Double victory - the role of medical services in the period of the Polish-Bolshevik War in 1919-1921.

The Polish-Bolshevik War took place between Poland and Soviet Russia, in the years 1919-1921. In addition to military threats, a great problem was the threat posed by various epidemics in Russia. The mass escape of people of Polish origin from Bolshevik Russia to the newly reborn Poland posed a real threat to the biological existence of the nation. The steps taken by the Polish authorities at that time were astonishing in their effectiveness - the Chief Extraordinary Commissioner for Combating Epidemics was appointed, giving him almost unlimited powers comparable to an army commander on a war front. This made it possible to establish sanitary posts along the eastern border, which exercised epidemiological control over repatriates to the interior of the country. A network of mobile infectious disease hospitals, bathhouses, and disinfection points was organized. Mandatory immunizations were introduced. Biological threats were effectively controlled.