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31.05.2023

Children on the "Trails of hope"

A group of Polish children in Uzbekistan, May 1942; photo courtesy of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
Polish girls wearing traditional folk costumes in Rusape, today's Zimbabwe, 1943—1946; photo courtesy of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
School in Masindi, Uganda, 1945–1946; photo courtesy of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
Polish children on their way to India; Photo: AIPN
Pahiatua, New Zealand, 1945; Photo courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library
Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944–1947; photo courtesy of Gloria Careno
Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944–1947; photo courtesy of Halina Guść
Polish children in New Zealand; photo: AIPN
Polish children in Santa Rosa, Mexico; photo courtesy of Gloria Careno
Polish children on their way to Bombay, India; photo: AIPN
Polish children on their way to New Zealand; photo: AIPN
Masindi, Uganda, 1945–1946; photo courtesy of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
Volleyball match, Valivade-Kolhapur, 1943–1947; photo courtesy of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
Balachadi, India, 1942–1946; photo courtesy of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
Pahlewi, Iran, April 1942; photo courtesy of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
Teheran, Iran, November 1942; photo courtesy of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
Uzbekistan, May 1942; photo courtesy of The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum
Uzbekistan, May 1942; photo courtesy of The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum

During World War II, more than 116 thousand Poles left the Soviet Union during the evacuation of the Anders Army in 1941—1942. About 40 thousand of them were civilians, including at least 20 thousand children under the age of 18.

Women and children were deployed in the numerous settlements being established in Asia and Africa, as well as in Mexico and New Zealand. The largest centers for Polish children were to be found in, Mexico, India, South Africa, Iran, and  New Zealand, where they lived to see the end of the war. Most of them have remained in exile since Poland became a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union after 1945.


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