Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Review
UDK:61(497.6)(091)
614-05(497.6=411.16)
jews first came to Bosniii and Herzegovina in the !6th century after having been exiled
from Spain. They ivere successful in several trades in their new surroundings. Many
Jewish families gave more than one doctor or pharmacist. Dr Goldberger and his son Dr
Aleksajidur Goklberger were skilled surgeom; Dr Isak Samokovlija's daughter Rikica
was a paediatrician and a university professor; Dr Sigmund Kaunitz and his sons Oskar
and Pavle, conducted the autopsy on the Archduke Franz Perdinarui, heir to the imperial
throne, and his wife Sophie.
jews have traditioruiUy regarded health cidture as an important issue; their religiim iiicludes
medical ar other precepts, for \\eallhy living, from personal and household hygiene to ritual
ablutions and bathing. Viey were the first to make mecinal preparaticms and to sell them
in thir shops, kmmin iis attar slu)ps. Vie Museum of Sarajevo now treasures the invauory
of cme such centuries-old attar shop, belonging to the Papo family.
' University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of .social medicine and history of mcndicine.
Sarajevo, BH.
^ Museiini of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, BH.
' Jewish Museum of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo, BH.
Address for fom'sfxnwfeiici;; Prof. Dr. Ajnija Omanic. Federaini ravod za zaStitii zdravlja. UI. Marala
Tita 9, BH 71000 Sarajevo. Medicinski fakuket Sarajevo, Cekalusa 90.
l:-mail: ajnijaomanici^'hotmail.com
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Thanks to their medical skills, Jews even treated the Pashas of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dr Nisim Zak treated Sijavos Pasha, and Dr hak Salom WCLS Omer Pasha Latas's
physician.
Bosnia and Herzegovina owes a lot to the krwivledge and dedication of health-care
uorcers of the Jewish origin. Sarajevo, Mostar, Zenica, Focfa, and Trehinje have named
streets after these humdnists, wfio founded inany imtitutions, and started new disciplines
to address the burning health issits in B&H, and a number of wiwm kid down their
lives to defend &H.
Jews first came to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 16'" century
after having been exiled in 1492 during the reign of Ferdinand I and
Isabella of Castile. They brought along their customs, language, and elegies that, sung on the Bosnian mountain slopes, invoked the golden age of
Cordoba and the aromatic banks of the calm River Tajo (Elazar S, oral
tradition). They also brought along medical and other books written in
Hebrew, Latin, and oriental languages [1].
About 300,000 jews left Spain for an uncertain future, of whom about
100,000 ended up in the Ottoman Empire. Under the rule of the first
sultans and later at the height of the Ottoman Empire, attitudes towards
Jews were liberal. Some sultans even engaged them as their personal
physicians or diplomats. With time, they spread throughout the empire,
and some settled in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first, young settlers
came alone, and were later joined by their families; some of the descendants of these early pioneers are still living there. Though few in number,
Jews made an immense contribution to the humanist, cultural, and economic development of the multinational community of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. They brought along the achievements of the rich and developed Spanish culture and civilization, and their own millennium- old
heritage. Sepbardic Jews brought the Spanish language variant known as
Ladino that they used among themselves. Much later, during the AustroHungarian rule, a considerable number of educated professional Ashkenazi
Jews camefi-omthe north to settle in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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According to Dr Glck, Jews worked with Turkish physicians as assistants, learning the secrets of the trade. Bosnian Jews also learned medical
skills from their forebears, and from many treatises in Spanish, Latin, and
oriental languages. They passed on this knowledge to their descendants
and beirs.
Jews were highly successful in their new environment, not only in
medicine, pharmacy and dentistry, but also in other branches of the economy, writing, banking and so on.
Jews traditionally regarded health care as an important issue; their
religion includes many medical and other precepts ranging from perstmal
and general hygiene to rirual ablutions and bathing. They were the first to
make and sell medicinal preparations either at home, where they also had
their private surgeries, or in the so called attar shops, or again in wholesale pharmacies where they sold not only medicines, but also herbs, spices,
and cosmetics. The apothecaries could identify every drug and medicinal
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plant by its appearance and smell, and knew for which ailments to use
them. They would maintain a register of medicines, instructions how to
make them and for which ailment to use them, preserving thus their trade
secrets. These records would he handed down from father to son. Much
of their raw material came from Dubrovnik, Venice and Istanbul. The
recipes were written in Spanish, in cursive Hebrew, and the names of some
drugs were written in Italian and Turkish. The drugs came in a variety of
forms: oils, ointments, salves and unguents, syrups, powders, tir pills.
In 1938, all attar shops were closed down. The last two were run by tbe
brothers Avram and Rafael Papo. One was destroyed during the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis, and the other was handed over to the
Croatian Medical Association for its museum collection. The last owner
was Jakov Papo, who had a work permit for the shop dating hack to the
Ottoman period.
According to the local sources, Jozef Haim and Samuel Sumbul practiced medicine in Sarajevo in the late lS^"^ and early 19^'^ century. Samuel
Sumbul's elder son was an apothecary, and the younger opted for medical
practice. Josef Haim sent bis son Isak to Padua, wbere be graduated in
medicine. Back in Sarajevo, he established avery successful medical practice. He gained recognition for his expertise and skill in caring for people,
and the Turkish authorities in Sarajevo proposed him to represent Bosnian
Jews in the Provincial Council.
According to the local sources, Dr Isak Salom, who was Omer Pasha
Latas's personal physician, was the first physician in Bosnia and Herzegovina
trained in Europe. Samuel and Avram Atijas are referred to as semi-skilled
physicians (so called hecim, from the Turkish /le/cim/Arahic hakim, a physician). Avram was very popular with people, and was granted a licence to
practise hy the Austro-Hungarian authorities. Samuel in turn, was not a
licensed physician, hut was allowed to continue the practice. Until the
late lS^'^ century, Jewish physicians and hecims were mainly based in
Sarajevo, but later they also settled in Banja Luka, Travnik, and Tesnaj.
Isak Papo is known to have practised medicine in Banja Luka, and passed
on his medical and pharmaceutical skills to his son-in-law Kalmi Altarac,
wiio succeeded him in the practice.
Rafael and Dr Nisim Zak graduated from the medical school of Istanbul
and worked in the Military Hospital of Sarajevo. Dr Nisim Zak also treated Sijavos Pasha 12,3].
QUALIFIED JEWISH HEALTH-CARE WORKERS AND THEIR
ACTIVITIES IN BOSNL\ AND HERZEGOVINA
God and Mother Nature bestowed good health, longevity, and intelligence on these people, enabling them to work and to create to the very
end of their lives for the welfare of their people and the community to
which they belonged. They were well-liked by the people, who gave rhem
nicknames as a sign of affection [4,5]. In the B-SiH Academy t)f Sciences
and Arts, Jakob Gaon was known as nas Jasa (our Jasa), pharmacologist
Samuel Elazar was called Sami, partisan nurse Hanika Altarac was known
as Nurse Vuje, and so on.
Most Jewish health-care workers were not only highly skilled professionals, but also founded certain medical disciplines, and were active in
cultural and public circles. Dr Isak Samokovlija was an outstanding medical practitioner and health-care educator who was appointed head of the
health-care education department of the Ministry of Health of Bosnia and
Herzegovina in 1946. He was also the first editor of the healthcare perio45
dical Zivot i zdravlje {Ufe and Health), and treated healthcare topics in his
literary work.
Only a few years after Wilhelm Konrad Rntgen puhlished his research
on X rays in Europe, on 8 November 1895. in Wiirzhurg, Dr Prajndlsherger
demonstrated an X-ray machine made by Reineger, Gehbert and Schall,
purchased by the Provincial Government in Sarajevo for? the Provincial
Hospital of Sarajevo.
Dr Pavle Kaunic, son of Dr Sigmund Kaunic, and his brother Oskar
Kaunic, were members of the medical team conducting the autopsy on the
heir to the imperial throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife
Sophie.
In 1913 Dr Pavle Kaunic was appointed assistant of the forensic department of the Provincial Hospital in Sarajevo. During World War I, he
worked as a hygienist and bacteriologist. After the war, he returned to his
position in the Sarajevo hospital. He was appointed head of the
Epidemiology Institute in Sarajevo in 1925, and was the head of the Public
Health Authority in Sarajevo from 1929.
As these and other examples show, many Jewish families produced
several doctors, pharmacists, and dentists {Dr Isak Samokovlija and his
daughter. Professor Rikica Samokovlija Najdanovic; Dr Adolf Goldberger
and his son Dr Aleksandar Goldherger; Dr Pavel Stern and his son Dr
Milan tern, a psychiatrist).
Academician Dr Ernest Grin was a prominent scientist who began his
wt)rk in Bosnia and Herzegovina by seeking to eradicate endemic syphilis
ftom the rural areas of the Gazin frontier region and Foca. Following
World War II, he worked for the Ministry of Public Health of the People's
Repuhlic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he was engaged in reorganizing the health care service in Bosnia and Herzegovina and setting up a
programme for teams of field workers to combat numerous and mainly
infectious diseases that were rampant in many isolated mountain regions,
causing the death of the young and old alike. In 1946 he hecame the head
of the Gentral Dermatolgica! and Venereal Dispensary, sending out hundreds of field teams to comhat syphilis and ftingal diseases all over Bosnia
and Herzegovina, He passed on his experience to others as a World Health
Organization expert working in Thailand, Sudan, Indonesia, Nigeria,
Tunis, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria. His experience in eradicating syphilis and
fungal diseases in Bosnia and Herzegovina brought world-wide scientific
and professional fame to both Academician Grin and his country. His
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ANNEX
JEWISH HEALTH-CARE WORKERS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
(This list has been compiled from data from the proceedings of the 2"^ Jewish
Historical museum, Belgrade, 973, and data from other available sources,
and should not he regarded as conclusive)
OTTOMAN PERIOD
FOLK DOCTORS
Dr Elijas Majer
Dr Moric Lefkovic (Lefkowitz)
Dr Moric Seles (Szllos)
Dr Leo senfeld (Schonfeld)
Dr Jozef Kac (Katz)
Dr Isidor Najman (Neumann)
Rohert Bramer, MPh. (Brammer)
Lujo Hirijman, MPh.
(Hirschmann)
Ernest Finci, MPh.
Aleksandar Susman, MPh.
(Sismann)
Mihajlo Finkelstajn, MPh.
(Finkelstein)
O^^' ^^Js- ^Ph. (Weiss)
MODERN TIMES
DOCTORS
Dr Uri Adler
Dr Aleksander Band
Dr Samuel Kampos
Dr Jakob Konforti
Dr Samuel Baruh
Dr Salamon Konforti
Dr Ernest First
Dr Rifka Levi
Dr Hans First
Dr Rudolf Levi
Dr Aieksandar
Dr Miler Andrija Friedman
Dr Jozef Gaon
Dr Mordehaj Papo
Dr Jozef Grinherg
Dr M Leon Parie
Dr Aleksandar Hercog
Dr Sara Pinto
Dr Alfred Hirsl
Dr Jozef Salom
Dr Isak Izrael
Dr Sion Samika
Dr Izak I Sima
Dr Adolf Sternberg
Dr Isak Alfandari
Dr Izidor Levi
Dr Kalmija Jakov Altarac
Dr Salamon Moni Levi
Dr Albert Atias
Dr Ltira J. Nahmijas
Dr Moric Branko Atias
Dr Elazar Ovadia
Dr Samuel Baruh "Kici"
Dr Izidor Papo
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PHARMACISTS
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{Details obtained through the good offices of Mrs Dragica Levi and Mr.
Dr Rozika Svarc
Dr Aleksandar Goidbcrgcr
Dr Romano Samuel
Dr Vili Vagman
Dr Branko Samek
Dr Milan Goldner
Dr Rikica Samokovlija-Najdanovic
Dr Gcrtruda Stem
Dr Jakob Altarac
Dr Svagcr
Dr Stajnbcrg
Dr Rener
Dr Rozcncvajg
Dr Ginzberg
Mr Zak Mandilovic
Mihajlo Abinu, MPh.
Dr Milivoj Stezingcr
Dr Stefan Goldman
Dr Egon Rajner
( The last three names were added
after the exhibition)
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REFERENCES (.)
1.
Proti M, Haim Salom 1. J. Prvi diplomirani lekar bosanski Jevrejin. The first
Bosnian Jewish doctor of medicine. In Serfjan I Med arh 1956;10(2):119-25.
2.
Samuel R Jevrejski hecimi i atari u Bosni za tursko Joba. [Jewish hems and
attars in the Ottoman Btisnia. In Bosnian]. Med arh 1947;]:93-8.
3.
3.
Iz attarskog duana Sarajevske porodice Papo. [From the attar shop of the
Sarajevan family Papo, in Bosran] Sarajevo: Muzej Sarajeva, 1999., pp 1-58.
4.
5.
Duricic A, Samuel E. Preg[ed Istorije farmacije Btisne i Hercegtwine. |A bistorical review of pbarmacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Bosnian] Sarajevo:
Centralni higijenski zavi>d, 1958.
SAZETAK
Zidovi su u Bosnu i Hercegovinu dosli u XVI. stoljecu nakon Sto su pod pritiskom
morali napustiti Spanjolsku. U novoj sredini djelovali su uspjesno u brojnim djelatnostima. MiKjge od zidovskih ohitelji iznjedrile su vise Ujeinika i Ijekamika, kmnije i drugih
profila zdravstvenih radnika. Dr. Goldberger i rijegm' sin dr. Aleksandar Goldherger
bili su vTsni kkurzi; dr. sak Samokovlija i njegova kci Rikica, profesorica pedijatrije, dr
Sigmund Kaunitz i njegovi sinovi Oskar i Pavle, od kojih je potonji bio clan Ijenickog
tima pri aulopsiji prestohruisljcdnika Ferdinanda i njegove supruge Sofije.
Zidovi su tradicionalno pridavali zjiacenje zdravstvenoj kulturi, a uporiSte rudaze u vjeri
koja propisuje medidmke i druge mjere za zdrav zivot pocevsi od odrzavanja /ligijaie
tijela, kuce i okuiice do ritualnog pranja i kupanja. Prvi su poeli praviti pomoia
Ijekoviui sredstva i prodavati ih u svojim t:;v. atarskim rudnjama. Inventar takve atarske
radnje ohiielji Papo, koja se stoljecmui rudazilii na istorne mjestu, kao raritel nalazi se
u Muzeju Sarajeva.
Zaiwaijujuci vjestinav\a lijecenja Ziovisu lijec' uslolicei^e pase u OSTU i Hercegovtr. Tako
je dr. Nisirn Zak Ujeio Sijavos pcdu, a dr. sak Salum je bio lijek Omer Pase Lauisa.
Znanjem i poirtvovanoscu mnog zdravstveni radnici iidovskog podrijetla zaduzili su
bosarukohercegovaht javnost, gradove i pojedince u svim oblastiina ivotd. V Sarajevu,
Mostaru, Zenici, Foci i Trebinju i drugim mjestimti ulice nose imeiui tih humanih
Ijudi koji su bili osniva brojnih ustanova, zaietnici disciplina koje su bile potrehne u
rjeSavanju vodece patohgije u populaciji Bosne i Hercegovine, a ne mali broj njih poloiio
je zivot u obrani Bosne i Hercegovine.
Kljucne riieci: povijest medicine, XVI. - XX. stoljece, lijenici, Ijekamici, idovi, Bosna
i -ercegovina
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