Dziecko, rodzina i płeć w amerykańskich inicjatywach humanitarnych i filantropijnych w II Rzeczypospolitej

The article focuses on selected educational developments in early twentieth century Poland. It begins with an overview of the changes in the organisation of education and care for young children during the pre-independence and interwar periods. The authors discuss social and political challenges as reflected in educational realities as well as attempts at reform and innovations towards child-centred pedagogies inspired by the New Education Movement. Two examples are presented in more detail: the pedagogical approach of Janusz Korczak and his collaborators, Stefania Wilczynska and Maria Falska, in Warsaw childcare institutions, and the Workers’ Society for the Friends of Children (Robotnicze Towarzystwo Przyjaciol Dzieci), which rooted its educational system in broader efforts aimed at advancement of the working class. Both initiatives formulated their task as educating new generations of citizens conscious of their rights and capable of taking active part in the struggle against injustices in society.

For child and social justice: radical approaches in education and care for young children in interwar Poland

Based on a variety of source material and previous research, this microhistorical study represents the first comprehensive history of the IRO Children’s Village Bad Aibling. Established in late 1948, it was the central facility within the US Zone of Germany where unaccompanied children were cared for by the International Refugee Organization (IRO). Displaced during or after World War II, their fates were as varied as those of adults who had survived the atrocities of the Nazi regime. In total, over 2,000 children (representing more than 20 nationalities) passed through the Children’s Village.

The early days were marked by a prolonged struggle to get the installation into running order, secure necessary supplies and hire qualified staff. Tensions which arose as a result of these problems culminated in violent episodes of unrest among the children. The administrative setup in Bad Aibling was reorganized, and the situation gradually improved.

With the help of various voluntary agencies such as the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an ambitious program was developed from 1949 onwards. It was inspired by contemporary trends in child welfare and aimed at developing an inclusive, international community consisting of family-like living groups. Through schooling and vocational training, recreational activities, psychological treatment and individual case work, the inhabitants were prepared for life after the Children’s Village. A decision regarding the future of each child had to be reached. In the majority of cases, the options were either repatriation or resettlement abroad. While the political friction of the Cold War had an undeniable effect on the IRO’s activities in Bad Aibling, it seems impossible to derive a universal set of beliefs guiding the work of relief workers from this fact. Despite occasional contact with the German population as well as international press coverage, the Children’s Village remained more or less isolated from the outside world.

The last months of the Children’s Village saw new challenges as the IRO slowly began to wind down its operations in Europe. A change in US occupation policy saw the introduction of new courts which would decide the cases of the remaining children. In 1951, the Children’s Village shut its doors, and its inhabitants were moved to Feldafing. By early 1952, the cases of the remaining children had been closed.

It is believed that the history of the Children’s Village, as part of a broader narrative of humanitarian efforts and child welfare in the postwar period, is relevant to the sphere of international relief work today.

The IRO Children’s Village Bad Aibling

In 1914, seven million Jews across Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean were caught in the crossfire of warring empires in a disaster of stupendous, unprecedented proportions. In response, American Jews developed a new model of humanitarian relief for their suffering brethren abroad, wandering into American foreign policy as they navigated a wartime political landscape. The effort continued into peacetime, touching every interwar Jewish community in these troubled regions through long-term refugee, child welfare, public health, and poverty alleviation projects. Against the backdrop of war, revolution, and reconstruction, this is the story of American Jews who went abroad in solidarity to rescue and rebuild Jewish lives in Jewish homelands. As they constructed a new form of humanitarianism and re-drew the map of modern philanthropy, they rebuilt the Jewish Diaspora itself in the image of the modern social welfare state.

International Jewish Humanitarianism in the Age of the Great War

Abstract:From 1938 to 1945, Shanghai was a temporary haven to more than 20,000 Jews originally from Europe. Most of the Jewish refugees in Shanghai survived to see the end of WWII. However, the Jewish settlement in Shanghai during WWII remains a little-known chapter of the history of the Holocaust. Recent decades have witnessed significant changes in this regard. In addition to historical studies, memoirs, and popular culture, the Shanghai experience of European Jews also found its way into literary fiction. Drawing on theories of cultural memory and media studies and based on readings of two novels—Marion Cuba's Shanghai Legacy (2005) and Beila's The Cursed Piano (2007, English edition 2017), this article argues that literary fiction contributes, albeit belatedly, to the collective efforts to preserve this important legacy, and may do so in a more compelling way than other media, through special perspectives, engaging storytelling, and broader accessibility.

Jewish Settlement in Shanghai during WWII in Fiction and Other Media of Cultural Memory

After World War I Jewish community leaders in Poland addressed the increasing number of orphans due to the war and continued violence by placing children in foster care and building orphanages run by local non-governmental organisations. The care of children in private homes was seen as the most practical solution to the crisis and a real alternative to the establishment of institutions. The records of these non-governmental organisations and the writings of Jewish community leaders reveal that the discussion regarding institutions and private care reflected a desire to provide effective and efficient services but was also a sign of the institutional immaturity of the organisations that had emerged to address the needs of children. Proponents of both institutions and private care advocated greater supervision of these services and, if not institutionalisation, more organisation of those working in child welfare and of children's lives. Believing that such supervision would make the children under their ca...

Sean Martin

Papers

How to house a child: providing homes for Jewish children in interwar Poland

Polish Jewry between the World Wars