Franciszka Oliwa Collection

Franciszka Oliwa Collection
 
 Estate of Franciszka Oliwa, the principal of the Jewish children's home in Otwock during the first years after the liberation;
 
 Included in the collection:
 
 1. Summary report written by Mrs. Oliwa;
 2. Summaries regarding the children - 15 in total;
 3. Memoirs of children;
 4. Various documents (school certificates/diplomas, lists of children, poems/songs, and other documents);
 5. Photographs (transferred to the Photos Archive);
 
 Following the liberation in January 1945, Mrs. Oliwa arrived to Otwock to search for relatives, but she did not locate anyone. On the other hand, she met a Soviet soldier in Otwock who was surrounded by several children. The soldier told her that the children were abandoned and he requested that she take care of them. The soldier led her to an abandoned house on Prussa Street no. 11, where he instructed her to locate and, as a result, the children's home was established there. Mrs. Oliwa took care of the children and received financial help from Colonel Ovochovski - a Jewish military physician in the Red Army hospital that was located in the city. Eventually more than 100 child Holocaust survivors were gathered and resided in the children's home. On 01 March 1945 the CKZP organization established the children's home with improved living conditions. The children's home was administered by Liuba Bielicka as of 24 March 1945.