[Ludwik Hirszfeld (1884-1954) the Wrocław Years, 1945-1954]

Beginning with an initial overview of his earlier activities as a scholar, this article is a study of the years which Ludwik Hirszfeld spent in Wrocław and is based on published sources as well as the reminiscences of both his colleagues and of this author. Hirszfeld himself, in his described his life autobiography "History of One Life" until just after the Second World War. The years he spent in Wrocław organizing the Medical Department, of which he was the first director from 1945-1946 were unusually active ones. Hirszfeld was also at that time founder of the Department of Medical Microbiology and later of the Institute for Immunology and Experimental Therapy of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Wrocław. He was simultaneously involved in highly successful scientific research particularly in the area of immunopathology during pregnancy. He was a popular lecturer on this subject with a special gift for reaching his audience as well as an active participant in scientific discussions in a variety of foral forums. He had a great personal influence on the first generation of staff and students of the Medical Department in Wrocław in the years immediately following the end to the Second World War.