Jakub Zysman
Jakub Zysman (1861-1926) – a doctor and social worker, called “doctor Judym from Klimontów” (a reference to the character from the novel “Homeless People” by Stefan Żeromski), was born in Zakroczym as the son of Hersz Ber Zysman and Łaja nee Przysucher. In the 1870s, his family moved to Płock. Jakub had nine siblings: brothers Chaim (born in 1862), Majer (born in 1865), Szmul (born in 1866), Lewin (born in 1873) and Abram (born in 1877) and sisters Idel (born in 1868), Etta (born in 1873), Maria (born in 1875) and Rozalia (born in 1877). He lost his mother early and his father remarried to Chawa Przysucher. The Zysman family lived at Królewiecka Street in the property of Władysław and Zofia Lubowidzki. Ambitious and talented Jakub attended the governorate gymnasium in Płock. In 1887 he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the Imperial University of Warsaw. Two years later he changed his religion to Evangelical-Augsburg. He practiced in Wisznice, then in Warsaw, from 1891 in Klimontów. In 1894 he married Eufemia Maria née Modzelewski, with whom he had three children: Jerzy, Irena and Wiktor (also known as Bruno Jasieński). By the people of Klimontów, Jakub Zysman was not only remembered as a generous doctor (he treated poor residents of the town and the surrounding area for free), but also a great social activist: initiator of the creation of the Klimontów Loan and Savings Society, activist of the Orphan Shelter Society and co-organizer of the Polish Educational Society. Thanks to Jakub Zysman, a fire station was built in Klimontów, paving of streets and squares began, a telegraph connection between Klimontów and Opatów was carried out. During World War I, Jakub Zysman and his family stayed in Moscow, where he served as a military doctor. After the war, he returned to Klimontów, where he lived and worked until his death in 1926. A great citizen of Klimontów, the religion of whom was to take care of every person who needed help, was accompanied in his final journey by nearly 10,000 people.
Bibliography:
Jaworski K., Dandys. Słowo o Brunonie Jasieńskim, Warszawa 2009
Zarębski M., Jakub Zysman – lekarz społecznik, animator licznych inicjatyw obywatelskich w Klimontowie,
http://www.oil.org.pl/jsp/bip/drukuj.jsp?classId=/oil/oil56/gazeta/numery/n2011/n201110/n20111010
[accessed on: 14.05.2020]
