Rothschild Hospital is a hospital in the

12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...

, operated by the

Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris Assistance is an act of helping behavior. Assistance may also refer to: Types of help * Aid, in international relations, a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another * Assistance dog, a dog trained to aid or assist a person ...

. Initially built to serve the Jewish community of East Paris, it specializes in Geriatrics,

Physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

and

Rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

as well as several different aspects of

Dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

, notably Periodontology and Dental implants.

History

In the middle of the 19th century,

James de Rothschild James de Rothschild may refer to: * James de Rothschild (politician) (1878–1957), French-born British politician and philanthropist * James Mayer de Rothschild James Mayer de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (born Jakob Mayer Rothschild; 15 M ...

founded a hospital at 76 rue de Picpus which included a

Hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

for the elderly. The hospital opened on 25 May 1852 and was initially opened to treat and welcome Jewish patients. On the initiative of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the hospital received supplementary funds to build a new building on Rue Picpus. The building was completely reconstructed by architect Lucien Bechmann (1880–1968) between 1912 and 1914. The new Rothschild Hospital, situated on Rue Santerre opened its doors in 1914, a few meters from the former hospital, which was turned into a home for the elderly. Declared a military auxiliary hospital during the

First world war 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 ...

, it received wounded from the front and civilian victims regardless of their religious background. On 15 June 1918, the hospital was hit during a raid by German air forces. At the end of the war, the hospital returned to its role as a hospital for Jewish patients. During the German occupation of France in World War II, it was placed under the control of Nazi occupying forces and used as a detention center. The hospital was called a "mousetrap": Jewish women who gave birth at the hospital would be required to register and surrender their children to 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 ...

immediately after birth. A resistance network was organized with the help of medical personnel in the hospital. Many children were declared stillborn to prevent the Nazis of being aware of their existence.

Rothschild as a Public Hospital

On 1 January 1954, after forty years of private management, the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

donated the hospital to the Paris public hospital system for the symbolic cost of one Franc. Since then, the hospital building has been modified a number of times, with older sections being replaced with more modern buildings. Between 2009 and 2011, new buildings were added that are accessible from the main entrance at Rue Santerre. Their specialty also shifted to

Gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The fie ...

and

From its website, the hospital describes itself as: In 2013, an unused wing of the hospital served as the filming location for the film ''

Hippocrate ''Hippocrate'' (also known as ''Hippocrates'' and ''Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor'') is a 2014 French drama film directed by Thomas Lilti. It was screened as part of the International Critics' Week section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival ...

'' by

Thomas Lilti Thomas Lilti (born 30 May 1976) is a French family doctor, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his three movies series about the medical field: “Hippocrate” (Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor) in 2014, “Médecin de Cam ...

. The movie presents the difficult situation facing public hospitals in France and the problems their personnel face.Yannick Vely
« Rendre hommage aux médecins étrangers »
'' Paris Match'', 4 septembre 2014.

Notable staff

Robert Debré Robert Debré (7 December 1882 – 29 April 1978) was a French physician (pediatrician) at Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris. The largest pediatric hospital in Paris, l'Hôpital Robert-Debré - located in the North-East part of Paris (19 ...

, member of the medical council, 1937 * Arnold Netter, Professor and Gynecologist * * Madame Georges Getting, founder of the hospital social services division in 1930,.,

Georges Duhamel Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a serie ...

* René Wolfomm and Jean Dry, allergists, 1970–1980 *

Léon Zadoc-Kahn Léon Zadoc-Kahn (2 September 1870 - 23 November 1943) was a French medical doctor, the Chief Medical Officer of the Rothschild Hospital, Paris, treasurer of the Curie Foundation and the Chair of the Central Committee of Keren haYesod, France. Du ...

, son of Chief Rabbi of France Zadoc Kahn, Chief Physician of the hospital, president of the central committee of Keren Hayessod France. Deported to

Auschwitz 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 ...

with his wife Suzanne Zadoc-Kahn, where they were killed when they were killed upon arrival on 23 November 1943.

Transit access

The hospital is accessible by Paris Métro Line 6 at '' Bel Air ''and '' Daumesnil/Felix Éboué'' stations, as well as on Paris Métro Line 8 at ''Daumesnil''. By bus, the hospital is close to several RATP bus lines, including routes .

Notes and references

Bibliography

* .
Historique de l'hôpital Rothschild
Archives de l'AP-HP

Documentary

* ''Les Enfants juifs sauvés de l'hôpital Rothschild'', 2017.

External links

Page de présentation de l'hôpital sur le site officiel de l'AP-HP

Archives sur l'hôpital Rothschild, conservées par les Archives de l'AP-HP
{{Authority control Holocaust commemoration Rothschild family 12th arrondissement of Paris Hospitals in Paris Hospitals established in 1852 Jewish medical organizations