Regina Ber – born on November 4, 1909 as the daughter of Chaskiel and Dwojra nee Wajnrajch, sister of doctor Artur Ber. She was a dentist (she graduated in 1933). Her dentist office was located at 18 Sienkiewicza Street (currently 38 Sienkiewicza Street). Regina’s husband […]
A few days ago, the first episode of the series “Płock within your reach”, produced by the Nobiscum Foundation thanks to the funding from the Grant Fund for Płock, had its premiere. Gabriela Nowak-Dąbrowska discusses the history of the synagogues of Płock, of which one […]
Alter aka Artur Paltych Ber was born on March 25, 1908 in Płock, as the son of Chaskiel aka Henryk, a trader by profession, and Dwojra aka Dorota nee Wajnrajch, who came from the village of Tursk in the Mazovia region. In 1916, Alter entered the first class of the Middle School of Humanities, from which he graduated with a certificate in 1924. In 1926, he began studies at the Veterinary Department of the University of Warsaw, from which he graduated with the degree of a veterinary doctor in 1931. In the same year, in the Lviv quarterly magazine “Rozprawy biologiczne z zakresu medycyny weterynaryjnej, rolnictwa i hodowli” [“Biological studies in the field of veterinary medicine, agriculture and breeding”], his first article on brucellosis was published, entitled The latest works on the Bang bacteria. The Bang bacteria became the subject of his subsequent articles published in the quarterly “Medycyna Doświadczalna i Społeczna” [“Experimental and Social Medicine”], weekly “Warszawskie Czasopismo Lekarskie” [“The Warsaw Medical Magazine”], one of the co-founders of which was Edward Flatau, “Zeitschrift für Infektionskrankheiten, Parasitäre Krankheiten und Hygiene der Haustiere”, “Comptes Rendus des Séances de la Société de Biologie. Société de Biologie de Varsovie” and the above-mentioned “Rozprawy biologiczne z zakresu medycyny weterynaryjnej, rolnictwa i hodowli”. Ber also published in print numerous scientific papers in the field of bacteriology, hematology and experimental pharmacology, as well as a number of popular science articles in the field of veterinary medicine and bacteriology in “Kurier Poranny”. In 1931 he entered the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Warsaw, from which he graduated in 1935. From 1928 to 1933, he worked at the Department of Bacteriology at the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Warsaw, and in the years 1931–1933 his work was commissioned and subsidized by the Hygiene Department of the League of Nations. From 1932 to 1936, i.e. from the moment of its inception to liquidation, he worked as the head of the Biological Laboratory of the Industrial Plant in Boryszewo, where he and Stefan Kramsztyk led, among others, studies on the side effects of salicylic compounds and the therapeutic effects of anti-anemic agents, the results of which were published in the pages of “Warszawskie Czasopismo Medyczne” [“The Warsaw Journal of Medicine”] and “Nowiny Lekarskie” [“Medical News”].
In 1934, Alter Ber took part in the International Congress of Anatomists, where he gave a lecture devoted to the study of Kurloff cells Folia morphologica. His scientific position is evidenced by the honorable distinction he received for his work on the Bang bacteria, awarded by the National Commission of the Association of Veterinary Doctors in Poland at the National Congress in Krakow in 1935. In the following year, he obtained the title and degree of doctor of veterinary medicine at the Veterinary Department of the University of Warsaw (doctoral dissertation: Blood and temperature tests in guinea pigs and rabbits infected with the Bang bacteria). He did his slaughter apprenticeship in a slaughterhouse in Płock under the supervision of dr. Bolesław Biesiekierski and in the Bacteriological Laboratory at the Warsaw Slaughterhouse under the supervision of Dr. Malicki. In 1936 he took part in the National Congress of Microbiologists and Epidemiologists in Łódź, where he gave a lecture entitled Blood test and the pathogenesis of Bang’s disease, later published in “Medycyna Doświadczalna i Społeczna”. In the same year, the following publications appeared: The influence of spleen removal on the blood test results and Microbial cultures in blood and organs of guinea pigs in the pages of “Wiadomości Weterynaryjne” [“Veterinary News”], Blood chemistry in infected guinea pigs and Internal tempereature in infected animals in “Medycyna Doświadczalna i Społeczna” and L’infection des rats avec le bacille de Bang in “Comptes Rendus des Séances de la Société de Biologie. Société de Biologie de Varsovie”. After his application was rejected at the municipal office in Płock, Alter Ber worked as a researcher at the Department of Histology and the Department of Bacteriology at the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Warsaw. At the end of the 1930s, in cooperation with Józef Flaks, also a native of Płock, he conducted research on the hormonal treatment of cancer. In 1939, his book titled An outline of endocrinology in the light of contemporary research was published – it was an innovative monograph in Polish literature, which was an attempt to present the entirety of endocrinological issues. It also became the starting point for a work which appeared two years after the end of World War II in the form of a textbook entitled Endocrinology.
Mobilized because of his profession for the “S” service in the event of a bacteriological war, Ber took an active part in the September campaign with the rank of private. After the defeat of Poland, he was taken prisoner by Russia, then by Germany, and taken to the Stalag VIII C POW camp in Żagań. After returning to Warsaw and until July 1941, he worked in the Jewish hospital in Czyste, at Dworska Street. In the ghetto where his closest family from Płock was relocated, he lived on Chłodna Street. In the summer of 1941, Ber agreed to the proposal of the president of the Judenrat in Płońsk, Jakub Ramek, to become a doctor in the local ghetto. Ber’s job was to run the hospital and all other health and public hygiene departments. On his own, he organized a bathhouse for the sick and a pharmacy in the Płońsk ghetto. He also supervised the ghettos in Nowy Dwór and Nowe Miasto. In December 1942, Ber and his wife set off in a transport to Auschwitz after the liquidation of the ghetto in Płońsk. They managed to escape and hide in Warsaw under the name “Borowski”.
Despite the period of war turmoil, Ber’s contact with the world of science was not interrupted, together with prof. Zygmunt Szymanowski he prepared a textbook of detailed bacteriology of infectious diseases and translated a textbook for veterinary students of Alfred Trautmann and Josef Fiebiger entitled Histology and comparative microscopic anatomy of domestic animals.
In the period from February to November 1945, Ber lectured at the Faculty of Veterinary and Medicine at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. He also obtained his postdoctoral degree here – the basis was his work, which he wrote during the war entitled A case of ovarian tumor – Dysgerminoma ovarii – hormonally tested. In the fall of 1945, he was entrusted with management of the Department of Endocrinology at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Łódź. He was the author of three monographs: Hormones of green plants, fungi and bacteria, Reflections on Cushing’s syndrome and Endocrinology and modern biology, six textbooks and a biological dictionary.
In 1949, Artur Ber initiated the establishment of the Polish Society of Endocrinology. At the First Congress of the Society, which took place in 1951, he was elected President of the Main Board and editor of the publishing house “Endokrynologia Polska”. He was also a member of the Polish Physiological Society, and was also a member of the editorial committee of the journal “Acta Biologiae Experimentalis”.
In 1956, Artur Ber left for Israel. After leaving Poland, he published ca. 70 more scientific papers, while serving as the head of the endocrinology department at the Beilinson Hospital. He died on March 9, 1977 of cardiovascular failure after suffering two heart attacks.
Gustaw (Gecel) Cyprys (1906-?) – an ophthalmologist. Son of Józef Chaim and Sura nee Fogel. He studied medicine in France at the University of Montpellier. In the 1930s, he worked at the Jewish Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Czyste in Warsaw. He was murdered by […]
Doctor Matias (Mateusz) Marienstras (Mariański) was born on September 22, 1900 in Płock. He was the son of Moszek (Mikołaj) and Maria née Krykus. He had two brothers – Wilhelm, who was also a doctor, Maksymilian – a pharmacist by profession, and sister Franciszka (married […]
The Jews of Płock, apart from creating their own social organizations, took an active part in the activities of many others operating in the town. An example may be the Medical Society of Płock, where doctors of Jewish origin were involved, many of whom were professionally associated with the Izaak Fogel Jewish Hospital.
The second from the left is Dr. Jakub Winogron (born 1888) – a doctor of internal medicine, who was responsible for medical care in primary schools together with school counseling centers to fight social diseases at school age. His tasks included, among others observing hygienic conditions in school premises, supervising the health of students and teachers, periodic tests of children, directing the poorest children to free health centers and outpatient clinics, facilitating trips to summer camps. He also provided outpatient assistance in the municipal clinic at the St. Trinity Hospital.
The fourth from the left – Dr. Chaskiel aka Jerzy Bresler (born 1890) was also a doctor of internal medicine. He studied in Berlin, then in Warsaw. Professionally, he was associated with the Izaak Fogel Jewish Hospital.
Next to him is Dr. Antoni Surzec (born 1886), who conducted medical practice in the field of gynecology and obstetrics in the interwar Płock. He was recognized as an outstanding practitioner.
The third from the right is Dr. Hersz Kadysz (born 1891) – a doctor and social activist involved in projects for the health of poor children in Płock.
The first on the right is Dr. Ignacy Feinberg (born 1867) – a doctor of internal medicine, director of the Izaak Fogel Jewish Hospital in Płock.
In the photo: members of the Medical Society of Płock (the photo taken by Wacław Rydel comes from the collection of the Płock Scientific Society).
27 January 2021 marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day, following the annual call of the Shalom Foundation, we encourage everyone in Płock to light candles in our windows on 6 p.m. as a sign of remembrance of all victims of the Holocaust. […]
Chaim Mendel aka Mieczysław Themerson (1871–1930) – doctor of medicine from Płock, writer and journalist was born on October 8, 1871, as the son of the turner Rubin and Chaja Tauba Themerson. Chaim Mendel graduated from the Płock Governorate Middle High School, and then the […]
Paweł Goldstein (1884-1942) – an outstanding surgeon, scientist, one of the pioneers of neurosurgery in Poland, born in 1884 in the family of Kalman Kopel and Temra née Tac. His family lived at 10 Więzienna Street (now 30 Sienkiewicza Street) in Maria Obniska’s tenement house. Paweł Goldstein was a student of the Governorate Middle High School in Płock. On March 6, 1902, on the anniversary of Gogol’s death, Paweł Goldstein took an active part in the rebellion of the students of the Płock middle high school (he was one of its leaders, together with his cousin’s son, Lucjan Altberg, who was two years younger at the time, Beniamin Golde’s grandson, and Julian Golde, son of Benjamin Golde, one year older). The consequence of this courageous act was expulsion from school with being blacklisted at the same time. The blacklisting was revoked, but Paweł Goldstein had to take his high school diploma in Kerch, in the Crimea. Probably for the same reason he could not study at the Imperial University of Warsaw, so he decided to study at Swiss and German universities. He studied medicine in Bern, Berlin and Bonn. He received his doctorate in medical sciences in 1909 from the University of Freiburg. After returning to Poland, he settled in Warsaw, where he became professionally involved in the Surgical Department of the Hospital in Czyste. He took an active part in the Polish-Bolshevik war, serving in the front units in Polesie. He was the commander of a field hospital. In the 1930s, he opened a surgical facility in Warsaw at Wilcza Street, which became famous as a real workshop of clinical work. He was also a well-known philanthropist: in the Society for Aid to the Poorest, the Tuberculosis Society and the School of Nurses. During the mobilization, before World War II (or at the beginning of the war), he volunteered for the army, but was not accepted into active service. He was appointed the head of the surgical department of the hospital in Chełm. Evacuated to Łuck, he also remained there after the Germans entered, taking care of, among others, Soviet prisoners of war. He died in Łuck on January 24, 1942 of typhus, which he contracted from a patient. Apparently, he was still actively involved in the work of the hospital until he lost consciousness.
Paweł Goldstein conducted research in the field of neurosurgery and oncology in the neurobiology laboratory of the Warsaw Scientific Society. He conducted a number of difficult and pioneering operations, including he was one of the first surgeons to perform periarterial sympathectomy using the Lerich method and thoracoplasty using the Sauerbruch method. His scientific achievements include over 30 works, incl. those in the field of neurosurgery.
His wife was Cecylia née Mamelok. His son, Jan Goldstein (1913-1991), was a famous doctor, professor of surgery and academic teacher.
Bibliography:
Przedpełski J., Stefański J., Żydzi płoccy w dziejach miasta, Płock 2012
Year 2021 marks the 80th anniversary of the liquidation of the Płock ghetto. The first deportation of Jews from Płock took place on February 21, 1941, the last – on March 1 of this year. In order to commemorate the days when about 10,000 Jews […]
