Central Welfare Council http://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%205913.pdf (sometimes also translated as Main Social Services Council--

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

, Rada Główna Opiekuńcza) was one of the very few Polish social organizations that were allowed to work under the German occupation of Poland in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was created during

in 1916 and again re-created in February 1940 in the

General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...

. It had its departments in most of Polish towns and cities. Among its main tasks were organization of: * Cheap bars with hot soup for the poor and the expelled; almost 2000 such facilities were opened for almost 300,000 people * Shelters and

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

s for

displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

s and the poor * Holiday camps for children as well as

rest-home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

s for children and elderly people * Places of free exchange of

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

and food as well as providing the poor with garments; up to 300,000 people a year were offered warm clothing * Educational facilities and

trade school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

s (other schools were forbidden) * Relief for the expelled from Polish areas annexed by Germany,

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

area,

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

and residents of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

during and after the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

* Sending food packages for the

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

s and prisoners of

German concentration camps German concentration camps may refer to different camps which were operated by German states: *Concentration camps during the Herero and Namaqua genocide ** Shark Island concentration camp * Cottbus-Sielow concentration camp in Cottbus interning Jew ...

It is estimated that the RGO helped an average of 800,000 people every year until 1944. The council was headed by prince Janusz Radziwiłł (until June 1940), count

Adam Ronikier Adam Feliks Ronikier (1 November 1881, Warsaw – 4 September 1952, Orchard Lake, Michigan) was a Polish count and conservative politician. During the World War I, he was a president of the Central Welfare Council (''Rada Główna Opiekuńcza'') in ...

(until October 1943) and

Konstanty Tchórznicki Konstanty may refer to: given name: * Konstanty Adam Czartoryski (1777–1866), Polish prince, Brigadier General * Konstanty Andrzej Kulka (born 1947), Polish violinist, recording artist, and professor * Konstanty Borzęcki (1826–1876), partic ...

(until April 1945). The council had at least 15 000

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s all around Poland. The council received finances from the German authorities and (clandestinely) from the

Polish Government in Exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

was a president during WWI and during WWII till 1943.

References

Poland in World War II Humanitarian aid organizations of World War II Non-profit organisations based in Poland {{organization-stub