Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- The German Policy of Extermination and Germanization of Polish Children during World War II
- A Crime without Punishment: The Extermination of Polish Children during the Period of German Occupation from 1939 to 1945
- Polish Children and Youth in Auschwitz
- Suffering of Children in Auschwitz – Biological and Mental Extermination
- When There Were No More Tears Left to Cry: The Tragic Fate of the Polish Children Displaced from the Zamość Region in 1942–1943
- Children of the Zamość Region in the Majdanek Camp (in Selected Archive Files and Personal Accounts)
- The German Camp for Juvenile Poles in Łódź at Przemysłowa Street
- The Role of Gaukinderheim Kalisch in Germanization during World War II
- The Germanization of Polish Children and Youth in Gdańsk Pomerania and the Role of the Stutthof Concentration Camp
- Children’s Experiences in the German Displacement and Forced Labor Camp in Potulice and Smukała – Memories of Female Prisoners
- The Fate of the Children of Białystok under Soviet and German Totalitarianism during World War II
- Extermination of Juvenile Scouts in the Lands of Poland during the German Occupation of 1939–1945
- The Fate of Polish Children in Allied-occupied Germany in the Years 1945–1950
- The Returns of Polish Children from German Lands and Scouting Activity at the Transitional Center in Munich. The Polish West State Banner Established by Władysław Śmiałek and Its Role in Simplifying the Fate of Polish War Orphans
The Returns of Polish Children from German Lands and Scouting Activity at the Transitional Center in Munich. The Polish West State Banner Established by Władysław Śmiałek and Its Role in Simplifying the Fate of Polish War Orphans
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- The German Policy of Extermination and Germanization of Polish Children during World War II
- A Crime without Punishment: The Extermination of Polish Children during the Period of German Occupation from 1939 to 1945
- Polish Children and Youth in Auschwitz
- Suffering of Children in Auschwitz – Biological and Mental Extermination
- When There Were No More Tears Left to Cry: The Tragic Fate of the Polish Children Displaced from the Zamość Region in 1942–1943
- Children of the Zamość Region in the Majdanek Camp (in Selected Archive Files and Personal Accounts)
- The German Camp for Juvenile Poles in Łódź at Przemysłowa Street
- The Role of Gaukinderheim Kalisch in Germanization during World War II
- The Germanization of Polish Children and Youth in Gdańsk Pomerania and the Role of the Stutthof Concentration Camp
- Children’s Experiences in the German Displacement and Forced Labor Camp in Potulice and Smukała – Memories of Female Prisoners
- The Fate of the Children of Białystok under Soviet and German Totalitarianism during World War II
- Extermination of Juvenile Scouts in the Lands of Poland during the German Occupation of 1939–1945
- The Fate of Polish Children in Allied-occupied Germany in the Years 1945–1950
- The Returns of Polish Children from German Lands and Scouting Activity at the Transitional Center in Munich. The Polish West State Banner Established by Władysław Śmiałek and Its Role in Simplifying the Fate of Polish War Orphans
Summary
When solar eclipses occur, astronomers make efforts
to take the opportunity and conduct appropriate research.
The eclipse of humanity, such as is war,
cannot be predicted with the same accuracy.
Nevertheless, it also requires attention from competent researchers
(Theiss, 68, for: Baley, 1949)Abstract: After the Second World War, roughly 3.1 million Poles found themselves within the borders of Germany. These were people who had been taken as forced laborers, prisoners of war, combatants in the Warsaw Uprising, and prisoners of concentration camps. Among these people were children and youngsters. This chapter is an attempt to reconstruct their situation, with particular attention to those who were deported to labor camps in Germany. This reconstruction is based on a war narrative which was heard and transcribed by the author. The historical material which was collected in the course of this research is based on an interview with an individual who was under the care of Scoutmaster Władysław Śmiałek, Ms. Aleksandra Wróblewska. Scoutmaster Śmiałek established in Munich the Polish West State Banner, an organizational unit of the Polish Scouting Association, under the auspices of which he organized scouting and scout leader courses for children and young people. Scouting played an enormous role in the limitation of the damage wrought by the effects of war. One result of Śmiałek's work was the return to Poland of organized groups of young people, who found aid in resuming their lives through the system of norms and values emphasizing service to others and honor for Poland which was promulgated by the Scouts.
Keywords: Polish West State Banner of W. Śmiałek, transit camp in Munich, Polish youth in forced labor in Germany, return of Polish children from Germany
The following article is an attempt to reconstruct the situation of Polish children who were transported to labor camps in Germany during World War II. This reconstruction is grounded in one war narrative which was heard and transcribed by the author. The historical material collected during research was supported by an interview conducted in May 2019 with Aleksandra Wroblewska, a former ward of scoutmaster Władysław Śmiałek.
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- Crime without PunishmentThe Extermination and Suffering of Polish Children during the German Occupation 1939–1945, pp. 257 - 271Publisher: Jagiellonian University PressPrint publication year: 2022