The Role of Polish Red Cross in the Recovery of Polish Children after World War II from the Western Zones of Occupied Germany (1945–1949)

Abstract

One of the very painful consequences of Nazi Germany’s policy towards occupied Poland during World War II was the plundering of children, which currently amounts to 196,2 thousand. The recovery activities undertaken by Poland can hardly be considered satisfactory. The number of recovered children is estimated at 10–16% of those abducted by the apparatus of the Nazi state. In this situation, the question should be asked about the reasons for the low effectiveness of these efforts, apart from the objective factor – the deported children often did not remember their names or other details facilitating identification, the search was affected by various organizational and personnel considerations of the Polish search apparatus. It is also necessary to consider the extent to which the efficiency of the activities of the Polish Red Cross in the western zones of occupied Germany was influenced by the fact that for the Americans, British and French, supporting for Polish activities was a function of the policy towards Warsaw and, more broadly, the policy towards the conquered Germany.