Brill

López-Barajas, J. L. A., Jarska, N. (2026). Gender, Women’s Emancipation, and Socialism in the Lives of Two Paediatricians: A Comparative Look at East Germany and Poland. European Journal for the History of Medicine and Health (March 17, 2026). 

In a contribution to scholarly discussions on socialist medicine, gender, and politics, this article compares the careers of Eva Schmidt-Kolmer (1913–1991) and Izabela Bielicka (1915–1995), two paediatricians who played prominent roles in postwar socialist medicine in East Germany and Poland. Using a biographical approach, it examines how their medical expertise intersected with state policies, gender norms, and political structures, revealing important similarities. The article argues that both women contributed actively to women’s emancipation through their work in child and maternal health. Their research and public interventions helped shape socialist visions of family, care, and gender roles. Both were critically engaged with international debates on “maternal deprivation”, aiming to improve institutional childcare to safeguard children’s health while ensuring working mothers were not confined to domestic roles. While their careers advanced rapidly, they experienced limitations related to gender and politics. Yet, political context and positionality in the structures of power led to different outcomes. Despite Schmidt-Kolmer’s serious disputes with the party, she maintained her influential role as an expert until the end of East Germany; Bielicka was forced into exile following the 1968 antisemitic campaign in Poland.