[Death cause of Józef Hempel, M.D. - truth or myth?]

In this article the author makes an attempt to explain causes of untimely death of Józef Hempel, a Cracow physician. In the Polish historiography there has been a strong belief that he was a victim of an unfortunate experiment with tuberculin administered to him by Robert Koch in Berlin in 1890. However, there was every indication that his death was caused by purulent appendicitis with complicated peritonitis. Memoirs of Stefan Dunin, a journalist, were the most probable source of this misinformation on the tuberculin experiment. The author emphasizes that hte memoirs should not be used in works on history of the Polish phthisiology. He draws our attention to dangers that were related to attempts of treating tuberculosis with tuberculin and also gives basic biographical information about Hempel.