Heritage of Stanisław Ostrowski  - the only one medical doctor who became State Polish President - Patriae Semper Fidelis

Martyna Woltanowska; Piotr Woltanowski; Andrzej Wincewicz; Magdalena Woltanowska

doi:10.15386/cjmed-883

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Affiliations

Martyna Woltanowska
Non Public Health Care Unit "IL-MED", Department of Family Medicine, Szudziałowo, Poland.

Piotr Woltanowski
Information and Organization Centre for the Research on the Public Finances and Tax Law in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Faculty of Law, University of Bialystok.

Andrzej Wincewicz
Non Public Health Care Unit - Department of Pathology (NZOZ Zakład Patologii Spółka z o.o.),

Magdalena Woltanowska
Director Emeritus of the Pawiak Prison Historical Museum in Warsaw.

How to Cite

Woltanowska M, Woltanowski P, Wincewicz A, Woltanowska M. Heritage of Stanisław Ostrowski - the only one medical doctor who became State Polish President - Patriae Semper Fidelis. Medicine and Pharmacy Reports [Internet]. 30Jan.2018 [cited 22Dec.2024];91(1):129-42. Available from: https://medpharmareports.com/index.php/mpr/article/view/883

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Heritage of Stanisław Ostrowski - the only one medical doctor who became State Polish President - Patriae Semper Fidelis

Martyna Woltanowska ,
Piotr Woltanowski ,
Andrzej Wincewicz ,
Magdalena Woltanowska

Vol 91 No 1 (2018)

Section: History of Medicine and Pharmacy

Pages: 129-142

DOI 10.15386/cjmed-883

Abstract

Aim. Our purpose was to write a biography of Stanisław Ostrowski that would address in the first place the medical aspect of his professional life, with a comprehensive approach of others fields of his activity.

Methods. We essentially grounded the paper on primary resources that were papers authored by Ostrowski including his scientific publications, memories, speeches as well as contemporaneous official documents that referred to Ostrowski. Second resources were also used to double check some data from primary resources and to place the biography of Stanisław Ostrowski in a proper background with special care to social, professional and political context. In this study, second resources comprised papers, that were prepared after the death of Stanisław Ostrowski.

Results. Stanisław Ostrowski, MD was a meticulous military medical doctor with an academic engagement at the King John Casimir University of Lvov. In addition, he was an excellent organizer, who soon got involved in politics to serve the local community with essential projects in public health particularly anti-tuberculosis campaigns in Lvov district. His quiet and proficient nature made him an ideal statesman with incredible skills to reconcile social, national and political enemies. Ostrowski was elected a member of parliament three times. He also held the position of President of the city of Lvov until World War Two. During the war, he was imprisoned and deported to Siberia, Soviet Union, in years 1939-1941. Subsequently he fought against Nazi Germans in the Polish II Corps. Ostrowski survived the war providing medical service in the various military units. Afterwards, he ran his medical practice in the UK. Stanisław Ostrowski was the only dermatologist who became a state president. He held an office of state president of the Polish Republic on exile in London.

Discussion and conclusion. His life is not a simple story, but a great lesson that provides clear guidelines how to find a stable ground for lifetime being a medical doctor in the turbulent times of the 20th century even during wartime.

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