Leningrad Children in Omsk during the Great Patriotic War

Abstract

This article is an attempt to reconstruct the daily life of children evacuated from besieged Leningrad to the Omsk region Siege. Three stages of the lives of young Leningraders in Omsk are highlighted: the evacuation and road to Omsk, living conditions in evacuation, and homecoming back to Leningrad. Further, the problem of historical memory for these young Leningraders in Omsk is discussed. Sources include materials of authorities involved in placement of evacuated children, oral histories that documented memories of children who survived the war in the Omsk region, and data from Omsk periodicals that regularly coveriedtheir stay in Omsk. The children were divided into two groups based on living conditions in evacuation. The first is group included children who came with relatives who took care of their children, and the second was children evacuated as part of schools and orphanages and who did not have relatives and were under the supervision of state employees and institutions. Children who came with relatives were in a better situation, because no one in the region expected such a massive evacuation of children’s institutions and local authorities needed time to create normal living conditions for children who arrived with orphanages and boarding schools.