Figure 1.--Here wee see some of the Polish children that made it out of the Soviet Union after thery had recovered from the ordeal. Over 600 Polish orphan children were cared for in India by the Maharaja of Jamnagar. Th .

Poles in Soviet custody were allowed lo leave after the signing of an agreemnt with the Polish Governmnt in exile. Many were in terrible condiution after being deoprted to Central Asia. The Soviets assisted soldiers, civilins including children had to make it in on their own, alythough th OPolidh oldiets did eht they couild. One of the deportees that made it to India describes the harrowing experience. "I was almost four years old when I was thrown into the infinity of the Kazakh steppe. .... Only the strongest and healthy were given permission to evacuate. Mothers were leaving their children behind rescuing themselves." [Chendyski] One author reports, "Yet, this was not a rescue but the struggle for survival. Evacuation ships crowded with Polish refugees, cramped boats with children or women, filled the Caspian Sea. The photos which document the evacuation from the USSR resemble today’s images off the coast of Lampedusa or Lesbos. Chendynski’s youngest brother died on a ship shortly after embarkation. His body was thrown into the Caspian Sea." [Krakowska] Those that got to Krasnovlodsk in modern Turnministan were trasported by ship to Pahlavi (Bandar en Anzali) in Iran. The Polish Goivernment asked Allied cuntries to take in the civilians that reacged Iran. The soldiers fomed Anders Army and were transported to Egypt to join the Britsh Eight Army. Ince in Iran, tricks were made available. many were casred foir temporarily in Iran. They then were tansported from the port of Ahvaz to various location, including India. Other ships took the civilians to other locationd in the Indiuan Ocean. India, although not yet indepoendent and hardly wealthy was the first country which accepted Polish refugees. They were pricessed through the Bandra transit camp. Some 5,000 Polish children were cared for in Valivade, a village near Kolhapur, Maharashtra (Wetern India). "The Hindus were astonished to see poor and homeless white people." Indians were used to the rich British landlords and could hrdly believe it as they saw impoverished Polish refugees. [Chendynski] The camp in Valivade was far dufferent than the Sviet collection centres in Uzbekistan. There was a shop, a school, a kindergarten, an auditorium, and wooden barracks with running water, and medical care. Valivade provided a sense of psychological stability. [Krakowska] They arrived in rags and got new clothes. Over 600 Polish orphan children were hosted in India by the Maharaja of Jamnagar. He provided an orphanage at Balachadi in the duchy of Nawanagar near Jamnagar, which was under his rule. Te maharaja’s commitment and personal example encouraged other princes to donate to the specially established Fund for the Relief of Polish Children. The fund provided for the orphans until the end of the war, so that no funding from the Polish government was necessary. Some 5,000 women, children and men unfit or too old to serve on the battlefront lived in a refugee camp in Valivade, a village in Kolhapur. One of the children recalls, "My first memories are of here. It was sunny all the time and I was young and had a friend to play with. What else can anyone want at that age?" The cleanliness of the camp — rows upon rows of spartan barracks that served as homes, schools, orphanages, police check posts and offices — stands out in her memory. "The first thing we did was to plant trees. Soon, creepers began to climb up our veranda and the main road of the camp looked like a promenade." [Kuras] Once out of the Soviet Union. proper care for the children could begin. And a poriority was education. Ammost immediately, even in transit camps, schools were organized. This was organized even with shortages of staff, schoolbooks and school equipment. As the facities for the children were established, especially at Balachadi and Valivade were professionally organized. Tere were a dozen or so schools (preschools and elementary schools, middle and high schools, as well as vocational schools and secondaru level courses. The curricula, annual reports and grading systems were modeled on the educationl system of pre-war Poland. In addition to the standard academic work, cultural and extracuricular activities were organized for the children. Libraries and community centers set up. Where the fiund books in Polidh we are not suyre. The community centers offered themed talks. Books were read aloud necuse individual copies were not availble fir the children. A range of activities were organized fgorthe children to develop their skills and talents. A major concern was to keep the children in touch with Polish culture. Theater and dance groups and musical ensembles were orgnized and performed for the children as well as local British and Indian audiences. To thank the Maharajas, the perforced at thi palces. There weee also performnces in Kolhapur and Mumbai. Polish sources report, "“In India, people were hard pressed for families; in fact, there were hardly any families at all. There were mothers with children and children on their own, in an orphanage. Fathers were either at the front or they remained among the snows of Siberia, in the soil of Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan. ..." Scouting was popular in Polnd before the War. Abd Scouting was orgianized fir the childre, boh boys bd girls. One Scout reports, "Scout camp provided opportunities to win many badges, but our greatest ambition was to win the Three Feathers badge. Winning it involved many difficulties and a lot of risk. The regulations required us to spend 24 hours in hiding outside our camping place, keeping silent and feeding on whatever we could find or hunt. .... And so we were each given a slice of bread, a tin of sardines, three matches and several kali crystals (as a disinfectant). Apart from that, we each had a knife, a kerchief, a cloak, a water bottle and our backpack." [Reminiscences of Staszek Harasymów, in: "Polacy w Indiach 1942–1948 w świetle dokumentów i wspomnień.] “Scout camp provided opportunities to win many badges, but our greatest ambition was to win the Three Feathers badge. Winning it involved many difficulties and a lot of risk. The regulations required us to spend 24 hours in hiding outside our camping place, keeping silent and feeding on whatever we could find or hunt. … "Many of the Valivade children decided not to go back to Poland, and emigrated to Australia, to the United States, or the United Kingdom." [Chendyski]

Sources

Chendyski, Andrzej. In Malgosia Krakowska, "How Polish child refugees landed in India during World War II," TRT World (October 25, 2919).

Krakowska, Malgosia. "How Polish child refugees landed in India during World War II," TRT World (October 25, 2919).

Kuras, Wanda in Srinath Rao, "Children of Valivade: During World War II, some exiled Poles took refuge in Kolhapur. A few are back on a nostalgia trip of the city," The Indian Express (October 6, 2019).

Created: 1:24 PM 8/9/2021
Last updated: 1:25 PM 8/9/2021