This photograph, taken in 1945, shows the children and caretakers of the Polish orphanage in Staevo in the Michurinsky district, Tambov region, Komi ASRS. Along with them, Maria Halina Wołągiewiczowa, née Kozaryn, widow of tax official Fabian Wołągiewicz, a victim of the Katyn Massacre, was placed there. She had previously worked intermittently since May 1942 as a teacher and tutor at the orphanage in Votcha. In the summer of 1945, the orphanage was moved from Staevo to Oblovka in the Tambov region. Maria Wołągiewicz repatriated to Poland with her children in March-April 1946. The photograph also shows a juvenile Ryszard Wołągiewicz (Maria’s son), later to become a prominent archaeologist, and among the guardians – Piotr Wojciechowski. Unfortunately, the other people remain unnamed so far. Perhaps someone can help us to recognise them?
