When Poland found a second home in Kolhapur: During World War II, they survived Siberia, travelled through Iran and finally found safety 6,104 km away

A small rosary is returning to a place that once offered a Polish child a safe haven from the horrors of World War II. As per a TOI report, nearly a decade after Danuta Borkowska died in 2016, her daughter Teresa Sulma has donated the rosary her mother prayed with every night to the upcoming Memorial of Peace and Humanity at Valivade near Kolhapur. Along with it, Sulma has handed over her mother’s Class IV report card dated March 29, 1947, a photograph and a handwoven embroidered cloth.

For Sulma, the rosary carries memories of a childhood shaped by war, displacement and survival.

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“My mother would pray with it every night and it gave her courage,” Sulma said. She added that knowing her mother’s belongings would be preserved at Valivade had brought her a sense of closure.

Valivade became a refuge for Polish families

Between 1942 and 1948, Valivade became home to nearly 5,000 Polish refugees who had been uprooted by World War II. The settlement came to be known as Drugi Dom, meaning “second home”.

After Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west and the Soviet Union entered from the east in September 1939, thousands of Polish women, children and elderly people were deported deep into Soviet territory, including Siberia. Many later travelled thousands of kilometres through Iran before eventually reaching India. Danuta was one of those children.

Her family eventually reached Uganda, but she arrived at Valivade alone. According to Sulma, Danuta had survived an especially difficult journey. At one point, after a boy from her group died, her hair was cut short and she was dressed as a boy to protect her from danger.

Valivade became one of the few places where she could experience a sense of normal childhood.

She continued to remember the settlement throughout her life, with her daughter saying that her mother remained deeply attached to the place until her death.

A Polish township near Kolhapur

The refugee settlement was far more than temporary accommodation. The Polish community created a functioning township, complete with schools, gardens, a clinic, post office, bakery, church and a cooperative store known as Zgoda, or “harmony”.

Children attended school while families tried to rebuild ordinary lives after years of displacement. On weekends, residents would travel to Kolhapur to shop and watch films.

Colonel Vijaysinha Gaikwad, who was a child when the Polish refugees lived there, remembers seeing them while visiting his uncle’s shop in the settlement.

But the camp eventually disappeared. Its barracks were demolished and the land was later occupied by Sindhi refugees displaced during Partition.

For decades, much of Valivade’s Polish history survived through old photographs, documents and the memories of former residents.

How Valivade’s forgotten history returned

Gaikwad played an important role in reconnecting former refugees with the place they once called home.

In 1994, a group of 10 former residents returned to Kolhapur. Gaikwad and then district collector Ajit Jain helped them visit the cemetery where 76 Polish refugees who died during their stay were buried.

The visit eventually led to the construction of a memorial pillar at Mahavir Garden.

Interest in Valivade grew as more survivors returned. In 2019, around 25 former refugees visited the area and laid the foundation for another memorial pillar at the former camp.

Gaikwad was later recognised by the Polish government for his efforts to help former refugees reconnect with their past.

Remains of an old barrack uncovered

The latest memorial project is being developed on the site of the former refugee camp.

During excavation on a vacant plot surrounded by newer houses, workers discovered remains of a stone-and-brick structure believed to be part of an old barrack, including evidence of a tiled roof.

Another surviving barrack, which once housed a school, is also being incorporated into the project.

The discoveries have added a physical dimension to a history that had largely survived through personal memories and family archives.

Diaries, photographs and belongings tell the story

The memorial is already beginning to receive artefacts connected to the Polish community.

Polish MP Kinga Gajewska recently handed over a collection of historical material to the family of former Rajya Sabha MP Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati for safekeeping.

The collection includes a young refugee’s diary documenting life at Valivade, including celebrations linked to Shahajiraje Chhatrapati’s coronation and India’s first Independence Day.

Other items include Polish folk clothing from Lowicz, letters, certificates, photographs, albums, canvas backpacks, military-style jackets and caps, medals and a plaque featuring Poland’s White Eagle emblem.

More personal belongings are expected to emerge as families of former refugees search through old trunks, photographs and documents preserved over generations.

A memorial shaped by personal stories

For Gajewska, the project is not simply about preserving history. It is also about remembering the children who were forced to leave their homes during the war.

She said photographs of children caught up in the deportations reminded her of her own children and prompted her to learn more about Valivade.

Another emotional story involves Wieslaw Stypula, who reportedly arrived at Valivade with his siblings after becoming separated from his mother during the journey from Siberia.

Letters preserved by the Polish Red Cross later revealed that his mother had spent years searching for her children and eventually found them.

Stories like these have become an important part of the effort to document Valivade’s past.

What the new museum will show

Conservation architect Shikha Jain, who was involved in the work that led to the UNESCO recognition of 12 Maratha forts, is helping develop the museum.

The proposed memorial will recreate the appearance of a refugee barrack at the site where one once stood. It will include a reception area, exhibition galleries, an immersive audio-visual section and a recreation of a traditional living unit based on historical photographs.

Interactive displays are planned to introduce visitors to individual refugees.

The long-term aim is to collect and display photographs, recordings and other material relating to all 5,000 people who lived at Valivade.

The project had faced delays before Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati raised the issue with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The state government subsequently sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the project.

Poland’s Prime Minister is expected to visit Kolhapur in October, adding further significance to the initiative.

There are also plans to seek UNESCO World Heritage recognition for the site.

Yet, beyond the museum, memorial pillars and heritage ambitions, Valivade’s significance can be understood through objects as small as a rosary.

For Danuta, it was something she held on to during a childhood marked by uncertainty. Decades later, that same rosary is returning to the settlement where she once found safety.

Inputs from TOI