The Polish Diaspora, 1939-55

The Polish Orphanage in Balachadi,India, 1942 My sister and brother arrived in India but in an area ridden with malaria. My journey was made hair-raising by all the winding, narrow roads in India; it was so hot, and dry, and dusty. The plan was to join my brother and sister but, because the River Indus burst its banks, we had to stay for three months in an English settlement where the English Viceroy lived in the Himalayas. We lived in tents, waiting for the river levels to go down so we could leave and continue our journey by truck. It was a fantastic place and we had school with Polish teachers, doctors, and a priest. We had no books so everything was taught from memory; later we got books. I remember seeing a barefoot policeman! We got to Jamnagar and I was reunited with my brother and sister. I was one of the oldest; there were about 10 of us so they sent us to an English convent school in Karachi. I was there for two years. I knew no English but, in two years, I learned. The younger children had schools in Jamnagar.e Polish Orphanage in Balachadi, 1942. Danuta Suchecka Szyd³o b. 1925, Wilno June 1941, deported to the Soviet Union 1942-43, Iran 1943-47, India 1947-present, England

INDIA

Dining Room, the Polish Orphanage, Jamnagar, 1942 There was a big transit camp in Karachi and there was a smaller camp for the orphanage in Balachadi, built by the Maharaja Jonahed of Namangan. The story goes that during World War I his uncle, the previous Maharaja, had an estate in Switzerland next to Paderewski and they knew each other. He became interested in Polish affairs and when, in 1942, he heard about the children in Russia, he said he’d build a camp to house up to 1,000 people. As he was the head of the council of all Indian Maharajas, he then persuaded the other Maharajas to also pay for some of the children. The camp for 5,000 was supported by the Polish Government-in-Exile and by the British Government. Initially, we stayed in Bombay for two or three months until the camp was complete, then stayed there for four-and-a-half years. Franciszek Herzog b. 1931, Lubaczów April 1940, deported to the Soviet Union 1942-47, India 1947-52, England 1952-present, USA

The Dormitory, the Polish Orphanage, Jamnagar, 1942