Education process of Yugoslav apprentices in Poland 1947/48 Cover Image
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Školovanje jugoslovenskih učenika u privredi u Poljskoj 1947/48.
Education process of Yugoslav apprentices in Poland 1947/48

Author(s): Slobodan Selinić
Subject(s): History
Published by: Institut za savremenu istoriju, Beograd

Summary/Abstract: With a goal to provide staff for the industrialisation of country, Yugoslav government, after the Second World War, sought to get experts through schooling in country and abroad. In accordance with this policy, Yugoslavia sent 545 apprentices to learn craft in Poland. Three of them returned due to the lack of discipline and two of them died. 454 out of the remained 540 apprentices started to learn the craft on October 18, 1947,44 started the apprenticeship on November 20, 1947 and 42 started the apprenticeship on May 15, 1948. Most of students were learning the craft of metalworking. The envisaged period of schooling was three years. Young Yugoslavs were stationed in 14 places (Lodz, Wroclaw, Bytom, Elblag, Zielona gora...) together with Polish apprentices. Yugoslav authorities were mostly satisfied with the conditions of accomodation, hygene, food, supplies of clothing and footwear. Apprentices were educated in Polish high schools and worked in school and factory workshops and in the evening they attended classes in native language which were organized by Yugoslav educators. The relations between apprentices and Polish teachers in school and instructors in workshops was good, and most of the teachers and instructures made effort to transfer knowledge to young Yugoslavs. But especially in school, the big problem was the fact that Yugoslavs did not speak Polish language , and some of them arrived to Poland with poor general knowledge. Through rich contents of political, cultural and educational work (circles, informational and political classes, choir and drama club etc.) apprentices were educated in accordance with the ideology and views of the CPY. The confrontation between Yugoslavia and the COMINFORM and thus with Poland stopped the education of these young people after a year. Yugoslavia decided to return the apprentices to the country, so Poland accepted. With the incidents with Polish authorities, the apprentices returned to Yugoslavia in October 1948. After the return to the country, they were stationed in Yugoslav factories and mines.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 13
  • Page Range: 185-204
  • Page Count: 20