“The Studies on Hunger Disease in the Warsaw Ghetto”

The Warsaw Ghetto, where some 100,000 people died of starvation and disease, became a unique medical laboratory of sorts. In 1942, a team of doctors headed by Dr Israel Milejkowski carried out world-pioneering clinical research under the auspices of the Jewish Council on the physiological changes occurring in the human body due to prolonged starvation. The project was clandestine, as the Germans did not allow Jews to conduct scientific research. Its results were published in 1946 in “The Hunger Disease”, edited by Emil Apfelbaum.

The POLIN Museum is organising a popular science session commemorating the work of Warsaw Ghetto doctors and highlighting the importance of their research into hunger disease. It is complemented by a lecture addressed to the general public by the well-known Argentine journalist Martín Caparrós, author of the well-known book-length reportage “Hunger”. Simultaneous Polish-English interpretation is provided during the sessions.

Programme of the session “The Studies on Hunger Disease in the Warsaw Ghetto”:

Wednesday, 15 March 2023, 12:00–17:00, Conference Room A, POLIN Museum

12:00: Formal opening of the session with the participation of Marian Turski and Director of POLIN Museum Zygmunt Stępiński

12:30–13:30: Lecture “Research on Hunger Disease in the Warsaw Ghetto and Its Relevance to Medicine”, Prof. Abraham Ohry (Tel Aviv University)

14:00–15:00: Panel I:

Ghetto Medicine and Contemporary Bioethical Challenges, moderated by Prof. Stanisław Obirek

Ethical Dilemmas of Physicians in the Warsaw Ghetto with Special Attention to Hunger Disease Research: Dr Miriam Offer (Western Galilee College, Akko; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University)

Disaster Medicine – Lessons from the Past: Dr Tessa Chelouche (Department of Bioethics and the Holocaust; International Chair of Bioethics)

15:00–16:00: Coffee break

16:00–17:00: Panel II: Legacy of the Warsaw Ghetto Doctors, moderated by: Karolina Głowacka

Reception of the Results of Hunger Disease Research in the Warsaw Ghetto in Post-War Poland and Worldwide: dr hab. Maria Ciesielska

Remembering Dr Juliusz Zweibaum, one of the editors of “The Hunger Disease”: Zofia Karłowicz-Perzyńska

Auditorium:

18:30-20:00: Lecture by Martín Caparrós “Hunger”

The lecture will be delivered in Spanish; simultaneous interpretation into Polish or English will be provided for guests.

The popular science session is being implemented as part of the Global Education Outreach Programme (GEOP).

The GEOP is made possible through the support of Taube Philanthropies, William K. Bowes, Jr.  Foundation and the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland.

Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway fund the programme through the EEA funds and the national budget.

Partners and Patrons:

Polish Humanitarian Action

Wydawnictwo Literackie Publishers

President of the Supreme Medical Council

Polish Medical Association

Detailed information on the event can be found at:  https://polin.pl/en/thou-shalt-not-be-indifferent-program