Not Only Aniela… The Activities of Women from the Tułodziecki Family in Poznań (1894–1927)

Aniela Tułodziecka (1853–1932), a social and educational activist, is among the well-known and distinguished women of Greater Poland. She was one of the founders of the Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Wzajemnego Pouczania się i Opieki nad Dziećmi “Warta” established in Poznań in 1894, which she chaired for 27 years. The main tasks of “Warta” included conducting educational and caregiving activities among children, including secret teaching of the Polish language. Within the Society, teachers were trained, lectures for parents were organized, children’s books were edited and published, and libraries and shelters were established. In 1908, a small savings fund “Golden Treasury” was also founded. Aniela’s close collaborator was her sister Zofia (1850–1924), whose activities extended far beyond the structures of the “Warta” Society. Called a pioneer of the women’s professional movement, in 1903 she founded the Stowarzyszenie Personału Żeńskiego w Handlu i Przemyśle, supporting women working in these fields, offering free job placement, legal advice, and vocational courses. The presence of other women from the Tułodziecki family among the members of “Warta” is not widely known. The Society’s archives mention the names of two other sisters of Aniela and Zofia: Helena Leitgeber (1849–1925) and Stanisława Sobecka (1857–1921), as well as their daughters: Halina Zawadzka (1878–1930), daughter of Helena, and Aniela Szenic (1892–1951), daughter of Stanisława. Other members of “Warta” included Maria Okoniewska (1875–1926), daughter of Jadwiga Tułodziecka (ca. 1846–1912), and Zofia Michałkiewicz (1892–1981), daughter of the youngest Tułodziecka sister, Józefa Katarzyna, who was raised by Aniela and Zofia after her mother’s death.