Natalia Tułasiewicz
Natalia Tułasiewicz (9 April 1906 – 31 March 1945) was a teacher in Poznań, Poland and a leader in the Catholic lay apostolate. A member of the Polish Underground State, she died in the Ravensbrück concentration camp, in a gas chamber. 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 the Third Reich 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 died 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
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.