About the Social Committee Commemorating the Character of Stanisława Leszczyńska
The committee was established in 2023. It was established by Dr. Barbara Mazurkiewicz of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Didactics, supervisor of the Ethics SKN, as well as Mariola Sienkiewicz and Agnieszka Ryczek.
The goal of the committee's efforts is to build a monument depicting Stanisława Leszczyńska. The monument is to be erected at the Duchess Anna Mazowiecka Hospital on Karowa Street in Warsaw. The place where the monument will be erected is not accidental - it was in this hospital that Stanisława Leszczyńska studied and earned her professional title as a midwife.
- Polish midwives chose Stanisława Leszczyńska as their patron saint because of her steadfast attitude and the choices she was forced to make during World War II - Dr. Barbara Mazurkiewicz stresses. She adds: - As an inmate of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Stanisława Leszczyńska helped women give birth under inhumane camp conditions. She also showed a great attitude before the war, as well as after it, when, as a midwife, she brought help to poor families, regardless of their ethnicity or nationality. Stanisława Leszczyńska is a worthy role model for future as well as working midwives.
Meeting with the First Lady
The meeting at the Presidential Palace was attended by the initiators of the committee, as well as Ewa Piotrowska, Director of the Duchess. Anna Mazowiecka Clinical Hospital, and Anastasia Więckiewicz, Deputy Director for Economic and Financial Affairs of the hospital, and Anna Dudzińska, Chairwoman of the Warsaw District Chamber of Nurses and Midwives, which is patronizing the project.
During the visit, the figure of Stanisława Leszczyńska as a mother, midwife and prisoner of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was presented. They also discussed the steps the committee has taken to build the monument and further work related to this initiative. The Spouse of the President of the Republic of Poland supported the initiative, stressing that the monument will be an acknowledgement of the role played in the history of Polish midwifery and hospitality.
Photo: Marek Borawski/KPRP