Wanda Wiktoria Półtawska (; , 2 November 192124 October 2023) was a Polish physician, author,

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivor and pro-life activist.

Biography

Wanda Wiktoria Półtawska was born in

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, Poland on 2 November 1921. During World War II, she was interred at

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...

, just north of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, having been arrested in February 1941 and charged with assisting the Polish resistance movement. She was used as a human guinea pig and became the subject of various medical experiments. She spent four years in the camp and afterwards wrote an account of her experiences, ''And I Am Afraid of My Dreams''. In 1947 she married philosopher Andrzej Półtawski and had four children. Her memoir of the life and conditions for the women held in the camp has provided material for other books such as ''Ravensbrück: The Cell Building'' by Insa Eschebach. She had decided during her incarceration that if she survived she would become a doctor. She completed her medical studies at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

in 1951 and obtained her doctorate in psychiatry in 1964. She conducted research on the so-called "

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

children", people who had endured the concentration camps as children. In 1967, she organized the establishment of the Institute of Family Theology at the

Pontifical Academy of Theology The Pontifical Academy of Theology () is a learned society founded in 1718, and is a Pontifical Academy. It is situated at Via della Conciliazione, Vatican City, Rome. History The Pontifical Academy of Theology was founded by Clement XI in 171 ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and managed it for 33 years. Between 1981 and 1984, she was a lecturer at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

in Rome. After her imprisonment, Półtawska developed a close friendship with

Karol Wojtyła Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. In his youth, Wojtyła dabbled in stage acting. H ...

during his priesthood, and remained friends with him as

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

until his death in 2005. In 2009, Półtawska published five decades of private correspondence with Pope John Paul II, to some controversy.

Religion and statement of faith

Półtawska was a staunch Roman Catholic, and collaborated with her compatriot Pope John Paul II, influencing him on such topics as contraception and sexuality. When, in 1962, Półtawska was ill with cancer and told she had only 18 months to live, the monk

Padre Pio Pio of Pietrelcina (born Francesco Forgione; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), widely known as , , was an Italian Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, celebrated on 23 Septembe ...

was asked by the future Pope, then Bishop Wojtyła, to pray for Półtawska. After this, her cancerous growth allegedly disappeared and she no longer needed an operation to remove it. This was one of the miracles that led the Pope to

canonise Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...

Padre Pio in 2002. Półtawska authored a document titled the ''Declaration of faith of catholic physicians and medicine students with respect to human sexuality and reproduction'' which is a statement of faith and dogma, and among other things condemns

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

, and

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

. The document was signed by close to 4,000 people including physicians, nurses, medicine students, and became the subject of heated political and media debate on the influence of religion on medical practice.

Death

Wanda Półtawska died in Kraków on 24 October 2023, shortly before her 102nd birthday.

References

External links

Wanda Poltawska: John Paul IIs best friend
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poltawska, Wanda 1921 births 2023 deaths Polish women psychiatrists Polish psychiatrists Home Army members Writers from Lublin Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Jagiellonian University alumni Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors Polish women in World War II resistance Polish Roman Catholics Polish women centenarians Academic staff of the Pontifical Lateran University Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Polish Holocaust survivors Polish anti-abortion activists 20th-century Polish women physicians 20th-century Polish physicians