Orphanages in Central Kazakhstan in the 1940s: Health Conditions and Sanitary Living Standards of the Children

Research Article

Abstract

This article examines the operation of orphanages in Central Kazakhstan during the war years, based on archival materials and personal memoirs. The focus of the study is on orphanages and children/adolescents who were left without families and placed under state care for various reasons—famine, deportations, the Great Patriotic War, evacuation, political repression and the arrest of parents, death of parents, and other factors. The author investigates the material and living conditions, housing, and sanitary-hygienic standards of children's accommodation. Particular attention is given to issues of health and the incidence of disease among the children. The author concludes that the sharp increase in the number of children in Central Kazakhstan's orphanages in the 1940s was primarily due to the outbreak of war, which triggered mass child evacuations. A significant proportion of the orphans also came from families of repressed parents. The existing children's institutions were not prepared to accommodate such a large influx, which led to extremely difficult conditions. In particular, overcrowding and malnutrition intensified, sanitary conditions deteriorated, and disease rates rose sharply.