Maczków. A Polish enclave in North Germany
Mediathek Sorted
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Maczków. Polnische Enklave in Norddeutschland - Hörspiel von "COSMO Radio po polsku" auf Deutsch
Paradies auf Zeit - wie aus Haren Maczków wurde
Health services
By April 1945 the occupation authorities had already handed over the 100-bed Haren hospital to the Poles. Five Polish doctors and seven nurses were employed here, while German nuns also worked as nurses.
At that time there were many severely afflicted people in the town. Years of imprisonment in camps, which combined extreme suffering with hard work, had left their mark on their health. Many were exhausted and needed rapid medical help or outpatient treatment. Many others suffered from trauma. Numerous deaths occurred in the first weeks of freedom.
In order to prevent the outbreak of an epidemic, special attention was paid to compliance with hygiene regulations (there was a mass use of DDT powder). Compulsory vaccinations were also introduced to combat typhoid, measles and diphtheria. Despite rumours to the contrary, there were no reports of the spread of venereal diseases among DPs. From September 1945 to February 1946, 980 patients were treated in the hospital in Maczków. Only 16 were diagnosed with venereal disease (from a total population of 4,800).
The call to return home
After the war the new government in Poland did everything in its power to bring back its compatriots in exile. Their agitation took the form of political indoctrination aimed at dividing the Polish communities that had formed in the West. The political situation in Poland, the shifting of the borders and the associated loss of homes caused great suspicion amongst many Poles. Hence they initially hesitated to follow such appeals and later completely refused to return to their home country.
After Great Britain recognized the Warsaw government in summer 1945 the Western Allies put increasing pressure on the Polish refugees to return home, as their large numbers were becoming politically and economically problematic. On the one hand, people knew what they could expect to find in their devastated homeland, and longed to be reunited with their families. On the other hand, there was a broad rejeciton of the Communist government and the policies pursued by the former prime minister in exile, Stanisław Mikołajczyk, who was now deputy Prime Minister in Warsaw. Nevertheless, the Poles had to submit to the new policy with respect to occupied Germany. In the following years, many Polish residents in Maczków took the opportunity to emigrate to other countries.
