Health

A huge challenge in the post-war years was a bad health situation of the Polish society. Malnutrition and anaemia were commonplace, epidemics of infectious diseases broke out. An article in Głos Wielkopolski points out that in 1947 still only 10 per cent of Polish children were in good health. The rest of them were weak and some visibly ill. Pediculosis and easily-spreading childhood illnesses posed a major problem.

Medical check-ups among students of Poznań schools highlighted horrifying truths. It turned out that the war and occupation have made an enormously negative impact on the physical development of young people in Poznań. The average weight was lower than the one considered healthy by about 2.26 kg in the case of girls and 3.45 kg in the case of boys. As for height, these numbers were smaller by respectively 2.8 cm and 2.9 cm. The risk of pediculosis was observed in 75 per cent of children, the risk of rickets in 60 per cent and the risk of tuberculosis in 40 per cent.

Stryjkowski, Krzysztof. 2013. Poznań ’45 The last year of the war and the first year of reconstruction. Poznań: 339.

„Głos Wielkopolski” 1947, number 127, from the collection of PAN Kórnicka Library

Summer camps

Fairly soon the authorities decided to take measures to improve children’s health. One example of these was to organise summer camps in the vicinity of Poznań for children with poor health. This was no easy task, as there was a shortage of basic equipment, beds and blankets. Schools, companies and community organisations got involved in organising the camps. In the summer of 1945 nearly 10,000 children and young people from the Poznań Voivodship were able to go to the camps in Zaniemyśl, Kiekrz and Puszczykówko among others.

„Głos Wielkopolski” 1945, number 158, from the collection of PAN Kórnicka Library

„Głos Wielkopolski” 1945, number 55, from the collection of PAN Kórnicka Library