Jadwiga Dzido (1918–1985) was a Polish resistance worker and pharmacy student who was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

in 1941 and deported to the

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...

where she was subjected to forced operations. She was infected with bacteria, dirt and slivers of glass to test the effects of sulphonamide on healing infected wounds. She subsequently became a witness at the 1946

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

Biography

Born on 26 January 1918 in

Suchowola Suchowola (; lt, Suchovola, be, Сухаволя ''Suchavolja'') is a town in north-eastern Poland in Sokółka County, located on both banks of the Olszanka River. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously be ...

, Jadwiga Dzido was the daughter of Katarzyna and Józef Dzido. She was brought up in

Łuków Łuków is a city in eastern Poland with 30,727 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2005). Since 1999, it has been situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, previously it had belonged to the Siedlce Voivodeship (between 1975–1998). It is the capital of Ł ...

in eastern Poland. After her father died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, her mother worked in a pharmacy run by Teodozjusz Nowiński. Encouraged by Nowinski, she began studying at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

in 1938, hoping to earn a degree in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

. After completing the first year, she was back in Łuków when war broke out. She joined the

Union of Armed Struggle Związek Walki Zbrojnej ( abbreviation: ''ZWZ''; Union of Armed Struggle;Thus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. also translated as ''Union for Armed Struggle'', ''Association of Armed Strug ...

resistance movement, helping to distribute illegal news articles. The Gestapo arrested her on 28 March 1941 and sent her to

Lublin Castle The Lublin Castle ( pl, Zamek Lubelski) is a medieval castle in Lublin, Poland, adjacent to the Old Town district and close to the city center. It is one of the oldest preserved royal residencies in Poland, initially established by High Duke Casimi ...

where she was tortured in the hope she would reveal names. On 21 September 1941, she was deported to Ravensbrück where in November 1942, together with nine other women, she was subjected to medical experiments designed to investigate the effects of sulphonamide drugs on wounds. Incisions were made on her leg which was infected with bacteria, dirt and glass splinters. She not only suffered a high fever and great pain, an incision in her leg caused muscle atrophy and unconsciousness for an extended period. She escaped death as she was hidden by other prisoners under the floorboards until the remaining prisoners were released by the allies. At the end of the war, Dzido returned home on crutches to find that her mother had been killed by bombing. Nowinski was murdered in the

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 ...

. She returned to Warsaw where she completed her studies. Dzido was a witness for the prosecution at the

doctors' trial The Doctors' Trial (officially ''United States of America v. Karl Brandt, et al.'') was the first of 12 trials for war crimes of high-ranking German officials and industrialists that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone ...

in Nuremberg which started in November 1946. She graduated as a pharmacist and worked at the University of Warsaw. After completing her studies, Dzido worked for a pharmaceutical company in Warsaw. In 1951, she married Jósef Hass, a Polish army officer. They had two children. She died in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

on 10 December 1985.

References

External links

After Hitler’s pal died, Nazis recreated his injuries in a sick experiment
article from the ''New York Post'' by Mackenzie Dawson, 8 May 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dzido, Jadwiga 1918 births 1985 deaths People from Sokółka County People from Łuków Home Army members Polish pharmacists Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors Women pharmacists