Imre Hercz (10 March 1929 – 24 July 2011) was a Jewish Hungarian- Norwegian physician and public debater. Hercz was born in Transylvania and had his childhood years in Nagyvárad, in the Hungarian part of Romania. At the age of 15, he was deported to

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

in May 1944, later to Vernichtungslager Kaufbeuren (also known as Riederloh II) and then to

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

, but survived. After being hospitalized in

Amberg Amberg () is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. In 2020, over 42,000 people lived in the town. History The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under t ...

for five and a half years, he recovered and emigrated to Norway in 1952 as one of several Jewish Holocaust-survivors of lesser health accepted to Norway with substantial grants from Joint to the Norwegian government. He finished secondary education in 1955 and graduated from the University of Oslo with a

cand.med. Candidate of Medicine ( la, candidatus medicinae (male), ''candidata medicinae'' (female), abbreviated cand. med.) is an academic degree awarded in Denmark, Iceland, and Norway following a six-year medical school education. Medical students in ...

degree in 1961. He worked in Tønsberg, Vinstra and

Brumunddal Brumunddal is a town in Ringsaker Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality. It is located on the shores of the lake Mjøsa, about north of the town of Hamar. The town is a small, densely ...

from 1962 to 1970, before opening a medical clinic in

Høvik Høvik is a suburban area in the municipality of Bærum, Viken, Norway, in the Oslo metropolitan area. Mainly a residential area, its population (2005) is 4,311. It is normal to divide Høvik into two parts; Nedre (lower) and Øvre (upper). Hø ...

in 1971. He resided in

Nesbru Nesbru is a village in Akershus, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. T ...

, and later moved to

. Hercz represented the Liberal Party as a deputy in Ringsaker municipal council from 1968 to 1970, and chaired the local party branch. He was a board member of the

Mosaic Religious Community A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

(Jewish Community in Oslo) from 1972 to 1991, member of the Norwegian Refugee Council from 1972 to 1991, national board member of the

Norwegian Medical Association The Norwegian Medical Association ( no, Den norske lægeforening (1886–2008), spelled ''Den norske legeforening'' since 2008) is the main Norwegian medical association and trade union, and was founded in 1886. It has 32 555 members (as of 2016) o ...

from 1981 to 1993 and national council member of ''Allmennpraktiserende Legers Forening'' (General Practicians Association) from 1984 to 1991. Hercz is well known from the public debate on health policy, but even more so in the debate on defamation and

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. He has held several public speeches, among others for school students. In February 2009 he won a ruling from

Pressens Faglige Utvalg The Norwegian Press Complaints Commission ( no, Pressens Faglige Utvalg) is a complaint commission of Norwegian Press Association. The members of the commission from are (from July 2012 to July 2014):TV 2 was admonished for defamation and breach of the

Ethical Code of Practice for the Norwegian Press The Ethical Code of Practice for the Norwegian Press ( nb, Vær Varsom-plakaten, nn, Ver Varsam-plakaten, se, Leage Várrugas) is a code regulating journalism ethics and standards in Norway. It was first written in 1936. In 1956 it was rewritten ...

. In June 2011 he was awarded the King's Medal of Merit. He received patients in his office at Høvik Legesenter even up to his death, making him, at 82 years of age, one of the oldest practicing doctors in Norway. Hercz was married and had four children. He died in July 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hercz, Imre 1929 births 2011 deaths Hungarian Jews 20th-century Norwegian Jews Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Dachau concentration camp survivors Hungarian emigrants to Norway 20th-century Norwegian physicians University of Oslo alumni People from Ringsaker People from Bærum Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit