Natalia Tułasiewicz
Memorial plaque to Natalia Tułasiewicz in Poznań

Natalia Tułasiewicz (9 April 1906 – 31 March 1945) was a Polish teacher in Poznań, Second Polish Republic, and a leader in the Catholic lay apostolate. A member of the Polish Underground State, she was murdered in a gas chamber at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Tułasiewicz was beatified in 1999 as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II.

Biography

Natalia Tułasiewicz was born in Rzeszów on 9 April 1906.[1] She moved with her family to Poznań in 1921, where upon graduating from the Poznań University she worked as a teacher, and was a leader in the lay apostolate.

During the occupation of Poland, her family was among the many Polish families who were dispossessed by the Germans after annexation of Poznań; thrown out of their homes with only a few hours' notice.[1] She was involved in the underground education in Kraków and was a member of the Polish Underground State.[1] In 1943, she volunteered to leave for Germany together with other women who were forced to perform heavy work, to give them spiritual comfort.[1] When the Germans found out about her secret mission, she was arrested, tortured, and condemned to death in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.[1] On Good Friday 1945, she climbed a stool in the barracks and spoke to the prisoners on the passion and resurrection of Jesus. Two days later, on Easter Sunday, 31 March, she was murdered in a gas chamber.[1] The concentration camp was liberated two days later.[1]

Natalia Tułasiewicz is one of the only two lay women among the 108 Martyrs of World War II, beatified on 13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dorota Tułasiewicz, "Nie potrafię nienawidzić nawet tych, którzy nas skrzywdzili" Archived 2012-04-07 at the Wayback Machine (I'm unable to hate even those who wronged us). "45 KB". {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)45 KB , Radio Maryja, 2006-09-03. (in Polish)
  2. ↑ Sylwia Palka, Poprzez ziemię ukochała niebo Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, Miesięcznik Wychowawca, Nr. 06/2007. (in Polish)

Further reading

  • Bł. Natalia Tułasiewicz, Przeciw barbarzynstwu – Listy, Dzienniki, wspomnienia. Wydawnictwo "M", Kraków 2003.
  • Natalia Tułasiewicz, Byc poetka zycia. Zapiski z lat 1938–1943. Wydawnictwo Wydziału Teologicznego UAM, Poznan, 2006.
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