Influence of the culture of interwar Wadowice on the development of the personality of Karol Wojtyła between 1920–1938

The article presents the cultural and social background of interwar Wadowice, a small town in southern Poland, where Karol Wojtyła, future Pope John Paul II the Great, was born. The author’s aim was to show the influence of the family environment, the local parish community and the school on the development of the young Wojtyła’s personality. The author attempted to prove that the young student of the Wadowice schools perceived the heritage of Polish culture as an important element of European culture. The future Pope became very familiar with this heritage by regularly deepening his knowledge of Polish history, Polish literature and especially the works of the Polish Romantics. As a young poet and budding actor and director, he believed that Polish culture had a messianic task in relation to the whole of Europe, but only on the foundation of Christian values. Wojtyła, a pupil at the prestigious neo-classical M. Wadowita Secondary School, a friend of the local Jews, also became acquainted with the most important works of European literaturę during this period, including Shakespeare’s works, learnt German, had an excellent knowledge of Latin and classical Greek, as well as the works of the most important classical writers of ancient literature. The intellectual atmosphere of his hometown certainly had a significant impact on his later perception of international dialogue and European integration.