Jump to content

Jolanta Wadowska-Król

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jolanta Wadowska-Król
Wadowska-Król in 2021
Born
Jolanta Danuta Wadowska

(1939-06-27)27 June 1939
Katowice, Poland
Died18 June 2023(2023-06-18) (aged 83)
Katowice, Poland
EducationMedical University of Silesia
OccupationPediatrician

Jolanta Danuta Wadowska-Król (Polish pronunciation: [jɔˈlan.ta vaˈdɔf.ska ˈkrul]; 27 June 1939 – 18 June 2023)[1] was a Polish pediatrician.

Early life and education

[edit]

Wadowska-Król was born in Katowice to father Piotr and mother Stanisława (née Chwist). After her mother was left partially blind from a lightning strike, she was sent to live with one of her aunts at the age of one.[1] She attended the Medical University of Silesia, where she interned in internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, and pediatrics;[2] she graduated in 1964.[3][4]

Career

[edit]

Wadowska-Król began her career working at the Provincial Integrated Hospital in Katowice and a pediatric clinic in Dąbrówka Mała.[1] In 1974, she referred a patient with recurring anemia to a pediatric clinic in Zabrze, which was run by Dr. Bożena Hager-Małecka [pl], the Provincial Medical Consultant for Pediatrics in Silesia. After seeing the patient, Dr. Hager-Małecka advised Wadowska-Król to conduct secret tests on children in Szopienice, whom she suspected were suffering from lead poisoning from the nearby Szopienice Non-Ferrous Metals Smelter [pl].[2][4]

Together with nurse Wiesława Wilczek, Wadowska-Król began examining all children from Szopienice, Burowiec, and Dąbrówka Mała, and referred 50 to 70 children a day to laboratories to be tested for lead poisoning. Approximately 5,000 children were tested, 1,000 of whom were discovered to have lead poisoning and required immediate care.[1][4] Children with more severe cases of lead poisoning were sent to the pediatric clinic in Zabrze, while children with less severe cases were sent to hospitals in Sosnowiec, Ligota, Załęże, and Janów. Due to limited hospital beds, a total of 2,000 children were eventually sent to sanatoriums in Istebna, Rabka, and Jaworze for treatment.[3] As a result of Wadowska-Król's work, tenement houses near the smelter were demolished, and she helped displaced families with sick children find new homes.[1] However, in an attempt to conceal the ecological disaster and maintain the image of the Polish People's Republic, Wadowska-Król was ordered by Polish authorities not to pursue any further action on the matter.[4]

Wadowska-Król's research formed the basis of her doctoral dissertation, which was supervised by Dr. Hager-Małecka and completed in 1975.[1] Upon review, however, the work was heavily criticized and censored. The dissertation was never published and Wadowska-Król chose not to pursue a doctorate any further, stating that she did not need it and only wanted to help children.[3][4] She spent the rest of her career working as a pediatrician, and retired from medicine in 2011.[1]

Personal life and death

[edit]

Wadowska-Król married Zbigniew Józef Król, an assistant professor at the Medical University of Silesia.[1] She died on 18 June 2023 at the age of 83.[5] Her funeral took place at the Basilica of St. Louis the King and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [pl] in Ligota-Panewniki, and she was buried at the Panewnicka Street Cemetery [pl].[6][7]

Legacy

[edit]
A mural in Wadowska-Król's honor was erected in her hometown of Katowice in 2018. It reads, "Women know what they are doing."

Wadowska-Król was named an Honorary Citizen of Katowice [pl] in 2017.[8] The following year, she received the Wojciech Korfanty Award [pl] from the Upper Silesian Union [pl], and a mural in her honor was unveiled on Gliwicka Street [pl] in Katowice.[1] In 2021, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Silesia in Katowice.[9][10]

[edit]

In October 2022, Wadowska-Król's granddaughter Agnieszka Cygan directed Our Lady of Szopienice, a play about her grandmother's work with lead-poisoned children.[11] In February 2026, Netflix released the miniseries Lead Children about Wadowska-Król;[12][13] her children and grandchildren were involved with the production of the series, with some making acting cameos as well.[14] In the series, Wadowska-Król was played by Joanna Kulig.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sadzikowska, Lucyna (2023). "Jolanta Wadowska-Król (27 czerwca 1939–18 czerwca 2023): Niepokorna Matka Boska Szopienicka z familoków" (PDF). Medycyna Środowiskowa (in Polish). 26 (3–4): 129–130. ISSN 1505-7054. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 Wawrzyńczak, Aneta (1 April 2015). "Matka Boska z familoków". WP Kobieta (in Polish). Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Sztuka, Maria (October 2021). "Nie czuję się bohaterką". Gazeta Uniwersytecka UŚ (in Polish). Vol. 11, no. 291. University of Silesia in Katowice. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Bajorek, Angela (30 December 2025). "Herstoria Górnoślązaczki. Jolanta Wadowska-Król – szopienicka doktor ołowianych dzieci". Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Historicolitteraria (in Polish). 25: 549–562. doi:10.24917/20811853.25.31. ISSN 2081-1853. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  5. ↑ Śliwa, Marcin (18 June 2023). "Katowice. Nie żyje Jolanta Wadowska-Król. Lekarka w PRL nagłośniła problem ołowicy u dzieci w Szopienicach". Dziennik Zachodni (in Polish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  6. ↑ Janota, Marta (19 June 2023). "Nie żyje Jolanta Wadowska-Król. Lekarka ratowała dzieci przed ołowicą". TVP3 Katowice (in Polish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  7. ↑ Żołnierczyk, Bartosz (22 June 2023). "Ostatnie pożegnanie śp. doktor Jolanty Wadowskiej-Król - "Doktórki od Familoków". Lekarka uratował tysiące dzieci przed ołowicą". Dziennik Zachodni (in Polish). Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  8. ↑ Malinowska, Anna (11 September 2017). "Doktor Jolanta Wadowska-Król Honorową Obywatelką Katowic. Uratowała setki dzieci". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  9. ↑ Semik-Orzech, Teresa (24 June 2021). "Pediatra Jolanta Wadowska-Król doktorem honoris causa UŚ. "Odwróciła los tysięcy dzieci z Szopienic". Ratowała dzieci z ołowicą". Dziennik Zachodni (in Polish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  10. ↑ Warchala, Magdalena (27 May 2021). "Jolanta Wadowska-Król ratowała dzieci przed ołowicą i zapłaciła za to karierą naukową. UŚ uhonorował ją doktoratem honoris causa". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  11. ↑ Malinowska, Anna (13 October 2022). "Spektakl o doktor Jolancie Wadowskiej-Król. Reżyseruje wnuczka bohaterskiej lekarki". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  12. ↑ Goldbart, Max (5 November 2025). "Netflix Central Europe Chief Dives Deep Into 'Heweliusz', The Streamer's Biggest Polish Series, And Explains Why Sarandos And Co Have Given His Team A Vote Of Confidence". Deadline. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  13. 1 2 Anderson, Hayley (11 February 2026). "Lead Children inspiration explained as Netflix releases 'intense' drama". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  14. ↑ Tarczyńska, Katarzyna (13 February 2026). "Wnuczka Jolanty Wadowskiej-Król o "Ołowianych dzieciach": Babcia byłaby zadowolona". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). Retrieved 13 March 2026.

Further reading

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jolanta_Wadowska-Król&oldid=1366665515"