Dr. Eugene Lazowski saved 8,000 lives during World War II by faking a typhus epidemic, exploiting Nazi fears of contagious disease to protect his community from deportation and death.

The Incredible Story of Dr. Eugene Lazowski

During the Nazi occupation of Poland in World War II, Dr. Eugene Lazowski, a Polish physician, devised one of the most brilliant and courageous acts of medical deception in history. Alongside his colleague Dr. Stanisław Matulewicz, Lazowski created a fake typhus epidemic that ultimately saved around 8,000 people from being sent to concentration camps.

How the Fake Epidemic Worked

Typhus was a deadly disease feared by the Nazis, who associated it with poor hygiene and Jewish populations. The German army would quarantine or avoid areas with confirmed outbreaks to prevent the spread among their troops.

Dr. Matulewicz discovered that injecting healthy individuals with dead typhus bacteria would cause them to test positive on the Nazi-administered blood tests—without actually making them sick. Lazowski used this method to create the illusion of a widespread epidemic in the town of Rozwadów and surrounding villages.

By sending hundreds of false-positive test results to German authorities, Lazowski convinced them that the area was unsafe. The Nazis declared the region under quarantine and ceased deportations, effectively sparing thousands of lives.

Risks and Legacy

This act of defiance was incredibly dangerous. If discovered, Lazowski and Matulewicz would have faced execution. Yet their plan worked for nearly three years, until the end of the war.

After the war, Lazowski emigrated to the United States, where he continued practicing medicine and teaching. He passed away in 2006, but his legacy lives on as a symbol of courage, ingenuity, and compassion under tyranny.

Added Reflection

Dr. Lazowski’s story is more than a tale of wartime heroism—it’s a reminder of how science and empathy can be wielded as tools of resistance. His quiet rebellion didn’t involve weapons or armies, but test tubes and a deep commitment to human life.

In a world where moral choices are often blurred by fear, Lazowski chose to act. And because of that choice, thousands of families were spared unimaginable suffering.