Jakub Wygodzki (18561941; , ) was a Polish–Lithuanian Jewish politician,

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

activist and a medical doctor. He was one of the most prominent Jewish activists in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(Vilna, Wilno). Educated as a doctor in Russia and Western Europe, he established his gynecology and pediatric practice in 1884. In 1905, he was one of the founding members of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadets) in Vilnius Region. In 1918, he was co-opted to the

Council of Lithuania In the history of Lithuania, the Council of Lithuania (; ; ), after July 11, 1918, the State Council of Lithuania () was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between 18 and 23 September 1917. The twenty men who composed the c ...

and briefly served as the first Lithuanian Minister for Jewish Affairs. After Vilnius was captured by Poland, Wygodzki was elected to the Polish parliament (

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

) in 1922 and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. He died in the Lukiškės Prison during the first months of the German occupation of Lithuania during World War II.

Biography

Early life and education

Wygodzki was born to a family of Hasidic Jews. His family moved to

(Vilna, Wilno) in 1860 where his father was a merchant, supplying the local garrison of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

with clothes. He was the eldest of seven brothers and received traditional Jewish education at a cheder. He studied at Marijampolė Gymnasium and Imperial Military Medical Academy in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He was arrested for anti-Tsarist activities and involvement with a revolutionary group. Later he studied medicine in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

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. In 1884, he returned to Vilnius and established his practice as gynecologist and pediatrician. He published medical articles in Russian and German journals.

Activist in Vilnius

He joined Jewish cultural and political life. He was one of the first

activist in Vilnius and chaired their organization. In 1905, during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, he was one of the founding members of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadets) in Vilnius Region. In 1908, he established and chaired the Union of Jewish Doctors. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was a member of a Jewish relief committee and established daily Yiddish newspaper '' Flugblat''. For anti-German protests, he was arrested by the German police in March 1917 and imprisoned in the

Czersk Czersk (; ; formerly , (1942-5): ) is a town in northern Poland in Chojnice County, Pomeranian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 9,844. Today the center of the city of Czersk in is the Village Square. The infrastructu ...

POW camp until April 1918. He supported Lithuanian independence and, together with Nachmanas Rachmilevičius and Simon Rosenbaum, was co-opted to the

on December 11, 1918. The same day he became the first Lithuanian Minister for Jewish Affairs. He held the post briefly as he did not evacuate from Vilnius with the rest of the government at the start of the Lithuanian–Soviet War. He was briefly imprisoned by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

Second Polish Republic

In 1919, when Poland captured Vilnius, Wygodzki was chairman of the Jewish community in the city. He opposed the Żeligowski's Mutiny and the

Republic of Central Lithuania The Republic of Central Lithuania (, ), commonly known as the Central Lithuania, and the Middle Lithuania (, , ), was an unrecognized short-lived puppet state of Poland, that existed from 1920 to 1922. It was founded on 12 October 1920, after ...

and urged people to boycott the elections in 1922. Nevertheless, he accepted the situation and became a member of the

Bloc of National Minorities Bloc may refer to: Government and politics * Political bloc, a coalition of political parties * Trade bloc, a type of intergovernmental agreement * Voting bloc, a group of voters voting together * Black bloc, a tactic used by protesters who wear ...

and was elected to the Polish parliament (

) in 1922 and

. In the Sejm, Wygodzki worked to improve Jewish education in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

and

Yiddish language Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

s. He was also a member of the Vilnius Council from 1919 to 1929. After the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

in September 1940, Wygodzki organized relief for the Jewish refugees. In June 1941,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

invaded the Soviet Union and occupied the city. Wygodzki joined the pre-ghetto Judenrat on July 24. He was arrested at the end of August and died in the Lukiškės Prison.

Writings

Wygodzki contributed to the press, publishing his articles in ''Tsayt'', ''Vilner Tog'', '' Haynt'', '' Nasz Przegląd'', and others. He published three books of his memoirs: ''In shturm'' (In the Storm; 1921) on the German occupation during World War I; ''In gehenom'' (In Hell; 1927) on his imprisonment by the Germans; and ''In Sambatyon'' (1931) on his activities in the Sejm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wygodzki, Jakub 1856 births 1941 deaths People from Babruysk Politicians from Vilnius Minister for Jewish Affairs of Lithuania Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy alumni Jewish Lithuanian politicians Jewish Polish politicians Jewish physicians Polish Zionists Politicians who died in the Holocaust Lithuanian Jews who died in the Holocaust Lithuanian Zionists Polish Jews who died in the Holocaust Members of the Council of Lithuania