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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. The Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh (1941-1949) A case study in the transnational history of Polish wartime migration to Great Britain Michał Adam Palacz Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2015 Abstract of Thesis More than 400 Polish medical refugees were associated with the Polish School of Medicine (PSM) at the University of Edinburgh between 1941 and 1949. This dissertation argues that the history of the PSM can fully be understood only as a part of the refugees’ broader experience of impelled or forced migration during and immediately after the Second World War. The key findings of this case study demonstrate that the opportunity to study or work at the PSM enabled the majority of Polish exiles to overcome, to a varying extent, their refugee predicament, while medical qualifications, transferable skills and trans-cultural competency obtained in wartime Britain allowed them to pursue professional and academic careers in different countries of post-war settlement, thus in turn contributing to a global circulation of medical knowledge and practice, especially between the University of Edinburgh and Poland. This specific case study contributes to the existing knowledge of Polish wartime migration to Britain in three interrelated ways. Firstly, an overarching transnational approach is used to combine and transcend Polish and British scholarly perspectives on, respectively, emigration or immigration. Secondly, the conceptual insularity of the existing literature on the topic is challenged by analysing archival, published and digital sources pertaining to the PSM with the help of various theoretical models and concepts borrowed from forced migration and diaspora studies. Thirdly, the conventional historiography of Polish-British wartime relations is challenged by emphasising the genuinely global ramifications of the PSM’s history. By interpreting the history of the PSM with the help of different analytical tools, such as Kunz’s and Johansson’s models of refugee movement and Tweed’s theory of diasporic religion, this dissertation provides a conceptual blueprint for further research on Polish wartime migration to Britain. In turn, this case study contributes to the development of forced migration and diaspora studies not only by empirically testing the explanatory power of existing theoretical models, but also by suggesting possible new conceptual avenues, such as analysing the pre-existing trans-cultural experiences of both Polish medical refugees and their hosts at the University of Edinburgh, and adding to the ‘triadic relationship’ of diaspora, homeland and host society a fourth dimension, i.e. conflict and cooperation between different migrant or refugee communities within the same host society. Declaration of Own Work I, Michał Adam Palacz, declare that this thesis has been composed solely by me, the work presented is my own, and it has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. _____________________ _____________________ Signature Date Dedicated to my family and friends from Gdynia – Pustki Cisowskie Acknowledgements This work was generously supported by the Polish School of Medicine 70th Anniversary PhD Scholarship, funded by the Polish School of Medicine Historical Collection Fund and the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. I would like to thank my supervisors, Professor Stana Nenadic, Dr Gayle Davis and Professor Pertti Ahonen, for their valuable guidance, constant encouragement and patient understanding of my shortcomings. Our meetings were always a pleasure. I am indebted to Dr Maria Dlugolecka-Graham for assisting me in the early stages of my research and introducing me to the surviving graduates of the Polish School of Medicine. I wish to thank all those who allowed me access to their student records, especially Dr Halina Marszałek-Lewicka and the late Dr Kazimierz Durkacz whom I had the honour to meet in person. I am also grateful to Mrs Edina Alavi and Dr Kristyna Landt for sharing with me the fascinating story of their father, Dr Władysław ‘Bartek’ Mazur. I was greatly assisted by Professor Paul Weindling who offered me valuable advice and generously gave me access to his Medical Refugees Collection at Oxford Brookes University. Dr Aleksander Rutkiewicz shared with me the results of his research on the life of Dr Bolesław Rutkowski. I have also profited from the constructive criticism of Dr Enda Delaney and Dr David Kaufman, and from the encouraging comments of Dr Kenneth Collins. My research would not have been possible without the help and expertise of Mr Grant Buttars, Deputy University Archivist, Ms Clare Button, Project Archivist, and other staff members of the Centre for Research Collections at the University of Edinburgh Main Library. I would also like to thank Mr Andrew Nicoll, formerly at the Scottish Catholic Archives, Mr Iain Milne, the Sibbald Librarian of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and Ms. Laura Gould from the Lothian Health Services Archive. I am forever grateful to my family and friends for their support and faith in me. Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................13 Chapter 1: The Road to Edinburgh.............................................................................47 Chapter 2: PSM and the University of Edinburgh......................................................99 Chapter 3: PSM and Poland......................................................................................139 Chapter 4: PSM and the Diaspora(s)........................................................................189 Chapter 5: The Legacy of the PSM...........................................................................225 Conclusion................................................................................................................271 Appendix...................................................................................................................283 Bibliography.............................................................................................................355 List of Tables Table 1. Social structure of Poland in 1938 (p. 283) Table 2. Social origins of Polish university students in the academic year 1934/1935 (p. 284) Table 3. Jewish medical students at Polish universities in the academic year 1921/1922 (p. 285) Table 4. Functional categories of medical refugees at the PSM (p. 286) Table 5. Professional affiliation of Polish medical refugees in August 1939 (p. 287) Table 6. Educational background of PSM students (p. 288) Table 7. Age and gender structure of medical refugees at the PSM (p. 289) Table 8. High school education of the '1.5 generation' of medical refugees at the PSM (p. 290) Table 9. Religious affiliation of medical refugees at the PSM (p. 291) Table 10. Parallel lives of Antoni Jurasz and Francis Crew (p. 292) Table 11. Non-Polish professors at the PSM (p. 293) Table 12. Departmental chairs at the PSM compared to medical faculties in Edinburgh and pre-war Poland (p. 295) Table 13. Rate of return migration to Poland after 1945 (p. 301) Table 14. Medical staff of the Paderewski Hospital in Edinburgh (p. 303) Table 15. Students of the Teaching Department of the Paderewski Hospital (p. 305) Table 16. Polish academic schools in Britain (1941-1953) (p. 309) Table 17. Centres of Polish medical education in exile (1940-1952) (p. 310) Table 18. Basic biographical data of medical refugees at the PSM (p. 311) List of Abbreviations AHM/AHiFM – journal Archiwum Historii Medycyny/Archiwum Historii i Filozofii Medycyny BSC – Biochemical Society Collection BMA – British Medical Association BMJ – The British Medical Journal CDDMIF - Centrum Dokumentacji Dziejów Medycyny i Farmacji Górnego Śląska DVL III – Third category of the Deutsche Volksliste EUA – Edinburgh University Archives GP – general practitioner HIA – Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University ITC – Interim Treasury Committee for Polish Questions MP – Member of Parliament MRC – Medical Refugees Collection NHS – National Health Service NKVD – People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs PISM – Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, Lodnon PMA – Polish Medical Association (in Great Britain) PSM – Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh POW – prisoner-of-war SPSL – Society for the Protection of Science and Learning TNA – The National Archives, Kew UMKM – Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu WBIS – World Biographical Information System Online Introduction Significance