Dzieci porzucone w Miejskim Domu Wychowawczym dla Niemowląt w Łodzi w latach międzywojennych

The origins of the Municipal Educational Home, opened in Łodź in 1920, date back to the period of World War I, when many social and charitable organizations, as well as private individuals, provided material and health‑related support to the youngest residents of Łodź. These efforts included the establishment of the Shelter for Foundlings, referred to as the “Nursery,” which provided care for babies and older children. It was founded at the end of 1914 by the St. Stanislaus Kostka Shelters Society (Towarzystwo Schronisk św. Stanisława Kostki), operating within one of the Roman Catholic parishes in Łodź. The caregivers included nuns from the Congregation of the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (Zgromadzenie Siostr Służebniczek Najświętszej Maryi Panny Niepokalanie Poczętej). In 1920, the house was taken over by the Łodź government, and its name was changed to the First Municipal Educational Home for Infants. Under the supervision of the Social Welfare Department of the Council of the City of Łodź, the institution accepted babies as well as older children who were completely or partially without parental care, including abandoned children, children left to their own fate, orphans, and half‑orphans. By the mid‑1930s, the Home could accommodate 170 children. The purpose of this article is to present the living conditions of abandoned children who were found and taken to the Municipal Educational Home, as well as the organizational aspects of operating an institution of this kind, including the daily work of the staff. The author aims to explore the reasons for and circumstances of child abandonment, the type and scope of care provided to Home residents, and a new form of care for mothers and their children, namely, accepting mothers together with their babies into the Home. According to the city authorities, this solution was intended to reduce the number of abandoned children. The analysis of children’s living conditions in the Municipal Educational Home for Infants was conducted based on source materials, archive materials, and journals.