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Visiting Info
Opening Hours:

Sunday to Thursday: ‬09:00-17:00

Fridays and Holiday eves: ‬09:00-14:00

Yad Vashem is closed on Saturdays and all Jewish Holidays.

Entrance to the Holocaust History Museum is not permitted for children under the age of 10. Babies in strollers or carriers will not be permitted to enter.

Drive to Yad Vashem:
For more Visiting Information

Teacher’s Guide on the Otwock Children’s Home

Educational Unit based on the Online Exhibition, “A Time to Heal…”

"Otwock was a very important juncture, one that restored us to a more or less normal course of life. Although [we were] without our parents, [and] not at home, that feeling of being together and that sense that everyone felt - it raised our spirits."
Janek Młotek, from the online exhibition: “A Time to Heal - They Story of the Children’s Home in Otwock, Poland”.

The number of children who survived after the Holocaust is estimated in the tens of thousands. Some of them hid, finding refuge in every conceivable location, spending months and years scared lest they be discovered, depending entirely on the goodwill of those hiding them - often strangers. Others survived by hiding their identities: they too were forced to endure prolonged fear and danger - knowing that a single misplaced word could lead to their discovery and almost certain death. 
This reality deprived these children of their childhood. Instead of experiencing warmth, love, and a sense of security from adults, they were forced to see the helplessness of those very adults who, under normal circumstances, were supposed to provide them with support, and to make the outside world intelligible for them. The unwritten “social contract”, according to which adults were supposed to protect the children - the strong were to protect the helpless - ceased to apply in this reality. Often children were forced to mature preternaturally, shouldering heavy responsibilities for their fates and for those of their family members, and even aiding the family in weathering the burdens forced upon them by the wartime events.
This lesson is based on the online exhibition, “A Time to Heal - The Story of the Children’s Home in Otwock, Poland”.

Arrival at the Children’s Home
The Children’s Home Staff
Restoring Identity
Conclusion