Włodzimierz Godłowski
Encyclopedia
Włodzimierz Józef Godłowski (7 November 1900 - 1940) was a Polish neurologist and psychologist. A professor of the Stefan Batory University in Wilno (Vilnius), he was also an officer in the Polish Army during the German and Soviet invasion of Poland
. He was made a prisoner of war by the Soviets in 1939 and was murdered in the Katyn massacre
in 1940.
on 7 October 1900. He finished a gymnasium
in Sanok
in 1918, and then enrolled in the Jagiellonian University
in Kraków
. Around that time he also served in the military, where he served as a trainee at the Internal Illnesses Clinic. He obtained his PhD in 1925 at the Jagiellonian University, where he also worked as a docent
. From 1925-1927 he worked at the Mental Illness Institute in Rybnik
. From 1927 he worked in the Neurology Clinic at the Jagiellonian University. In 1930 he spent half a year practicing in Vienna
. From September 1938 he was a member of the faculty if the Stefan Batory University in Wilno (Vilnius). He was the director of the University's Neurology Clinic and Brain Institute.
His research concerned issues such as brainstem and cerebral cortex
. His best known work was the Podkorowe ośrodki spojrzenia i skojarzonych ruchów oczu (1936)(Subcortical centers of gaze and associated eye movements). It was that work that gained him his habilitation
.
As a junior lieutenant of the military reserves of the Polish Army, he was mobilized in 27 August 1939. He served on Poland's eastern frontier, in the "Łużki" Battalion of the "Głębokie" Regiment of the Border Protection Corps
. After the German and Soviet invasion of Poland
in 1939 he became a prisoner of war
in the custody of the Soviet Union
. He was imprisoned in Kozielsk, and was a victim of the Katyn massacre
in 1940 (around April–May).
He was the father of Kazimierz Godłowski, an archeologist and historian.
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
. He was made a prisoner of war by the Soviets in 1939 and was murdered in the Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
in 1940.
Biography
Włodzimierz Godłowski was born in StryiStryi
Stryi is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine . Serving as the administrative center of the Stryi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. Thus, the city has two administrations - the city and the raion...
on 7 October 1900. He finished a gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Sanok
Sanok
Sanok is a town in south-eastern Poland with 39,110 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. It's the capital of Sanok County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Previously, it was in the Krosno Voivodeship and in the Ruthenian Voivodeship , which was part of the Lesser Poland province...
in 1918, and then enrolled in the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
. Around that time he also served in the military, where he served as a trainee at the Internal Illnesses Clinic. He obtained his PhD in 1925 at the Jagiellonian University, where he also worked as a docent
Docent
Docent is a title at some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks below professor . Docent is also used at some universities generically for a person who has the right to teach...
. From 1925-1927 he worked at the Mental Illness Institute in Rybnik
Rybnik
Rybnik is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship. Rybnik is located close to the border with the Czech Republic and just outside the southern border of the largest urban area in Poland, the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union...
. From 1927 he worked in the Neurology Clinic at the Jagiellonian University. In 1930 he spent half a year practicing in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. From September 1938 he was a member of the faculty if the Stefan Batory University in Wilno (Vilnius). He was the director of the University's Neurology Clinic and Brain Institute.
His research concerned issues such as brainstem and cerebral cortex
Cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex is a sheet of neural tissue that is outermost to the cerebrum of the mammalian brain. It plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It is constituted of up to six horizontal layers, each of which has a different...
. His best known work was the Podkorowe ośrodki spojrzenia i skojarzonych ruchów oczu (1936)(Subcortical centers of gaze and associated eye movements). It was that work that gained him his habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
.
As a junior lieutenant of the military reserves of the Polish Army, he was mobilized in 27 August 1939. He served on Poland's eastern frontier, in the "Łużki" Battalion of the "Głębokie" Regiment of the Border Protection Corps
Border Protection Corps
The Border Protection Corps was a Polish military formation that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits....
. After the German and Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
in 1939 he became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in the custody of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He was imprisoned in Kozielsk, and was a victim of the Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
in 1940 (around April–May).
He was the father of Kazimierz Godłowski, an archeologist and historian.