Comment: After a fall of the Warsaw uprising the whole surviving population of the left bank part of the capitol was displaced and remaining buildings systematically destroyed. According to approximated data about 50 thousand civilians were transported to concentration camps, 140 thousand were taken to work in Germany and the rest (about 400-500 thousand) after short stay at transit camps were released. Those people lost all their property and means in the burned and demolished city. Having often only summer clothes with arrival of the autumn they found themselves in tragic situation and searched for shelter in big cities. War damages and still ongoing fights limited possibility of help from abroad. The only organ able to organize it was Rada Glowna Opiekuncza - certified by German occupational authorities and cooperating with the Swiss Red Cross.

The charity organization, which took a name from a similar organization from times of the First World War, was established in January 1940. Its activities included: running orphanages, providing medical help, paying out allowances, help in finding jobs, sending packages to POW camps. Among its biggest actions were campaign of help for refugees from Zamosc district and Warsaw. The latter was carried out on larger scale and in more difficult conditions. Rada Glowna Opiekuncza's efforts saved lives of many wounded and sick people of Warsaw, though the precise scale of the help is difficult to estimate. The described appeal indicates a huge range of needs. It was supported by the Church represented by archbishop of Cracow Adam Stefan Sapieha.
(Anna Eliza Markert)

External description: Original, print, in Polish, 1 sheet sized 590x860 mm.
Location: Archive Of New Records, Rada Glowna Opiekuncza. Biuro Centrali w Krakowie, cat. no. 80, p. 137.