In 1942, approximately 38,000 Polish refugees from the Soviet Union arrived in Iran alongside the newly formed Polish Army under the command of General Władysław Anders. They came in two major evacuation waves in March and August of that year, with more than half of the refugees being children and young people. In 1943, around 1,500 of these refugees – children and their caretakers – were sent to the Santa Rosa colony near León, Mexico. Presented below are unique photographs from the extensive archives of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.
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Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London [collection of Jan Ciechanowski].
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London [collection of Jan Ciechanowski].
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London [collection of Jan Ciechanowski].
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London [collection of Jan Ciechanowski].
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.
Settlement for Polish refugees. Santa Rosa, Mexico, 1944.
The photo depicts the Tyszkiewicz brothers with a ball, accompanied by an unknown woman.
Photo: unknown author, Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum in London.