her emotional stability and a secured future. Emil Behring is the Scoundrel, a fickle, difficult man with obvious issues, but ambitious and brilliant, a man who challenges her and supports her own ambitions. However, the trope is not always played straight – Behring has moments of kindness and holds onto his honor as a scientist, and he always takes Ida seriously, whereas Tischendorf has his own shortcomings [[spoiler:such as his sexist attitude that a woman has no business studying, and his growing nationalism.]]

* GoryDiscretionShot: Usually [[AvertedTrope averted]]. The series shows surgeries, extracted organs and dead test animals in loving detail to demonstrate the medical research of the characters.

* HeroicBSOD: Behring has a couple of those, usually when his work on the diphtheria serum is belittled and hindered. Interestingly, his personal failure only makes him work harder.

* HospitalParadiso: The Charité is to be presented that way when the new emperor, young Wilhelm II, comes for a visit; everything is to be cleaned up, the severely ill patients are to be kept out of sight, and those who have to be shown get a generous portion of opium so they don't moan with pain. Professor Virchow is disgusted as he'd rather have the emperor see the bad state the hospital is in to get him to agree to better fundings for them and to a general improvement of the health care system.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Ida snaps at Behring because of his callous attitude towards the patients; Behring replies that a doctor needs to have a certain rigor since tactfulness and compassion don't get the job done. His behavior is still awful, but he's right insofar as one has to be able to bear a lot when working in a hospital.

--> '''Koch''': People are already talking enough because of my self-experiments.

* CallingTheOldWomanOut: When [[spoiler:Sister Therese]] comes down with tuberculosis, Matron Martha sends her away to the deaconesses' mother house to die away from the Charité. Ida pleads with her to let her stay, to no avail, and then gets angry.

* BittersweetEnding: Ida gets to study medicine in Zurich, but [[spoiler:her best friend Therese is dead, and she and Behring will never marry; he ends up with Else Spinola more by accident than anything else.]] Behring has successfully developed his diphtheria serum and is finally recognized as a scientist, but [[spoiler:he loses Ida, plus the respect of his colleague Ehrlich whom he betrayed so he'd be the only one who benefits from their project financially and prestige-wise.]] Georg Tischendorf gets to work as a photographer in the hospital, but [[spoiler:his awful behavior has driven Ida away for good, and he winds up a bitter, arrogant anti-Semite.]] Edith successfully founds a nursing association to better working conditions in the hosptial, whereas Matron Martha retires and goes back to her order's motherhouse because she feels her time is over.