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Marek Edelman (1919-2009) was the last surviving leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. He had remained in Poland following the Nazi defeat and was active in domestic and international politics while at the same time becoming one of Poland’s leading cardiologists. [Listeners: Anka Grupinska, Joanna Klara Agnieszka Zuchowska, Joanna Szczesna; date recorded: 2003]
TRANSCRIPT: Suddenly, we were notified that we are to go and view a ward somewhere. However, the director there said there were no places. In a word, I was summoned to the Pirogow hospital. The director there was called Stelmach and he said: 'You know, I don't have any places for you but I'll make some, come back in 2 days.' So all three of us came back in 2 days although he hadn't told anyone anything but just said, 'This is where you'll be working.' 'So when should we come?'- 'Tomorrow.' So we came tomorrow and started to give out orders. Suddenly one of the nurses said, 'What are they telling me to do? Here, the doctor, the surgeon is in charge! There's an outbreak of flu!' She thought the beds were being emptied to receive flu cases. 'Now they're telling me to take away the tables, to rearrange them.' This first period wasn't very good but we were pleasant and the nurses came to like us, so that's where we started to work from the beginning.
