Story of 700 Polish Children (1966)

New Zealand National Film Unit presents Story of 700 Polish Children (1966) In 1943 the New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser, influenced by the Polish Consul Kazimierz Wodzicki and his wife Maria, invited a group of orphaned Polish children and their guardians to New Zealand for the duration of the war. Maria Wodzicka, a refugee herself, had an opportunity to meet some children deported from Poland on a troopship, which stopped at Wellington harbour on the way to Mexico. She was deeply touched by sad faces of those children and spoke to Janet Fraser, the wife of the prime minister, about a possibility of inviting children who were deported from Poland. The group of 734 children and 103 adults arrived on 31 October 1944 at Wellington Harbour on board the USS General Randall. They had survived deportation to the Soviet Union, hard labour in Siberia, a terrible journey to the south of the Soviet republics, and finally evacuation to Iran. They had witnessed the deaths of parents and siblings. The children came to New Zealand as guests and were initially going to return to Poland after the war. However when Poland came under the political influence of the Soviet Union the orphans and their caregivers were given the opportunity to settle in New Zealand. The camp in Pahiatua where the children settled for a few years, was financially supported by the Polish Government-in-Exile in London. However when the Russians introduced a communist government in Poland and the Government in London ceased the financial responsibility for the camp, it was taken over by the New Zealand government. This film was produced by the National Film Unit in 1966. The National Film Unit was established to publicise New Zealand’s participation and achievements during the Second World War. After 1945 the Film Unit expanded from producing weekly newsreels to making documentaries and films to the order of Government Departments. During its existence the Film Unit produced films for national organisations as well as many films on its own initiative. Over the next few days we will be highlighting other records relating to the arrival of the Polish children in New Zealand on our Twitter account. Follow us on Twitter Additional caption information sourced from A. Manterys New Zealand’s First Refugees: Pahiatua’s Polish Children and Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand orphans DV file from Beta SP telecini of 35mm film.