A restaurant owner in Valjevu, western Serbia, decided to offer free meals to his Polish customers. He was inspired by the history of Polish doctor Ludwik Hirszfeld, who fought the typhus epidemic in his country during World War I, as reported by N1 TV on Saturday.
“It all started around 2020 when Paweł Wysoczański, a Polish director, came to my restaurant to shoot a film about the charitable actions of Polish doctors towards the Serbian people,” Đorđe Momić, said in an interview with the weekly magazine NIN.
“That was the first time I heard about Dr. Hirszfeld and his work for my people. The whole story really touched me, so I decided to somehow repay him,” he explained.
“A person should have a mission. I am 69 years old. I believe that we should all… act humanely. If a Polish doctor could come to help the Serbs in the face of an epidemic, then I want it to be known. For me, it is extremely important; I like to help however I can. Advertisement is not important to me; being human is,” Momić emphasized, commenting on the sudden increase in his recognition.
In March, a delegation from the Polish embassy in Serbia visited the restaurant. “Excellent coffee, delicious pizza, wonderful conversation with Mr. Đorđe Momić, a proud Valjevo, and when we asked the waiter for the bill, we got an answer - Hirsfeld paid for it 100 years ago!,” the embassy wrote on Facebook.
Enthusiastic response
“That was the first time I heard about Dr. Hirszfeld and his work for my people. The whole story really touched me, so I decided to somehow repay him,” he explained.
“A person should have a mission. I am 69 years old. I believe that we should all… act humanely. If a Polish doctor could come to help the Serbs in the face of an epidemic, then I want it to be known. For me, it is extremely important; I like to help however I can. Advertisement is not important to me; being human is,” Momić emphasized, commenting on the sudden increase in his recognition.
In March, a delegation from the Polish embassy in Serbia visited the restaurant. “Excellent coffee, delicious pizza, wonderful conversation with Mr. Đorđe Momić, a proud Valjevo, and when we asked the waiter for the bill, we got an answer - Hirsfeld paid for it 100 years ago!,” the embassy wrote on Facebook.
Enthusiastic response
The entrepreneur’s stance has not gone unnoticed in Poland. On one website for “discount lovers” from all over the country, pepper.pl, the idea has already received such positive feedback that it was voted the best initiative of the month.
However, some commentators have expressed concern that such increased interest in this local business could turn against the owner, who, under an influx of tourists, will have to abandon this extraordinarily generous and unique idea.
However, some commentators have expressed concern that such increased interest in this local business could turn against the owner, who, under an influx of tourists, will have to abandon this extraordinarily generous and unique idea.
Ludwik Hirszfeld
In order to assist in treating soldiers and civilians during World War I, Polish physician Ludwik Hirszfeld and his wife Hanna traveled to Valjevu. He became aware of the typhus outbreak in Serbia while working at the University of Zurich, and he volunteered to serve as a physician with the Serbian army in the early months of 1915.
At his own request, he went to the epicenter of the epidemic. Apart from ailing patients, he also gave lectures on typhus and other illnesses.
Thanks to Hirszfeld’s work, the Serbian army was one of the first to implement blood transfusion on a larger scale, which was a pioneering method at the time.
In 1919, the doctor returned to Poland to become the director of the Institute of Sera and Vaccines Research in Warsaw the following year. When Germany began its occupation of Poland in 1939, Hirszfeld had to resign from his position because of his Jewish origin.
Two years later, Hanna, Ludwik, and their daughter Maria ended up in the Jewish ghetto. Upon learning of this, the authorities in Belgrade granted honorary citizenship of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to Dr. Hirszfeld, which allowed Ivo Andrić - the ambassador of Yugoslavia in Berlin and later the Nobel Prize laureate in literature - to demand the release of the Hirszfeld family.
Hirszfeld eventually managed to obtain false documents, with which he escaped with his family from the ghetto. Shortly after this escape, Ludwik’s daughter died of tuberculosis. He died in 1954 in Wrocław of a heart attack.
In order to assist in treating soldiers and civilians during World War I, Polish physician Ludwik Hirszfeld and his wife Hanna traveled to Valjevu. He became aware of the typhus outbreak in Serbia while working at the University of Zurich, and he volunteered to serve as a physician with the Serbian army in the early months of 1915.
At his own request, he went to the epicenter of the epidemic. Apart from ailing patients, he also gave lectures on typhus and other illnesses.
Thanks to Hirszfeld’s work, the Serbian army was one of the first to implement blood transfusion on a larger scale, which was a pioneering method at the time.
In 1919, the doctor returned to Poland to become the director of the Institute of Sera and Vaccines Research in Warsaw the following year. When Germany began its occupation of Poland in 1939, Hirszfeld had to resign from his position because of his Jewish origin.
Two years later, Hanna, Ludwik, and their daughter Maria ended up in the Jewish ghetto. Upon learning of this, the authorities in Belgrade granted honorary citizenship of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to Dr. Hirszfeld, which allowed Ivo Andrić - the ambassador of Yugoslavia in Berlin and later the Nobel Prize laureate in literature - to demand the release of the Hirszfeld family.
Hirszfeld eventually managed to obtain false documents, with which he escaped with his family from the ghetto. Shortly after this escape, Ludwik’s daughter died of tuberculosis. He died in 1954 in Wrocław of a heart attack.
Source: PAP, TVP World
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