Jakub Karol Parnas
Encyclopedia
Jakub Karol Parnas, also known as Yakov Oskarovich Parnas (January 16, 1884 – January 29, 1949) was a prominent Jewish-Polish
–Soviet biochemist
who contributed to the discovery of the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas
pathway, together with Otto Fritz Meyerhof
and Gustav Georg Embden. He became a Soviet activist after the annexation of Western Ukraine in 1939, but he was murdered during the Stalinist Doctors' Plot
purge
in 1949.
near Drohobych
, at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in the province of Galicia
(now split between Poland and Ukraine), to Jewish parents. He graduated from the Royal Technical College of Charlottenburg
in 1904. From 1920 to 1941, he was head of the Institute of the Medical Chemistry at Lviv University
. He traveled across Europe, collaborating with universities in Cambridge
, Naples
, Strasbourg
, Ghent
and Zurich
. He was a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences
, as well an honorary doctor of Sorbonne University and the University of Athens.
After the Soviet invasion of Poland
and annexation of Western Ukraine
in 1939 by the Soviet Union
, Parnas remained in Lviv
to continue his work in the institute. He also started collaborating with the Soviet authorities by taking on a political role in the communist District Soviet Worker's Delegation. In 1941, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Parnas was evacuated deeper into the USSR and remained there for the rest of his life. Only a few days after his departure Lviv
was occupied by the Nazi Germany
army, who massacred
approximately 45 Lwów professors.
In the Soviet Union, Parnas met Joseph Stalin
, convinced him of his usefulness and shortly thereafter received his own laboratory. He became an Academician
of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR
and a founding member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR.
Despite his achievements and popularity, Parnas was falsely accused of being a spy of the West
and arrested by the KGB
on January 28, 1949. According to KGB's archives, he died during his first interrogation at Lubyanka prison
"from a heart attack
" on January 29, 1949.
metabolism
in muscle
tissue. Together with Władysław Baranowski, he discovered the process of phosphorolysis
. Parnas also made a major contribution to the theoretical analysis of glycolysis
.
Biochemical Societies, which has been held every two years since 1999.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
–Soviet biochemist
Biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
who contributed to the discovery of the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas
Glycolysis
Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+...
pathway, together with Otto Fritz Meyerhof
Otto Fritz Meyerhof
-External links:* *...
and Gustav Georg Embden. He became a Soviet activist after the annexation of Western Ukraine in 1939, but he was murdered during the Stalinist Doctors' Plot
Doctors' plot
The Doctors' plot was the most dramatic anti-Jewish episode in the Soviet Union during Joseph Stalin's regime, involving the "unmasking" of a group of prominent Moscow doctors, predominantly Jews, as conspiratorial assassins of Soviet leaders...
purge
Purge
In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...
in 1949.
Biography
Parnas was born in 1884 in MokrianyMokriany
Mokriany , is a village in Lviv Oblast, Drohobych Raion, Ukraine. Zip code is 82125. It was founded in 1515 and currently has a population of 383.-External links:...
near Drohobych
Drohobych
Drohobych is a city located at the confluence of the Tysmenytsia River and Seret, a tributary of the former, in the Lviv Oblast , in western Ukraine...
, at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in the province of Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...
(now split between Poland and Ukraine), to Jewish parents. He graduated from the Royal Technical College of Charlottenburg
Technical University of Berlin
The Technische Universität Berlin is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. Translating the name into English is discouraged by the university, however paraphrasing as Berlin Institute of Technology is recommended by the university if necessary .The TU Berlin was founded...
in 1904. From 1920 to 1941, he was head of the Institute of the Medical Chemistry at Lviv University
Lviv University
The Lviv University or officially the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine...
. He traveled across Europe, collaborating with universities in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. He was a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Corresponding Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
, as well an honorary doctor of Sorbonne University and the University of Athens.
After the Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II. Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east...
and annexation of Western Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in 1939 by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Parnas remained in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
to continue his work in the institute. He also started collaborating with the Soviet authorities by taking on a political role in the communist District Soviet Worker's Delegation. In 1941, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Parnas was evacuated deeper into the USSR and remained there for the rest of his life. Only a few days after his departure Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
was occupied by the Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
army, who massacred
Massacre of Lwów professors
In July 1941, 25 Polish academics from the city of Lwów, Poland ; now in Ukraine) were killed by Nazi German occupation forces along with their families and guests...
approximately 45 Lwów professors.
In the Soviet Union, Parnas met Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, convinced him of his usefulness and shortly thereafter received his own laboratory. He became an Academician
Academician
The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...
of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
and a founding member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR.
Despite his achievements and popularity, Parnas was falsely accused of being a spy of the West
West
West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
and arrested by the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
on January 28, 1949. According to KGB's archives, he died during his first interrogation at Lubyanka prison
Lubyanka (KGB)
The Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the KGB and affiliated prison on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. It is a large building with a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander V...
"from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
" on January 29, 1949.
Achievements
Parnas's major work was the study of the mechanisms of carbohydrateCarbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
metabolism
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
in muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
tissue. Together with Władysław Baranowski, he discovered the process of phosphorolysis
Phosphorolysis
Phosphorolysis is the cleavage of a compound in which inorganic phosphate is the attacking group. It is analogous to hydrolysis.An example of this is glycogen breakdown by glycogen phosphorylase, which catalyzes attack by inorganic phosphate on the terminal glycosyl residue at the nonreducing end...
. Parnas also made a major contribution to the theoretical analysis of glycolysis
Glycolysis
Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+...
.
Legacy
Parnas is honored by the Polish–Ukrainian Parnas Conference organized by the Polish and UkrainianBiochemical Societies, which has been held every two years since 1999.
Further reading
- Tomasz Cieszyński, O PROFESORZE JAKUBIE PARNASIE NA TLE LWOWA z lat 1938 do 1945 (see bottom of the article for English summary)
- Tadeusz Korzybski, Słownik biologów polskich, Warszawa 1987