In 1822, the authorities of the Jewish community initiated the establishment of a hospital for six patients in Płock. For this purpose, the Synagogue Supervision concluded a contract with Izrael Nota Wróbel, the successor of the house located at Reformacka Street, for the rent of rooms for a hospital for the poor. The hospital operated in this place for the next 14 years.
In 1834, the Committee of the Jewish Hospital of the Płock Province was established, consisting of Markus Kazriel Dancygier, Landau Kempner, Henryk Beck, Lewin Jakub Szenwic, Rywen Kenigsberger, Wolf Lipski and Hersz Turkieltaub. Two years later, a new hospital for 40 patients was organized in Płock for Jews from the Płock Governorate. This initiative was financially supported by Markus Kazriel Dancygier, Wolf Lipski, Jakub Lewin Szenwic, Landau Kempner, Mejer Kohn, Markus Zaks, Joachim Flatau, Samuel Majerans, Nuchem Globus, Szmarga Olszewiec, Abram Goldman, Juda Rotsztejn, Samuel Poznersohn, Chaim Tykociner and Icek Stemberg. The hospital was located in a house on Płońska Street. Landau Kempner, Markus Kazriel Dancygier, Henryk Beck, Wolf Lipski, Hersz Turkieltaub, Lejzer Kohn, Szmarga Olszewiec and Michał Goldberg were appointed to the Special Welfare Council established at the hospital. Landau Kempner was appointed the caretaker of the hospital, and after his death, in 1838, Markus Kazriel Dancygier took over this position.
In 1840, the Jewish community in Płock purchased a property with a mortgage number 220, located at Ostatnia Street – the purchased house was to be used as a hospital, and the square next to it was to be used to enlarge the area of the nearby Jewish cemetery. However, in 1842 the Jewish hospital in Płock was closed and the patients in need of treatment were sent to the Jewish hospital in Warsaw for the following years.
In 1864, the brothers Natan, Chaskiel and Markus Szenwic, successors of the grain merchant Jakub Lewin Szenwic, donated nearly 2,500 rubles to the community for the construction of a new Jewish hospital. In 1867, Ludwik Lewita, on behalf of the heirs of Ojzer Lewita, donated 700 rubles for its construction, and two years later Gustaw Fogel, fulfilling the last will of his father, Icek Fogel, undertook to build a completely furnished facility with 30 beds.
Ojzer Lewita (ca.1815-1867) – a well-known Płock philanthropist (he renovated churches and cemeteries from his own funds and supported financially and materially poor members of the Jewish community), the son of Icek and Pessa née Sobotka, who dealt in salt trade in Płock. In the 1830s and 1840s, Ojzer Lewita ran a tavern in Płock, then traded foreign alcohol and cotton goods. He was also a grain merchant, he transported rye from Warsaw to Berlin. In 1861 he was elected one of the members of the Poviat Council.
In 1870, Ojzer Lewita’s successors bought a square at Misjonarska Street, known as the “Merchant Ojzer Lewita square”, for the construction of a Jewish hospital. At the same time, several townspeople decided to raise additional sums to increase the hospital fund. Among the initiators of the collection was Rabbi from Płock, Lejb Abrahamowicz Rakowski (ca. 1817-1893). Larger amounts were paid by, among others, Ludwik Flatau, Dawid Chaim Segał, Markus Szenwic, Dawid Woldenberg, Chaim Goldman, Ludwik Lewita and Markus Frenkiel Wolfsohn. With a fund of 6,000 rubles secured in this way, the construction of the hospital began. A committee of 31 people was selected, which included, among others, Kiwa Kon, Ludwik Flatau, Ludwik Lewita, Jakub Neumark, Dawid Woldenberg, Józef Askanas, Markus Pantofel and Fiszel Czapka.
The hospital was dedicated on December 8, 1872. The ceremony was attended by, among others, the governor, civil and military officials, Orthodox, Evangelical and Jewish clergy, members of the construction committee and many residents of Płock.
The first curator or honorary caretaker of the Jewish hospital in Płock was Gustaw Fogel, who managed, thanks to his efficient management skills, to increase its funds by over 2,000 rubles, and to arrange an English garden for the use of the sick. As there was a synagogue at the hospital, Fogel donated Torah scrolls and a large library worth over 400 rubles to the Miszmorim fraternity.
In 1876, Gustaw Fogel was replaced by Markus Szenwic (1830-1894), “known for his charity”, a banker, member of the Public Charity Council, an elder of the merchants’ assembly of the town of Płock and the chairman of the Jewish community, who was unanimously elected a hospital curator by the Welfare Council of the Płock Governorate.
Gustaw Fogel was born on September 20, 1835 as Gerszon Lejb in the family of Icek (ca. 1806-1869) and Rasza née Marsap. Gustaw Fogel was a grain merchant. In his hometown of Płock, but also in Warsaw, he was known as a great philanthropist: he supported the poor people financially, allocating significant amounts, among others, to the purchase of firewood, he provided constant material help to the Talmud-Torah religious school. On his initiative, a permanent fund was established in Płock, the interest from which was to be used to support poor widows. He was also the main initiator of the founding of the Food Society and the “Zgoda” Loan Fund in Płock. In 1863 in Warsaw he married Gabriela née Zabłudowski, who was also actively involved in philanthropic activities. Gustaw Fogel spent the last years of his life in Wiesbaden. He died on February 27, 1903. On the basis of a notarial deed drawn up at the notary public Lubowidzki in Płock on May 23, 1903, Gabriela Fogel made a donation of 400 rubles to the Jewish Charity Society.
From 1890, the curator of the Jewish hospital was Abraham Jakub Paperna (1841-1919) from the town of Kopyl in the Minsk province. From 1869, Abraham Jakub Paperna was associated with the Płock two-grade Jewish elementary school for men (in the years 1872-1898 he was the first teacher of this school). He was also a teacher of the Jewish religion at the Male Middle School and the Female Middle School in Płock. Paperna was associated with the educational movement – Haskala, he left a significant contribution to Russian and Hebrew literature in the form of many books and articles.
The first head of the Izaak Fogel Jewish Hospital was a physician and surgeon Kazimierz Gurbski (1848-1878). Gurbski was educated under the supervision of a surgeon, Polikarp Girsztowt (1827-1877), he was his assistant, and later he got a job in Płock. He worked in the field of medical literature, in addition to many articles published in “Gazeta Lekarska”, he translated “Descriptive Anatomy of the Human Body” (“Lehrbuch der Anatomie” by von Quain-Hoffmann), which was published in “Biblioteka Umiejętności Lekarskich” [“Medical Skills Library”].
For 23 years, the head of the Jewish hospital in Płock was Dr. Zygmunt Perkahl (1848-1902) – a talented surgeon, enjoying extensive medical practice and sincere appreciation of his patients. He was also a doctor of the Governorate Middle School, and in recognition of his merits in the field of medicine, he was appointed in 1899 the honorary title of the president of the Płock Medical Society. After the death of Zygmunt Perkahl, Dr. Izaak Feinberg, a graduate of the University of Warsaw, was appointed the head of the department. Feinberg renounced his salary for 5 years, thanks to which the Jewish hospital gained a total donation of 2,000 rubles.
According to data from 1891, the Jewish hospital had 25 beds for internal and surgical patients, and there was also a ward for the mentally ill. Christian people were also admitted to the hospital in exceptional circumstances. In 1899, an outpatient clinic was established at the Jewish hospital, and at the end of that year, an obstetric ward – for this purpose, two rooms were designated exclusively for women giving birth, who had to stay together with sick patients until then.
There were fees for hospital treatment. The cost of maintaining one patient a day was initially 33 kopecks. The sick, who were better off financially, paid these fees themselves, and at the same time contributions for poor Jews were collected from the residents of the Płock synagogue district for the Płock hospital. The hospital earned a modest income from the sale of palms and apples to Jews. Inconsistent hospital income came from voluntary donations collected during fundraisers around the town or into special cans as well as various types of events organized by members of the Jewish community in Płock (performances, balls, lotteries and trips).
In 1913, the hospital was supported with the amount of 1,000 rubles, which came from the will of Chaim Kiwa Plucer aka Sarna. This sum was allocated to the installation of electric lighting in the hospital, the purchase of a device for sterilizing medical instruments, a disinfecting device, 12 beds with mattresses, 15 items of clothing, 15 summer and 15 winter gowns, rugs, curtains and furniture for the hospital rooms and corridor.
According to data from 1901, 143 patients received treatment at the Izaak Fogel Jewish Hospital. The following year, the hospital admitted 176 patients. In 1910, the fee for the treatment of local patients was 50 kopecks a day, and 70 kopecks for non-local patients. In 1909, 146 patients were treated there.
The hospital was administered by the Public Charity Governorate Council until February 1915. From February 15 to September 9, 1915, it was supervised by the Citizens’ Committee, then it came under the administration of the Town Hall of Płock. In January 1916, the patients were transferred to the local St. Trinity Hospital and in the emptied building a hospital for infectious patients was established, maintained at the expense of the municipal treasury and treatment fees. After the end of World War I, the hospital was handed over by the Polish authorities to the Jewish community and then put into public use. The hospital was headed by Dr. Józef Kunig, who was widely trusted, and Dr. Władysław Frankowski became the chief surgeon, while doctors Izaak Feinberg, Mieczysław Themerson, Chaskiel aka Jerzy Bresler and Strzyg became the medical directors. The economy of the hospital was looked after by a special commission, selected from the members of the Jewish community.
Before the outbreak of World War II, the hospital’s administrative director was Beniamin Luszyński, Bina Plucer was employed as the head of the facility, Hela Guterman, Regina Medalion, Basia Gecel and Sara Hazan worked as nurses, and Szyja Szlama and Sara Rozenfeld were paramedics.
As Abram Szmul Plucer recalled, frequent economic crises that affected the Jewish population in Płock left their mark on the hospital and it was often very difficult to cover the institution’s financial deficits, which were usually compensated by the Jewish community funds, if only it had the means to do so. The hospital, however, survived and developed thanks to the loyalty of its staff and the dedication of the social committee that led it. Despite the modest equipment, the hospital’s management succeeded in maintaining an appropriate medical standard and enjoyed a reputation not only among the Jewish population – it often happened that Christian patients also knocked on the hospital’s door. From time to time, major surgeries were performed by visiting doctors as well as medics from the St. Trinity hospital in Płock.
At the end of the 1930s, the daily cost of treating one patient, depending on the disease, ranged from 3 złotys (mental diseases) to 4.80 złotys (diseases requiring surgical intervention). The importance of the Jewish hospital in terms of social assistance for the needy was enormous. Poor patients received free treatment, and many of them were hospitalized for a very long time.
