Open AccessNiewykorzystany kapitał. Pomoc międzynarodowa a początki rehabilitacji zawodowej w Polsce po II wojnie światowej
Author(s) -
Sławomir Łotysz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
kwartalnik historii nauki i techniki
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2657-4020
pISSN - 0023-589X
DOI - 10.4467/0023589xkhnt.21.002.13386
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , christian ministry , government (linguistics) , vocational education , politics , rehabilitation , welfare , social welfare , political science , public administration , sociology , public relations , psychology , law , history , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , neuroscience
Unused Assets. International Aid and the Birth of Vocational Rehabilitation in Poland after the Second World WarIn 1946, at the request of the Polish government, UNRRA sent in two British experts in vocational rehabilitation to help establish the national framework of helping people with disabilities. During numerous meetings with government representatives, medical doctors, and social workers, as well as by trainings, lectures, and screenings of instructional films, they tried to familiarise Poles with the British model of rehabilitation. The model assumed close integration of medical and vocational rehabilitation and aimed at placing the disabled workers in the industry alongside those without disabilities. Initially, officials from the Polish Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare seemed to be keen to adopt such an approach, but in 1949, they turned toward the Soviet solutions. One of the main effects of this shift was moving away from employing the disabled in the industry. They were encouraged to join cooperatives instead, which, in the end, proved to be unfavorable to their social rehabilitation.The article reconstructs the activity of the British experts in Poland and analyses their observations from the encounters. By situating these events in a broader context of political and social conditions, I argue that replacing the progressive British model with Soviet solutions stemmed from the ongoing process of the Sovietization of Poland.