Lewinsky's parents, Susi and George Lewinsky, were
German Jews who left
Germany in the 1920s, and settled in
El Salvador with the help of Consul
José Castellanos Contreras. His mother was from
Hamburg. During his childhood, Lewinsky was interested in photography, but after the family moved to the
United States in 1957 when he was 14, he turned to medicine. His interest in photography renewed in 1987, when he began using photographs in his radiology practice and going to photography workshops. In 1976, he joined the
Sinai Temple. Lewinsky attended the
University of California, Berkeley, obtaining a Bachelor of Science in biology. He next attended the
University of Oregon for a
Master of Science in biology in 1965. Finally, he received his medical degree in 1969 at the
University of California, Irvine. His medical
internship was at the
Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. Then he spent two years in the army as Chief of Radiation Therapy Services at the
Letterman Army Hospital, for which he was awarded a
Commendation Medal. After his schooling and training was complete, he began working in 1977 at the Western Tumor Medical Group as a junior assistant. == Medical career ==