Dr Michał Lityński

Dr Michał Lityński, a well-known and respected internist, died in Warsaw on 5 March 1989. He was one of the members of the resistance group working in the Ujazdowski Hospital during World War II. His special achievements include treating and saving the lives of many other resistance fighters. For instance, he sheltered soldiers of the Polish underground army and Jews in the basement of the hospital building in which he worked.

After the War, he published several well-received research papers, including his own clinical observations concerning primary aldosteronism. This is why Lityński is associated in the history of medicine with the syndrome he was the first to study, usually referred to as Conn’s syndrome¹ (Hartwig). Dr Michał Lityński is one of the few Polish physicians who have been honoured in this way.

Dr Michał Lityński. Source: Przegląd Lekarski – Oświęcim, 1990.. Click the image to enlarge.

Michał Lityński, son of Ludwik Lityński, was born on 14 June 1906 in Łódź. He began his medical studies at the University of Warsaw in 1925 as a CWSan² officer cadet. His name is on the graduation list of twenty-eight students who enrolled in CWSan in 1925. The list is given on page 425 of Bolesław Markowski’s book Podchorążowie z Ujazdowa³ Page 424 shows a photo of the entire group with their supervisors and students of pharmacy and dentistry.

Michał Lityński received the degree of Doctor Medicinae Universae⁴ from the University of Warsaw on 4 July 1931. His graduation certificate bears the signatures of Profs. Mieczysław Michałowicz, Rector⁵ of the University, Antoni Leśniowski, Dean of the Medical Faculty, and Zygmunt Radliński, Lityński’s supervisor.

Second Lieutenant Lityński completed his internship from November 1931 to November 1932 in one of the hospitals run by CWSan. He was a lieutenant when he started work as a physician in SPArt⁶ in Toruń and held the post until March 1936. Having been promoted to captain, he was appointed chief physician of the internal ward at the CWSan hospital in Warsaw.

On 1 September 1939 Lityński started a duty assignment with the Nowogródek Cavalry Brigade, which was commanded at the time by Gen. Władysław Anders⁷ and from 12 September by Col. Kazimierz Żelisławski,⁸ but actually, he was the commanding officer of a field hospital in Garwolin until 15 November 1939. When he returned to his previous job as chief physician of the internal ward at the CWSan hospital in Warsaw, it was renamed the Ujazdowski Hospital. The change was suggested by Col. Teofil Kucharski,⁹ the hospital’s commander, to hide its associations with its previous status as a training military hospital.¹⁰ At any rate, for years the inhabitants of Warsaw had referred to this hospital as “Szpital Ujazdowski.”

As an internist, Dr Lityński had been associated with the Ujazdowski Hospital for a long time. From 1936 he had worked there as a military physician in the rank of captain, so during the War we continued to address him “Captain,” just as we did, using military ranks when talking to other Polish Army physicians. Capt. Michał Lityński (noms de guerre Michał and Grzymała) was chief internist for Rola, the sanitary service of the Kedyw,¹¹ under the command of Maj. Cyprian Sadowski¹² (nom de guerre Skiba), who was my supervisor too. Lityński held Sadowski in high esteem and always presented him as a role model to other medical professionals (Lityński, 1980).

One of Dr Lityński’s greatest achievements in his resistance work was the conversion of the basement of the Ujazdowski Hospital into a hideout for Home Army¹³ soldiers. Lityński turned it into a refuge where they could stay after their military operations and receive any treatment that was necessary. The three rooms he arranged could sleep nine people. They were situated in the same wing as our ward VI E. Apart from the resistance soldiers, there were other illicit residents in the basement—Jews who had managed to get away from the ghetto or to escape while working under German supervision outside the ghetto. On 1 July 1986, Dr Lityński was awarded the Yad Vashem certificate and medal of the Righteous among Nations for sheltering and providing for Jewish escapees, and risking his own life in the process.

Another resistance activity, which was difficult to perform but extremely important, was the provision of new documents and identities to persons (some of them Jewish) on the German wanted list and therefore in hiding. They received false birth certificates, sometimes with new names. Dr Lityński was in the possession of blank forms that had been stamped by a Lutheran parish and could instantly produce such a certificate whenever the need arose. They had been signed and given to him by Feliks Teodor Gloeh,¹⁴ Colonel of the Polish Army and its chief Lutheran chaplain. Within four years, Dr Lityński issued about 200 of these certificates (Lityński, 1974).

It was common wartime practice for internal medicine wards to shelter resistance soldiers wounded in combat and illicitly operated. Sometimes it was easier to hide them in our ward VI E than in surgical wards, which were under strict surveillance and whose medical staff were obliged straightaway to report any patients hospitalised with gunshot wounds.

Some incidents involved a high risk of exposure. For instance, Dr Lityński was in danger due to the behaviour of the fiancée of a young Kedyw combatant. The girl learned that he had been injured in action, but could not find him in the surgical ward. When she finally found her hero in the internal ward, she greeted him all too enthusiastically and handed him an armful of roses. The soldier had sustained a gunshot wound in the arm, but the bone was not broken. He was wounded on 31 August 1943 when his unit set fire to the fuel and propellant warehouses in the Wola district of Warsaw (Lityński, 1974). Of course, the hospital staff hurried to remove the flowers and relocate the patient to the basement.

It was possible to keep resistance work in ward VI E of the Ujazdowski Hospital clandestine thanks to the joint effort of many members of the staff, mainly the doctors and nurses. Dr Lityński was rightfully treated as their leading authority, as I observed on an everyday basis.

During the 1944 Warsaw Uprising,¹⁵ Cpt. Lityński was head of three medical aid points for civilians, and also worked in the district of Śródmieście, within Region IV of the Home Army. His superior was Lt.-Col. Stanisław Steczkowski,¹⁶ nom de guerre Zagończyk. After the Uprising had been suppressed, Dr Lityński joined the resistance units south-west of Warsaw, operating in the neighbourhood of Żyrardów and Skierniewice (Puszcza Mariańska, Olszanka, and Jaktorów).

After the liberation,¹⁷ on 29 January 1945 Dr Lityński reported at the local recruiting board in Skierniewice. From 3 March 1943 he was employed as a company physician by the Gdańsk branch of PKP,¹⁸ the Polish national railway company, and from the autumn of 1943 he had a job with the Health Office of the Ministry of Communications.¹⁹ Later, he worked in the PKP clinic in Warsaw until 28 February 1951, when on the grounds of a MON²⁰ decision, he was sent to the reserve forces. On 26 September 1984 he was promoted to the rank of major.

As I have said before, Dr Lityński published well-received research papers. One of his best known studies concerns hypertension caused by tumours in the adrenal cortex.²¹ It was published in the Polish medical weekly Polski Tygodnik Lekarski in 1953. Lityński offered an accurate and insightful description of symptoms he observed in two patients with adrenal cortex tumours and suffering from hypertension. He noted a correlation between the presenting symptoms and overproduction of hormones by the tumorous glands. Lityński’s paper was published two years ahead of the article generally considered the first scientific description of primary hyperaldosteronism, which was authored by Jerome W. Conn.²² This fact is mentioned by Profs. Włodzimierz Januszewicz and Marek Sznajderman in their handbook on hypertension.²³

Research on primary aldosteronism is strictly connected with the work of Dr Michał Lityński, which is why the syndrome is sometimes referred to as the Lityński-Conn syndrome. The first Polish description of a case was authored by Prof. Włodzimierz Brühl,²⁴ who worked in Prof. Walenty Hartwig’s²⁵ clinic. This information comes from the handbook on internal diseases edited by Prof. Franciszek Kokot (Hartwig).

Other papers by Lityński alongside his work on adrenal tumours deserve a mention. For instance, he published a paper on the advantages of comparing a patient’s duodenal content with the X-ray of his gallbladder in the pre-operative and operative diagnosis of cholelithiasis;²⁶ on amyloidosis (1955); ²⁷ and, with Małgorzata Bulska, on acute myeloid leukaemia in the postpartum period.²⁸ Lityński’s other articles address a) the effects of sulphanil-n-butyl urea on tubercular patients with comorbid diabetes (1957, published in Polski Tygodnik Lekarski);²⁹ b) the glucose tolerance test for the indication of sulphonylurea treatment for diabetes (1958, published in Polski Tygodnik Lekarski). He co-authored an article with Anna Altman on the hyperacidity of the gastric stump and its possible correlation with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (1968,published in Polski Tygodnik Lekarski).³⁰ Dr Lityński presented interesting research data in other publications, such as a) his article on the treatment of fat embolism³¹ (1967, published inPolski Tygodnik Lekarski); and b) three studies on determining phospholipids in salted-out proteins (1963, published in Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej).

Przegląd Lekarski – Oświęcim, which publishes articles on medical problems related to the history of the Second World War and the German occupation of Poland, has presented two long articles by Dr Lityński, both discussing the Ujazdowski Hospital. The 1974 article³² is on its internal ward and provides comprehensive information about its structure and staff (8). The 1986 publication³³ describes the wartime difficulties faced by this huge establishment, especially those connected with food shortages (Lityński, 1986). That was the backdrop to Lityński’s biography of Capt. Antoni Wolf, our dedicated quartermaster, who considered the provision of victuals for our patients his duty as a loyal Polish citizen and patriot, and paid a high price for his commitment to this idea. On 18 December 1942 he was arrested by the Gestapo, and held first in the Gestapo headquarters on aleja Szucha in Warsaw, later in the Pawiak jail, and finally in several concentration camps. In Majdanek he witnessed the massacre of over 18 thousand Jews. Subsequently he was deported to Gross-Rosen with its infamous stone quarries, Sachsenhausen, and Oranienburg.

Dr Lityński wrote an extensive text commemorating Dr Szczepan Wacek, who was a physician, a soldier, and a Polish patriot (Lityński, 1980). He presented Dr Wacek as an outstanding oculist and head of the outpatient clinic at the Ujazdowski Hospital, who supervised the staff of many different specialities. This clinic earned a reputation not only for its first-rate medical consultancy—its medical board issued disability certificates in Polish and German to war veterans—but also, even more importantly, it fabricated birth certificates and other counterfeit documents that saved many lives. Dr Wacek’s office often served as a venue for Kedyw meetings. It was a place where couriers could meet their commanders, for instance Col. Jan Mazurkiewicz (nom de guerre Radosław). Dr Lityński was a frequent visitor of the outpatient clinic, as he sat on the hospital’s medical board.

As a member of the reserve forces, Dr Lityński worked in the Wolski Hospital³⁴as a senior assistant in the internal ward of the Tuberculosis Institute.³⁵ In 1955-1956 he was head of the internal ward and diabetes ward in the Otwock Tuberculosis Sanatoriums.³⁶ From 1956 to1958 he was an adjunct in Internal Diseases Department III of the Centre for Continuing Medical Education.³⁷ In 1958-1972 he was head of the internal ward in the Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery Hospital.³⁸ Subsequently, almost until the end of his life, he was employed as a consultant for internal medicine in various outpatient health service institutions. He supervised over thirty physicians preparing to become first or second degree specialists in internal medicine.

In 1940-1944 Dr Michał Lityński was my immediate supervisor when I worked in ward VI E of the Ujazdowski Hospital. I am very grateful to him for monitoring my work and giving me invaluable advice when I became a more experienced practitioner. He sent many of his private patients to me for injections or other minor procedures, so that I could put aside some money to buy books, especially medical ones, in order to continue my education (Marcinkowski, 1964, 1977, and 1988). Dr Lityński and his achievements are cited in many historical studies and memoirs.

His expertise made him a highly esteemed person and he was often asked for a consultation both when he worked in the Ujazdowski Hospital and afterwards. He was truly dedicated to his patients and anyone in need of care. At the same time he was unassuming, which is a typical trait in outstanding individuals. I had many occasions to see that for myself during my employment in the Ujazdowski Hospital and after the War, whenever I visited Lityński in Warsaw.

The press obituaries (e.g. the ZBoWiD³⁹ obituary) stressed his achievements, humanitarian attitude, organisational skills, professionalism, and dedication to those in need of assistance, as well as the fact that he was a long-standing supporter of war veterans and survivors of Nazi German concentration camps.

He received the following orders and decorations: the Cross of Valour,⁴⁰ the Warsaw Uprising Cross,⁴¹ the Home Army Cross,⁴² the Knight’s and the Officer’s Cross of Polonia Restituta.⁴³ Dr Lityński was laid to rest in the Bródnowski Cemetery in Warsaw.

***

Translated from original article: Marcinkowski, T., “Dr Michał Lityński.” Przegląd Lekarski – Oświęcim, 1990.

1. In Polish the syndrome is known as “zespół Lityńskiego-Conna.”
2. Centrum Wyszkolenia Sanitarnego, a medical school for the Polish Army before the War, established in 1922. CWSan had good working relations with the Medical Faculty of the University of Warsaw and sent its students there to study for a degree in medicine.
3. “Officer cadets of Ujazdów.” The book’s full Polish title is Podchorążowie z Ujazdowa: wspomnienia Szkoły Podchorążych Sanitarnych 1922–1939: w 50-tą rocznicę założenia Szkoły, and it was published in London in 1972 by CWSan graduates for the school’s golden jubilee.
4. Doctor Medicinae Universae was the official title of the degree awarded at the time to graduates of medicine.
5. Rector—title of the head of a Polish university or college.
6. Szkoła Podchorążych Artylerii, an artillery officers’ college.
7. Władysław Anders (1892-1970), Polish politician and brigadier-general. Fought for the restoration of Polish independence during the First World War; in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920; and in the Polish defence campaign of September 1939 against the German and Soviet invaders. Taken prisoner by the Soviets and held in the NKVD’s Lubianka Jail in Moscow. Released in 1941 following the Sikorski-Maisky agreement and appointed commanding officer of the Polish Forces in the Soviet Union, which consisted of Polish volunteers released from Soviet gulags. This army left the Soviet Union and took part in combat, covering a route from Persia, via the Middle East to Italy, where in May 1944 Gen. Anders led his men to the successful capture of Monte Cassino Abbey, opening up the road to Rome for the Allies. Gen. Anders spent the rest of his life in political exile as a prominent member of the Polish émigré community in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Anders
8. Kazimierz Żelisławski (1893-1940), colonel of the Polish cavalry, fought in the Polish defence campaign of September 1939, first against the German and subsequently against the Soviet invasion. Taken prisoner by the Soviets, held in Kozelsk, and murdered by the Soviets in the Katyn Massacre. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazimierz_%C5%BBelis%C5%82awski
9. Teofil Kucharski (1889-1955), colonel and medical officer in the Polish Army and professor of medicine. Awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari for valour in the combat for the restoration of Poland’s independence, 1914-1918.
10. The motive for the name change was to prevent the German occupying authorities from closing down the hospital on suspicion that it could be a potential focus of resistance.^a
11. Kedyw—acronym for Kierownictwo Dywersji Komendy Głównej Armii Krajowej, the central unit in the Home Army Polish resistance movement organising and commanding diversion and sabotage operations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedyw
12. Cyprian Sadowski (1902-1985), physician and Polish Army major. Fought in the Polish defence campaign against the German invasion in September 1939. Thereafter worked for the rest of the War in the Ujazdowski Hospital and in the medical service of the Polish underground resistance movement. Twice awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari for valour. https://www.1944.pl/powstancze-biogramy/cyprian-sadowski,39079.html
13. Armia Krajowa (AK, the Home Army) was the largest combat resistance organisation in occupied Europe during the Second World War.
14. Feliks Teodor Gloeh (1885-1960), Lutheran chief chaplain in the Polish Army; active in the resistance movement during the Second World War. Posthumously awarded the Yad Vashem Medal and title of Righteous among Nations for helping Jews (1984). https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feliks_Teodor_Gloeh
15. Not to be confused with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April 1943.
16. Stanisław Steczkowski (1897-1980). Colonel of the Polish Army. Fought for the restoration of Polish independence (1918) and in the Polish-Bolshevik War (1919-1920). Combatant in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Steczkowski_(oficer)
17. Soviet troops entered Warsaw on 17 January 1945 to “liberate” it, having spent six months on the right bank of the river, idly watching the Germans crush the Uprising which broke out in left-bank Warsaw.
18. Polskie Koleje Państwowe.
19. Biuro Sanitarne Ministerstwa Komunikacji.
20. Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej, the Polish Ministry of National Defence.
21. Original title: “Nadciśnienie tętnicze wywołane guzami korowo-nadnerczowymi.”
22. Conn’s article was published in 1955 in Transactions of the Association of American Physicians.
23. Nadciśnienie tętnicze, 1989, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Lekarskie PZWL
24. Włodzimierz Brühl (1913–2004), Polish rheumatologist and professor of medicine. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82odzimierz_Br%C3%BChl
25. Walenty Hartwig (1910–1991), Polish internist and endocrinologist, professor of medicine of the University of Warsaw. Worked in the medical service of the Polish resistance forces during the Second World War. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walenty_Hartwig
26. Original title: “O wartości porównawczej badania zawartości dwunastnicy i cholecystografii w przedoperacyjnym i operacyjnym rozpoznawaniu kamicy żółciowej” (1952).
27. Original title: “Skrobiawica (Amyloidosis).”
28. 1957, “Ostra białaczka szpikowa w przebiegu połogu,” Polski Tygodnik Lekarski, pp. 306-310. Title mistranslated as “Acute myeloid leukemia in labor” on PubMed.gov. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13349626/^a
29. Original title: “Wpływ Ni-sulfanilylo-N2a butylokarbamidu na cukrzycę powikłaną gruźlicą.”
30. Original title: “Nadkwaśność i nadsoczność kikuta żołądka – prawdopodobieństwo zespołu Zollingera-Ellisona” https://eurekamag.com/research/043/299/043299145.php^a
31. Original title: “Zatory tłuszczowe i ich leczenie.”
32. Original title: “Oddział Chorób Wewnętrznych Szpitala Ujazdowskiego podczas okupacji hitlerowskiej.”
33. Original title: “Z zagadnień gospodarczych Szpitala Ujazdowskiego. Kpt. Antoni Wolf.”
34. Szpital Wolski, a large hospital in the Wola district of Warsaw.
35. Instytut Gruźliczy.
36. Zespół Sanatoriów Przeciwgruźliczych w Otwocku.
37. Studium Doskonalenia Kadr Lekarskich
38. Szpital Chirurgii Urazowej.
39. ZBoWiD, Związek Bojowników o Wolność i Demokrację (the Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy), the main Polish war veterans’ association under the People’s Republic.
40. Krzyż Walecznych.
41. Warszawski Krzyż Powstańczy.
42. Krzyż Armii Krajowej.
43. Krzyż Kawalerski Orderu Odrodzenia Polski and Krzyż Oficerski Orderu Odrodzenia Polski.

a—notes by Marta Kapera, the translator of the text; remaining notes by Teresa Bałuk-Ulewiczowa, Head Translator for the Medical Review Auschwitz project.

A publication funded in 2020–2021 within the DIALOG Program of the Ministry of Education and Science in Poland.