Postepy Hig Med Dosw. (online), 2005; 59: 570-572 www.phmd.pl Original Article Received: 2005.11.29 Nec Soli Cedit Accepted: 2005.12.02 Published: 2005.12.07 (article dedicated to Professor Ludwik Hirszfeld) Andrzej Górski Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław The Medical University of Warsaw Key words: Hirszfeld • Weigl • bacteriophages • war Full-text PDF: http://www.phmd.pl/pub/phmd/vol_59/8540.pdf Word count: 2460 Tables: — Figures: — References: 5 Author’s address: Prof. Andrzej Górski, M.D, Ph.D, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Rudolfa Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] The life and work of Ludwik Hirszfeld was the subject of a threat of war he should remain in the country. He was soon deliberation by the well-known author Paweł Jasienica, and to experience the dramatic consequences of this decision, in 1984 a short book appeared entitled “Ludwik Hirszfeld” but the career he might have had in the United States would by Marek Jaworski. Of course, articles have also appeared on certainly have been no less spectacular than those of two special occasions, including the enlightening and emotional of his students. Feliks Milgrom was forced to emigrate recollections by Feliks Milgrom, one of Hirszfeld’s close after Hirszfeld’s death and he went to the USA, where students, in his “My Association with Ludwik Hirszfeld, he attained the most prestigious positions in American 1945–54” (Arch. Immun. Ther. Exp. 1998, 46, 201). In microbiology and became Distinguished Professor of view of the fact that Hirszfeld’s own work, “The Story Microbiology at the State University of New York. The of One Life”, is well known, it is no easy task to provide achievements and international position of the second new, hitherto unknown facts or evaluations. This article is student, Hilary Koprowski, are also very well known; in therefore comprised of personal refl ections devoted to Ludwik spite of his years he is still actively continuing his scientifi c Hirszfeld, and is the product of both the contemplation and work in the USA. In September we had occasion to host the analysis of documents in our Institute’s archives as well as director of the institute in Philadelphia where Koprowski discussions and encounters in which I have participated during works, Prof. Roger Pomerantz, who delivered the Ludwik the past fi ve years of work in the Institute he founded. Hirszfeld Memorial Lecture, and an article of his, dedicated to Hirszfeld, was published in the Archivum Immunologiae Against the backdrop of these times, in which basic et Therapiae Experimentalis [1]. principles and values are undergoing devaluation, the fi gure of Ludwik Hirszfeld stands out with particular Not only did Hirszfeld reject the opportunity of leaving clarity. During his life he acted as a patriot, in the most Poland before war broke out, but he even transferred the irreproachable and refi ned sense of the term. This was Swiss franks he had been saving from the time he worked expressed in his refusal of many unusually attractive in Zurich to Poland. This seemed an obvious thing to him: professional propositions from abroad at the outbreak of “after all, the country needs foreign exchange”.In today’s World War II (including, for example, offers of directorships times, when the commercialization of academic life and the on Swiss Universities). At the end of August, 1939, he health services is describing ever wider circles, and often could have taken part in a congress on microbiology in proceeds according to the principle of per fas et nefas, one the USA (as vice-chairman, in fact), but he declined this is more likely to read news items describing exactly the invitation as well, believing that with Poland facing the opposite behavior. 570 Górski A. – Nec Soli Cedit In his youth, Ludwik Hirszfeld had excellent academic and Characteristic of Hirszfeld was his understanding, tolerance, scientifi c contacts with German-speaking circles, working and human kindness (traits which were not always answered closely with several eminent German, Swiss, and Austrian in kind). It is striking that the envy which one often scientists, the foremost being von Dungern. Together encounters in the world of science, especially towards with him he “brushed shoulders” with the Nobel Prize, successful colleagues, was foreign to him. Although he a fact which has not received the emphasis it is due. It is did not share the Nobel Prize with Landsteiner, we fi nd no therefore worth drawing your attention to the speech by the mention of feelings of disappointment or injustice done; chairman of the Nobel Committee on December 10, 1930, rather, in all his recollections, Hirszfeld writes about the at the ceremony presenting this prize to Karl Landsteiner laureate only with warmth and enthusiasm, stating that he (this document is available on the Internet). In this rather had earned that prize many times over. long introduction, describing the advances in research on blood groups, three names appear repeatedly, those of As Milgrom states in his recollections mentioned above, Landsteiner, von Dungern, and Hirszfeld. Reading it, one Hirszfeld’s idea concerning the mechanism of antibody has the impression that the conclusion will be a justifi cation production assumed that their repertoire exists as natural to award the prize to all three scholars. This is not what antibodies, while the role of antigen is to fi nd the antibody happened, though, and one can only conjecture as to why. suitable to it and to induce the proliferation of the B lymphocyte clone producing that antibody (presented in the As everyone knows, during the First World War Hirszfeld book “Constitutional Serology and Blood Group Research”, and his wife joined the Serbian army, which was struggling published in 1928). This, according to Milgrom, may have with the Austro-Hungarian offensive, later supported by the inspired Nils Jerne to his hypothesis in the 1950’s, for which German army (he directed the central serological laboratory he received the Nobel Prize. Incidentally, Jerne conducted which carried out examinations of soldiers and the civilian his crucial experiment on an antibody model directed against population). It is clear that it was not easy for a scholar with bacteriophages (see our phage page cited below). such intimate connections with German science and culture to make such a dramatic decision, placed himself and his Ludwik Hirszfeld tried to soothe and defuse quarrels, friends and former colleagues on opposing fronts. As we including those with an ethnic context; he strove to detect are already dealing with matters military, perhaps we should and bring to the fore people’s better sides and trusted that mention that in the list of casualties among Frederick the the good in them may subdue the evil. Several times he Great’s Prussian offi cers in the battle of Liberec in April, stressed the fact that people who otherwise did not hide their 1757 (in which Marshal von Bevern defeated the Austrian anti-Semitism had risked their lives saving Jews. Describing forces), the name Hirschfeld appears (this list is available the torment in the extermination camps he wrote, “Against on the Internet: Gefallene und verwundete Offi ziere aus this gloomy background, the Polish farmer’s attitude stood preussischen Armee 1757). We shall of course never know out like a bright spot. He seriously empathized with the if this was just a coincidence of names or if an ancestor of prisoners and often gave or sold them bread, although that Ludwik Hirszfeld actually did fall during the Seven Years’ was a punishable act. I was told of the priests’ sermons in War, which resulted in Wrocław coming under Prussian which they exhorted the fl ock to take pity and to help.” administration. Allow me here to quote a fragment of the article “Memories Who knows whether Hirszfeld’s voluntary engagement of the War” by Prof. Marian Górski (my father), who served on behalf of Serbia during the First World War may have during the September campaign as a lieutenant of the resulted in his not being awarded the Nobel Prize? When medical platoon of the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade, the only he passed through Vienna on his way to Poland after the unit of the Polish Army to conduct offensive operations on war, “...Paltauf, the famous director of the Institute of the territory of the Third Reich in the fi rst days of September, Serotherapy, looked upon me with unfriendly eye. I had in East Prussia (near what is now Pisz), to be exact. returned from the enemy camp, and he did not wish me to work in (his) Institute” (“The Story of One Life”, Czytelnik “We reached the town of Strable during the night with a 2000, p. 92). few soldiers; the church and presbytery were bathed in moonlight. I knocked on the pane of an open window. The I should mention parenthetically that similar grievances were priest, awoken, appeared and provided me with information articulated against Prof. Weigl (who, as Hirszfeld confi rmed and advice ...towards the end of the occupation, the priest in his letters, sent his vaccine into the Ghetto). The Germans in Strable was arrested by the Gestapo and shot along with held a grudge against him for refusing their offer of a chair three Jewish doctors, schoolmates from our university in Berlin and for treating all patients, including soldiers of times, whom he was hiding” (Arch. Historii Medycyny, the Red Army, while the Soviets were angry for his refusing 1983, 46, 91). a chair in Moscow and treating soldiers of the Wehrmacht.