Zofia Garlicka: gynecologist and activist for women and motherhood

INTRODUCTION

At the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, the worlds of science, medicine, and education were dominated by men. However, the concept of modern motherhood, the role of women in household management, and the voices of female physicians specializing in pediatrics, gynecology, and obstetrics began to gain prominence. These women were instrumental in disseminating knowledge in these fields of medicine across all social strata.
The greatest contributions to spreading gynecological and obstetric knowledge among women were made by exceptionally dedicated specialists. These included the first Polish woman with a medical degree, the pediatric and women’s health specialist Anna Tomaszewicz-Dobrska (1854-1918); the physician and doctor of medical sciences Zofia Garlicka (1874-1942); the physician Wanda Szczawińska (1866-1955); the pediatric specialist Matylda Biehler (1881-1953); and the first school-employed physician, Justyna Budzińska-Tylicka (1867-1936). Also deserving recognition are the educator and educational activist Aniela Szycówna (1869-1921) and the pedagogue and social activist Iza Moszczeńska (1864-1941) [1].

ZOFIA GARLICKA’S YOUTH

Zofia was born on June 19, 1874, in Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga River. She was the daughter of Feliks Wojtkiewicz and Teofila, née Bogórska. She completed secondary education in Nizhny Novgorod [2]. Due to the restrictions on higher education for women under the partitions of Poland, Polish women had to study abroad. It was not until 1896 that the universities in Lviv and Kraków allowed women to study in medical faculties [3].
In 1895, Zofia left for Geneva to pursue medical studies, and three years later, she moved to Zurich. In 1899, she completed her dissertation titled “Über die Knorpelhaltigen Auswüchse am Halse” (On Cartilaginous Growths of the Neck), earning her a doctorate in medical sciences. During her studies, she became actively involved in the Zurich section of the Union of Polish Socialists Abroad. She later validated her medical degree in Kazan in 1901 [4].
Zofia moved to Kraków to specialize in gynecology and obstetrics at Professor Henryk Jordan’s (1842-1907) clinic. Starting in 1903, she worked at factory hospitals in Raków-Częstochowa and Zawiercie. Four years later, she relocated to Łódź, where she served as a physician at the Scheibler factory [2].
In 1900, Zofia married Stanisław Garlicki, whom she had met in Zurich, in Nizhny Novgorod. The couple had three children: Jadwiga, Wanda, and Zofia. Stanisław was a chemical engineer and a political activist for the Polish Socialist Party. Thanks to his wife’s substantial income, he was able to pursue mathematical studies at foreign universities. Upon returning to Poland, he conducted scientific research and taught at private schools. In 1919, he became a professor at the Warsaw University of Technology and later an associate professor of geometry in the Faculty of Mechanics, serving as both dean and a member of the Academic Senate. Stanisław’s career prompted Zofia to move to Warsaw, where they initially lived at 16 Żurawia Street and later at 8 Topolowa Street (now Aleja Niepodległości 216) [2].

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

After moving to Warsaw, Zofia Garlicka became the head of the gynecological ward at the Sickness Fund hospital. In 1930, she assumed the position of head of the gynecological and obstetric department at the Ujazdowski Hospital. At the same time, she worked as a physician in several institutions, including the Clinic for Indigent Patients, the Second Municipal Health Center, and the Narcyza Żmichowska Gymnasium and High School [2].
Starting in April 1902, Zofia Garlicka, as one of the few female physicians, participated in the clinical assembly of the Warsaw Medical Society, which had been established in December 1820 (women were not admitted to the Society until January 7, 1896). During these meetings, anatomical specimens were examined, patient cases discussed, and scientific papers debated [4].
Dr. Garlicka was a member of the Polish Committee for Cancer Control (PKdZR), founded in 1921 through the efforts of Henryk Barylski (1851-1930), Czesław Jankowski, Stefan Sterling-Okuniewski (1884-1934), and Bronisław Wejnert. The PKdZR engaged in extensive scientific and educational activities related to cancer and worked to improve access to oncological facilities for patients. At the Cancer Control Congress in 1924, plans were proposed for building oncological hospitals and the Radium Institute, whose opening marked a milestone in the history of oncology in Poland [5]. Zofia Garlicka served on the Supervisory Board of the Committee [2].
In 1925, Zofia Garlicka became the president of the Association of Polish Women Physicians, which was affiliated with the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA). The MWIA advocated for gender equality in the medical profession. At the IV MWIA Congress in Edinburgh in 1937, Dr. Garlicka was elected vice-president of the organization for a three-year term. However, due to illness, she was unable to attend the congress in person. Dr. Natalia Zylberlast-Zandowa (1883-ca. 1942) represented her, delivering a speech titled “The Health and Mental Hygiene of Students in Poland” [2]. Figure 1 is a timeline illustrating the most important events in the life of Dr. Zofia Garlicka.

SOCIAL INITIATIVES

At the beginning of the 20^th century, social welfare and family and civil law were insufficient to provide mothers and children with adequate protection. Specialized journals such as Opieka nad Dzieckiem (Care for the Child), Życie Dziecka (The Life of the Child), and later Życie Młodych (The Life of the Young, published in 1937-1945) emerged. Among the editors and authors contributing to these publications were Zofia Garlicka, Maria Grzegorzewska, Józefa Joteyko, Stanisław Kopczyński, Aleksander Mogilnicki, Janusz Korczak, Jan Czesław Babicki, Władysław Szejnach, and Marcel Gromski. Dr. Garlicka likely became the first to clarify the concept of “maternal care” in an article for Opieka nad Dzieckiem in 1923 [6]. She wrote: “[…] maternal care includes care for women during pregnancy and labor, where the mother is the direct object of care, and the fetus benefits indirectly. It also includes care for infants, where the child becomes the direct object, and the mother experiences the benefits indirectly as material relief and moral comfort” [7].
In 1920, Poland legally addressed issues concerning the responsibilities of physicians and sickness funds regarding pregnant women [8]. In 1923, Dr. Garlicka proposed the establishment of Maternity Institutes accessible to all social classes, which would include prenatal clinics, maternity wards, postnatal clinics, and workplace nurseries. Such initiatives aimed to reduce the number of abandoned newborns and provide care for homeless mothers and unmarried women. Another significant issue was the lack of qualified personnel and schools for midwifery [6]. Dr. Garlicka personally took part in teaching at a midwifery school [1, 2] in Częstochowa and later at institutions such as shelters in Łódź [1]. She collected data on birth locations in the former Russian Partition, revealing that only 1 in 400 births occurred in a hospital, with most deliveries taking place at home, often without the assistance of midwives [6].
While working in Łódź’s textile factories, Zofia Garlicka observed the challenges faced by female workers who were also mothers. The high infant mortality rate and lack of childcare for employed women deeply concerned her. To improve their conditions, she established a maternity shelter under the Charity Society. She was also active in the Women’s Civic Work Union (ZPOK), the Mother and Infant Care Section, the Kropla Mleka (Drop of Milk) organization, and the Medical Circle [2].
Although men dominated medical positions, a few institutions for women’s and children’s care were opened and managed by female physicians such as Zofia Garlicka, Anna Tomaszewicz-Dobrska, and Wanda Szczawińska. These women also focused on educating their patients on medical and hygiene topics [1]. Dr. Garlicka was a proponent of expanding access to healthcare and an advocate for establishing sickness funds [2]. She popularized knowledge about the health of pregnant women and infants both in Poland and abroad [9] through public speeches, radio broadcasts, and articles in medical journals such as Ginekologia Polska and popular publications [2].
Zofia Garlicka contributed to the drafting of the Instruction on Setting Up Day Nurseries published in 1933 [10]. The primary goal of nurseries established during the interwar period was to reduce infant mortality, which in 1924 reached a staggering 30% [11]. With women increasingly working in factories to improve their families’ financial standing [9], the number of children left without parental care also grew significantly. Nurseries were designed according to modern standards of care for infants and children up to three years old [10]. Located near factories, they allowed breastfeeding mothers to visit their children during work breaks [9, 10].
Nursery staff included trained caregivers (members of the Women’s Civic Work Union) and nurses, ensuring a high level of childcare. Moreover, day nurseries served as centers for disseminating knowledge about hygiene, childcare, and diet [10].
As a member of the Warsaw Gynecological Society, Dr. Garlicka actively participated in meetings and discussions. In March 1927, a debate took place on the medical indications for abortion [12]. Dr. Garlicka presented a paper titled “Social Indications for Termination of Pregnancy” [13], advocating against punishing women who had abortions [12, 13]. She identified rape as a medical indication for abortion and two social indications: extramarital pregnancy and situations where the woman was the sole breadwinner for her family [12]. She argued that abortion decisions should involve a committee comprising a physician, a judge, and a member of a maternal care clinic, with the procedure performed in a public hospital. She emphasized that the issue of abortion could not be separated from the broader context of social welfare [13].

WORLD WAR II

At the outbreak of World War II, the calm and fearless Zofia Garlicka stayed with her daughter Wanda and cared for her grandchildren near the Bug River. During the war, she dedicated herself to training medical personnel and continued her work both privately and at the medical facility at 13 Lwowska Street. In her apartment, she successfully sheltered escapees from camps, fugitive Englishmen, couriers, members of the Cichociemni resistance, and the writer Maria Dąbrowska (1889-1965). In 1941, her apartment housed officer Christopher Silverwood Cope, codenamed “Kit”, her friend, Dr. Natalia Zylberlast-Zandowa (1883-1942?), whom she had helped escape from the ghetto; and her daughter, Zofia Jankowska [2].
“Kit” contracted typhus, and only with the help of Dr. Stanisław Wszelaki (1898-1956) from the Ujazdowski Hospital was he saved, for which he remained eternally grateful. On August 11, “Kit” decided to bid farewell to Zofia before leaving for abroad. He arrived at Topolowa Street with his colleague, John Crawford, but Gestapo officers followed closely behind. They arrested everyone present: Dr. Zofia Garlicka, her daughter Zofia Jankowska, Dr. Natalia Zylberlast-Zandowa, Christopher Silverwood Cope, and the Scotsman John Crawford [2].
Dr. Garlicka was held in prison for three months, until October 12, 1942. While incarcerated, she ingested poison and, in a critical condition, was transported to a hospital, where her life was saved. She was subsequently cared for by the medical staff, female guards, and fellow prisoners. Dr. Garlicka became actively involved in the women’s ward, where she examined pregnant prisoners. Before long, she was again placed in the prison hospital, possibly due to a heart condition or as a prisoner-doctor, which allowed her better care since hospital patients were provided their own beds and blankets. Her family made efforts to secure the release of both Zofia and her daughter, but the charges of harboring foreigners were severe. On the night of October 12-13, 50 female prisoners, including Zofia Garlicka, were transported by train to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Zofia was assigned prisoner number 22521 [2].

DEATH

Dr. Zofia Garlicka died in November 1942, on either the 13th or 18th, a few days after the death of her daughter Zofia, in Auschwitz-Birkenau, at the age of 68. The cause of their deaths was typhus (epidemic typhus caused by Rickettsia prowazekii), which was spreading through the camp. Dr. Garlicka suffered from the disease for three weeks. Her body was most likely cremated, with the ashes scattered along with those of others. It was not until April 1943 that Jadwiga Putowska, Zofia’s daughter, and occupied Warsaw learned of the death of Dr. Zofia Garlicka [2].

CONCLUSIONS

Dr. Zofia Garlicka’s efforts contributed significantly to the dissemination of knowledge about motherhood, health, and hygiene – not only among the upper classes but, most importantly, also among workers and peasants, who had limited access to medical care and education in health prevention. Collective efforts to improve care for infants and children of working women greatly reduced child mortality in the early 20^th century and enabled women to balance parenthood and childcare with employment outside the home. Through these initiatives, pregnant and birthing women gained greater access to progressive, professional medical care and reliable health knowledge, benefiting all family members.

Disclosures

This research received no external funding.
Institutional review board statement: Not applicable.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References