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Members of the Dolzhansky Family were prominent doctors and teachers in Russia, Germany and Israel. Yaakov Dolzhansky (1864-1928) was a professor of surgery. In the early 20th century, he ran a municipal hospital in Ekaterinoslav (Dnipro) and during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) commanded a military hospital. In 1920 Yaakov emigrated to Eretz Israel with his wife Malka (Miriam), son Leonid and daughter Tamara. Yaakov worked as a chief surgeon at the Meir Rothschild Hospital in Jerusalem, and later ran a surgical department at Bikur Holim Hospital. In 1924 Yaakov Dolzhansky was appointed editor-in-chief of the Hebrew magazine "Ha-Rafuah" (Medicine). Leonid Dolzhansky (1899-1948) was also a doctor. He established and directed the Department of 'Experimental Pathology' and the laboratories for research of cancer at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He was killed in the Hadassah Convoy Massacre. Nina Epshtein (1901-1970) was a daughter of Yaakov Dolzhansky and a sister of Leonid. She was a teacher, who studied at the University of Berlin. In 1933 she returned to the USSR and lived in Leningrad. Yaakov Epshtein (1899–1976), Nina's husband, was a front-line surgeon during the war with Nazi Germany. Their son, Zorik, served in the tank reconnaissance, and was killed in the war. Nina’s sister, Tamara Dolzhansky (1903–1964), was also a teacher and lived in Tel-Aviv. The private collection of the Dolzhansky Family contains extensive correspondence of family members scattered in different countries. The letters refer to different periods: from the frontlines of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), from the period between the two world wars, from the period of the Second World War and its aftermath. Especially important is the correspondence of family members in the Soviet Union from the period that preceded the "Great Patriotic War" and during it. Some of the letters were sent within the USSR, and others – outside to Israel. Particular attention in the letters is paid to the situation in the Soviet Union and to the participation of the family members in the war against Nazis on the battlefield. The collection includes various personal documents and many family photographs --

Reference Code
P321
Dates
1890-2008
Consists of
24 files.
Languages
Russian; Yiddish; German; French;
Description
The collection contains extensive correspondence of family members relating to both family and public matters in pre-revolutionary Russia, the Soviet Union, Eretz Israel and Europe. There are letters between Yaakov Dolzhansky, commander of the military hospital in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), and his wife Malka (Miriam). Among other things, the letters describe the situation at the front. In the 1920s Yaakov Dolzhansky wrote to his son Leonid from Eretz Israel about plans to organize health services in Jerusalem, the preparation of the quarterly medical journal "Ha-Rafua", and the purchase of land in Palestine. The correspondence between Vera and Leonid Dolzhansky talks about work at Hadassah hospital, family affairs, the life and work of medical workers in Palestine, and about the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Malka Dolzhansky's letters from this period contain information about the revival of the Hebrew language in Jerusalem and her friendship with the family of artist and sculptor Boris Schatz. The correspondence from the period of the “Great Patriotic War” offers a window into the Soviet Jews’ experiences and life of the period and their participation in the struggle against the Nazis. In the 1940s Zorik Epshtein wrote about army life, studying at a military school, and problems with a “Special Department” - military counterintelligence controlled by the Soviet secret police. The collection include letters addressed to Joseph Stalin by Nina Epshtein with a question about the reasons for Zorik's non-enrollment in the army (1942), interrogation of Zorik by the “Special department” before being sent to the front (1943). There are letters from Nina and Ruth Epshtein to Yaakov Epshtein at the front, about the defense of Leningrad and the breaking of the blockade, and the wounding and death of Zorik. The correspondence of Ruth Pollak (Zorik’s sister) and her parents, relatives and friends contains information about their pre-war and post-war life, university studies, and family affairs. The collection includes also various personal documents of family members, many family photographs and drafts of articles by Yaakov Dolzhansky on medical topics.
Title Dolzhansky family archive.
Contributors Yaakov,Dolzhansky 1866-1928
MiriamDolzhansky
Leonid,Dolzhansky 1898-1948
VeraDolzhansky
Tamara,Dolzhansky 1903-1964
Nina,Epshtein 1901-1970
Yaakov,Epshtein 1899-1976
Georgii (Zorik),Epshtein 1924-1945
Boris,Schatz 1867-1932
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. School of Medicine
Merkaz refuʼi Hadasah (Jerusalem)
Biḳur ḥolim (Hospital : Jerusalem)
Yad Yitsḥaḳ Ben-Tsevi
Notes Yad Ben Zvi holds materials of Leonid Dolzhansky - album of photographs
Host Item Dolzhansky, family - Private Collection
Level of Description Fonds Record
Biographical summary Yaakov Dolzhansky was born in Bahmut (then Russian Empire) in 1864. He studied medicine at Dorpat (Tartu) University, specialized in surgery in Heidelberg (Germany), and ran a municipal hospital in Ekaterinoslav (Dnipro). During the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905, he commanded a military hospital. After his discharge from the army, he was appointed professor of surgery and dean of the new faculty at the University of Ekaterinoslav. In 1920 he emigrated to Eretz Israel with his wife Malka (Miriam), son Leonid and daughter Tamara. Yaakov worked as a chief surgeon at the Meir Rothschild Hospital in Jerusalem, and later ran a surgical department at Bikur Holim Hospital. In 1924 Yaakov Dolzhansky was appointed editor-in-chief of the Hebrew magazine "Rafuah" (Medicine). He died in 1928. Leonid Dolzhansky was born in 1898 in Ekaterinoslav (Dnipro). He studied medicine at the University of Berlin, worked as a doctor in Berlin and Paris. When Hitler came to power in 1933, he was arrested, but managed to escape to Copenhagen. In 1935 he returned to Israel and established the “Department of Experimental Pathology” and the laboratories for research of cancer at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1948 he was killed in the Hadassah medical convoy massacre. Leonid's son-in-law was historian Shmuel Ettinger. Nina Epshtein, Leonid’s sister, was born in 1901. She was a teacher, who studied at the University of Berlin. In 1933 she returned to the USSR and lived in Leningrad. She died in 1970. Yaakov Epshtein, Nina's husband, was born in 1899 in Warsaw. He graduated in medicine from the University of Berlin in 1925. In 1933, after the Nazis came to power, he emigrated to the USSR. In 1941, with the outbreak of the “Great Patriotic War” he volunteered for the Soviet Army, and was a front-line surgeon. He died in the Soviet Union in 1976. Zorik (Georgii) Epshtein, the son of Nina and Yaakov Epshtein, was born in Berlin in 1924. Zorik, served in the tank reconnaissance during the Second World War, and was killed in 1945. Tamara Dolzhansky was born in 1903 in Ekaterinoslav. She was a teacher and lived in Tel-Aviv. She died in 1964.
Language Note Russian
Yiddish
German
French
National Library system number 990043420980205171
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