WOMAN’S WAR WORK

Taranaki Daily News, 27 August 1930, Page 4

WOMAN’S WAR WORK

DOCTOR .WITH THE : FRENCH. FIGHTING TYPHUS- IN POLAND. ' A woman physician, Dr. Violette S. Bergere, who is the proud, possessor of seven foreign decorations awarded for meritorious war service, arrived by the Aorangi at Auckland on Monday from Sydney. ■ She is an honorary colonel iff

the French Army arid’ spent several years during and after the' war fighting the ravages of typhus, dysentery and cholera in war-stricken Poland.

Relating her experiences, Dr. Bergere said she was in Germany when the war broke out. Being of French descent, although American birth, she hurried across the border and joined the French Red Cross, donning military uniform with the rank of major. After the war she met Madame Helena Paderewski, \vife of Ignace Paderewski,- the worldfamed pianist, who was organising medi*cal relief for the Polish Army, then engaged in A new war against the Bolsheviks. ■' ' '

“Madame Padereivski had a: marvellous role at that time,’ ’said Dr. Ber.gere, “She haff toured America gathering funds for the Polish White Cross, the Polish equivalent of the Red Cross, and had induced many representative American women to join the movement. She made a deep impression on the, /arid I feel it is impossible to speak too highly of her enthusiasm, her humanity and her patriotism.” Inspired by Madame Paderewski’s feverish efforts, Dr Bergere joined the group of physicians who were recruited in America for war service in Poland. ‘’Typhus, dysentery and cholera were raging in that country during 1920 and 1921,” she said, “and we were fortunate in being able to obtain the services of practically the same medical unit which performed such wonderful work in combating malaria during the building of the Panama Canal. The unit was under the commahd of Colonel Harry Gilchrist, who worked "with General Gourgas at Panama and who is now chief of the chemical war works of the United States.

“We stayed-in Poland for two'years. I co-operated closely with Mr. Herbert Hoover, then. Food Commissioner hr Poland, and received- from' him- carte blanche to: obtain medical and food supplies. There were very few hospitals in the country, so we-had to establish camps along the railway routes when the great epidemic broke out. They were equipped exactly like small hospitals| each camp dealing expressly with one type of epidemic, and they proved wonderfully efficient. It was our proud boast that when Colonel Gilchrist left Poland so did typhus, but that was achieved only after the death of 400 doc- • tors out of the 4000 engaged in the work.”

In recognition of her wonderful services Dr. Bergere was awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honour, the Croix de Guerre, the coveted Polish Virtute Milltaire, the Polish Cross of Bravery and many war medals. Dr,. Bergere was born in Texas and studied pathological psychology in Europe, graduating, as a doctor of medicine at Montpellier, France, in 1917. She recalled vividly her journey from Paris to Poland with Paderewski in July, 1919, after the Treaty of Versailles, when she was appointed private physician to the famous pianist - arid -his wife. “Wb were four days on, the..train,”: she said, “and it was one long triumphal.:progress. We were accompanied- by scores of famous people and thousands greeted our train at every stopping place. When we got to Silesia the peojde were, on, tip-toe with expectation, wondering whether they ’fire to belong to. Poland or Germany, and Paderewski had- to make speeches every few miles.” . -Since her return from Poland Dr. Bergere has been travelling through Europe, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, India and Siam. She is now engaged writing a book on international polities. She hopes to. spend five weeks in New Zealand before proceeding to America.