In 1942, with the newly formed Polish Army commanded by General Władysław Anders, some 38,000 Polish civilian refugees from the Soviet Union were sent to Iran (in two evacuation waves in March and August). More than half of them were children and young people. In 1943, some 1,500 refugees (children and their guardians) were sent to the Santa Rosa settlement near Leon, Mexico. Below are unique photographs from the vast archives of the Polish Institute and the General Sikorski Museum in London.
Construction of new rooms in the settlement for Polish refugees, Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944. Photo: NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in LondonPolish children at school, Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1943-1947. Photo NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London [collection Jan Ciechanowski].Polish Girl Scouts in uniforms brought from India. Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1943-1947. Photo NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London [collection of Jan Ciechanowski].Girls from the Polish colony in Santa Rosa rest by the water. Comanjilla, Mexico, 1943-1947. photo NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London [collection of Jan Ciechanowski].Girl Scouts of the Santa Rosa troop during roll call, Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1943-1947. Photo NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London [collection Jan Ciechanowski].Schoolgirl reading ‘Chłopi’ (“Peasants”) by Władysław Reymont. Original signature: ‘Out-of-school reading’. Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944. photo NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in LondonSettlement for Polish refugees, boys during a silvering workshop, Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944. Photo: NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London.Schoolgirl in a settlement for Polish refugees, Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944 (?). Photo NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London.Fragment of a settlement for Polish refugees. Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944. Photo: NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London.Settlement for Polish refugees, Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944. In the photo, the Tyszkiewicz brothers with a ball, accompanied by an NN woman. Photo by NN, Polish Institute and General Sikorski Museum in London.
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