Echoes of WWII: Polish youth visit Jamnagar’s historic refuge

Months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 'Jamsaheb Memorial Youth Exchange' programme during his Warsaw visit, the first group of 21 youngsters from Poland visited Jamnagar, where around 800 Polish children, mostly Jews, had taken refuge during World War II.

Some of the visitors' grandfathers were among the children cared for by the then Jamnagar Maharaja, popularly known as Jamsaheb.

According to the Jamnagar district administration, the group of youngsters visited the Sainik School Balachadi, once the seaside summer resort of Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, where the Polish children stayed from 1942 to 1946. The Maharaja provided them shelter at his resort, which was converted into a school in 1961.

The school's website describes the sprawling resort as having "unfolded her cosy wings to house the uprooted Polish children during the Nazi onslaught on Poland in the Second World War. The survivors reached Balachadi, which gave them asylum at a tender age".  

Section Officer of the Poland Youth Delegation, Mohammad Naushad Alam, told DH that a total of 21 Polish nationals visited Jamnagar, marking the first such delegation since its announcement. 

"My grandfather was one of the children adopted by Maharaja Jamsaheb Digvijaysinhji during World War II. I am very grateful to witness the places where he spent his childhood. He always said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. The Maharaja's hospitality saved his life, and I will always be grateful," said one of the visitors.

A brother and sister among the visitors recounted how their grandfather, who the Jamnagar Maharaja rescued, "always considered India his second home as he was deeply connected to this place". 

In 1939, Germany attacked Poland, formally starting World War II. Days later, the USSR joined the attack, dividing the country between Nazi Germany and the USSR. This led to a massive humanitarian crisis, with thousands seeking refuge.

The Maharaja of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, sheltered about 800 children at his estate from 1942 to 1946. Since then, close relations have existed between Jamnagar and Poland.