Living conditions in orphanages of the Moldavian SSR in 1944–1947

Abstract

The daily life in the Moldavian SSR orphanages during the post–war years was determined by the living conditions, the sanitary and hygienic state of the institutions, the provision of food and clothing, and the activities in which the children were involved. In the present paper, on the basis of unpublished archival documents and published documents, we elucidate the living conditions and the attitude towards children in the orphanages of the Moldavian SSR in the post–war years. Following the worsening of the social situation in the immediate post–war period in the Moldavian SSR, the number of orphans and vagrants increased. The solution of the Soviet state for this serious social problem was to expand the network of orphanages. On September 1, 1947, 21,553 children were already taken care of in 124 orphanages, a number that exceeded the possibilities of accommodation and food. The institutionalization of children was one of the solutions accepted ideologically by the Soviet Power. However, the ideological ideals did not correspond to the serious social realities in orphanages, where children lived in unsanitary conditions, also demonstrated by the numerous diseases caused by unsanitary conditions and lack of hygiene in the institutions: typhus, itching, tuberculosis. Children also suffered from malnutrition and dystrophy. The overall mortality rate among children was high.