The Battle for Health

During wartime, JDC sent medicine and emergency medical aid to countries under siege. Years of damage through privation, violent assault, perpetual flight, and unsanitary conditions created a whole new set of problems. Hundreds of thousands were left with untended injuries and compromised health. Recurring epidemics battered the weakened population. As conditions on the ground allowed, JDC began a wide range of new services aimed at fighting disease and improving health. The Medical Department was the first functional initiative.

Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold organized the American Zionist Medical Unit (AZMU), a group of doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. JDC helped subsidize the group's work. The Hadassah Bulletin, March 1918, noted JDC’s support of the Unit right from the start. <em>AR 14-18, File 124</em>. <a href="http://archives.jdc.org/assets/documents/ar1418_f124.pdf" target="_blank">View this document as a PDF</a>

As soon as travel was possible, the AZMU arrived with 400 tons of supplies and medical equipment. The Unit's initiatives included hospitals in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Tiberias, and Safed, clinics in seven locations, a school for training nurses, and regular health exams for Jerusalem school children-- all subsidized significantly by JDC. U.S., 1918, <em>Underwood and Underwood, NY_04926</em>.

JDC provided half the funding for the AZMU's extensive work, including community and preventive care health programs open to all. At one free clinic, patients waited for a doctor’s attention. Palestine, c. 1920, <em>NY_00014</em>.

JDC helped subsidize several medical institutions in Jerusalem, including the Sephardic Misgav Ladach birthing hospital, Shaare Zedek Hospital, and the Mayer Rothschild Hospital. The latter, seen here, was run by Hadassah's AZMU. Palestine, c. 1920, <em>NY_00012</em>.

Healing Palestine's War Wounds

Health conditions in Palestine had grown dangerous. Poor drainage and a lack of water contributed to the spread of disease. Typhoid, typhus, meningitis, malaria, and eye conditions like trachoma were common. JDC subsidized the American Zionist Medical Unit and other medical and sanitary programs to alleviate these problems among all the population.

In 1919, the Overseas Unit identified medical shortages of every kind. Even doctors were in scarce supply, as many had been killed at the front or had succumbed to disease themselves. A doctor in Sighet examined Jewish war orphans. Romania, 1919-1920, <em>NY_00940</em>.

Along with this April 1920 list of hospital supplies needed for Ukraine, JDC’s Medical Director, Dr. Harry Plotz, advised a large expansion of essential services. <em>AR 19-21, File 255.1</em>. <a href="http://archives.jdc.org/assets/documents/ar1921_f255_1.pdf" target="_blank">View this document as a PDF</a>

Desperate for a place to rest, exhausted refugees often crowded into makeshift shelters with no beds, like this synagogue in Brest. Such conditions spread disease quickly. One typhus epidemic was traced to four Ukrainian refugees sleeping in a synagogue in Rovno. Poland (now Ukraine), c. 1919, <em>NY_14476</em>.

Favus, a skin disease often affecting the scalp, was a common health problem. Easily contracted under the conditions of war, children were particularly susceptible. Treatment was given to young refugees at the JDC-subsidized quarantine station in Vilna. Poland (now Lithuania), c. 1921, <em>NY_03979</em>.

Fighting Disease in Eastern Europe

JDC supported the medical-sanitary work of existing organizations until 1920. For a more comprehensive, systematic approach, Bogen enlisted Dr. Harry Plotz, discoverer of typhus and its vaccine, in April that year to investigate conditions and develop a battle plan. Plotz brought a medical team to Poland but also enlisted local resources.

Working with Polish-Jewish medical aid organizations, JDC's Medical Unit helped revive, transform and finance almost 500 medical and sanitation institutions, including public baths, dispensaries, hospitals, sanitaria, X-ray stations, nursing schools, “Drop of Milk” centers, and well-baby stations. France, c. 1921, <em>NY_03506</em>.

JDC funded nursing schools to build a well-trained contingent of Jewish nurses. This school in Vilna produced such professionals. Poland (now Lithuania), c. 1921, <em>NY_04150</em>.

In 1921, JDC’s medical and sanitary personnel conducted health surveys and established child care programs in Poland, funded jointly with the American Red Cross. This Jewish Baby Health Station in Piotrkow was considered one of the best. Poland, c. 1921, <em>NY_04244</em>.

New Recruits

To stop the wildfire spread of disease and to significantly improve health among Eastern European Jews, JDC sent its first Medical Unit. A team of 18, including doctors, a dentist, a pharmacist, and sanitation personnel arrived in Poland in January 1921. Newly-trained Jewish nurses from the region were also mobilized.

This excerpted survey of Latvian medical needs noted each town's population, birthrate, and mortality levels before and after the war, its health needs and available services. <em>AR 1921, File 156.4</em>. <a href="http://archives.jdc.org/assets/documents/ar1921_f156_4.pdf" target="_blank">View this document as a PDF</a>

After years of severe physical and mental distress, children's health was greatly compromised. The JDC-funded orphan relief committee of Mukacevo (Munkacs) conducted periodic medical checkups for their wards, including this child with heart disease. Czechoslovakia (now Ukraine), c. 1921, <em>NY_01076</em>.

In March 1920, JDC began supplying funds for coal to run the U.S. Army Medical Corps' delousing plants used in its non-sectarian anti-typhus mission in Poland. <em>New York Times, March 5, 1920</em>.
<a href="http://archives.jdc.org/assets/documents/nyt_030520.pdf" target="_blank">View this document as a PDF</a>

JDC sent medical teams to Polish cities and towns like Rovno, where refugees gathered and disease was rampant. They brought with them portable delousing machines, which heated clothing and blankets to very high temperatures. Poland (now Ukraine), c. 1921, <em>NY_04155</em>.

First Steps

The Medical Unit initially paved the way for broader efforts by identifying health challenges facing Jewish communities, assessing the state of their resources, and informing the populace of practical sanitary measures.

At a milk station in Vienna, refugee Jewish children drank their daily supply of warm milk. Local children in need of supplemental nutrition were also served. Austria, 1919, <em>NY_01244</em>.

During the war, OZE had sent doctors, nurses, and nutritionists to bring emergency medical relief to refugees and other displaced persons in Russian-held territories. With JDC's expanded funding, OZE ran clinics, hospitals, canteens, children's nutrition centers, milk stations, kindergartens, summer camps, and playgrounds in the war's aftermath. An OZE Milk Station in Bialystok focused on infants and young children. Poland, c. 1921, <em>NY_01724</em>.

Colonies for restoring children's health focused on refugees and orphans. After years of war and pogroms, JDC decided that additional colonies were crucial. In 1920, around 25,000 children attended summer colonies, such as this one in the town of Soroka. Romania, c. 1920, M. Cligher, <em>NY_00974</em>.

A Clean Bill of Health

Lack of food during the war left many children with weakened bodies. JDC's agenda included programs for rebuilding their health such as milk centers and outdoor colonies.

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee