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Natalia Tułasiewicz  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. BiographyNatalia 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
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