Why Tengeru?

Polish exiles during World War II

Expulsion from Poland – beginning of wandering

In 1940-41, several hundred thousand citizens of the Second Polish Republic were deported deep into Soviet Russia, which, as a result of aggression with Nazi Germany, occupied the eastern part of Poland after September 17, 1939.

After aggression of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union in June 1941 and the conclusion of Sikorski–Maisky agreement in July 1941, when Poland and the Soviet Union became allies, authorities in Moscow allowed the Polish population to leave the place of exile. The Poles went to the regions in the Soviet Union where the Polish Army was founded under command of General Władysław Anders, counting on the protection and the possibility of leaving the Soviet Union together with the soldiers.

Evacuation to Iran

The Polish population, both civilian and military, was evacuated to Iran from the Soviet Union in two stages from March to September 1942. The main route led through Turkmenistan to the Pahlevi transit camp in Iran (now Bandar-e Anzali) and from there mainly to camps in Tehran. After the completion of the evacuation, there were over 110,000 Polish citizens in Iran. Unfortunately, due to bad health conditions caused by the poor living standard in the Soviet Union and the hardships of traveling, more than 2,100 people (5.7% of the total) died in Iran due to dysentery, typhoid, malaria and diseases caused by malnutrition.

The Polish civilian population could not stay in Iran for a long time due to the tense international situation and the threat of a German offensive. Polish territory was occupied, so the government could only count on the Britons’ help in finding shelter for the population. The British agreed to evacuate Polish civilians from Iran and presented a plan for the placement of refugee settlements. Sea transports were sent to the transit camps in British India (the port of Karachi in today’s Pakistan) and from there to the settlements in India, Africa, Mexico and New Zealand. This operation was complicated, time-consuming and cost-intensive, especially in the conditions of the ongoing war.

Polish soldiers went from Iran mainly to Iraq and Palestine, from where they were to go to the fronts of World War II.

Polish refugees in Africa

The main wave of Polish refugees sailed away from Iran to Africa. In July 1942 government in London, in consultation with the governors of then Tanganyika, Kenya, Uganda and Nyasa, agreed to settle there Polish refugees for the time of the war. The possibility of relegating Polish civilians to northern and southern Rhodesia and the Union of South Africa was also taken into account.

Earlier, already in September 1941, the Polish government decided to set up consulates in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda as well as in both Rhodesia and the Union of South Africa. Consuls together with delegates of the Polish Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare dealt with Polish refugees. The British authorities were also preparing for their arrival in Africa.

The first transport of Polish refugees from the Soviet Union arrived at the Tanga port in Tanganyika on August 27, 1942. 1,400 people arrived on board ship, then they were transported to Dar es Salaam. Another transport arrived at the Mombasa port in Kenya on September 19. By the end of September 1942, 1,044 people were located in the Ugandan settlement in Masindi, and 510 and 401 respectively in Morogoro and Kondoa in Tanganyika. The next groups arriving in October were directed to Tengeru, Kondoa, Ifunda and Kidugala.

The pace of evacuation of Polish refugees from Iran to Africa was high. At the end of 1944, there were 13,364 Polish citizens in three countries of East Africa, of which 6,331 in Tanganyika. The expected end of the war limited further evacuations. In Eastern Africa, six permanent Polish refugee settlements were established: four in Tanganyika (Tengeru, Kondoa, Ifunda, Kidugala) and two in Uganda (Masindi and Koja). In addition to the permanent settlements, several temporary camps were created, including in Morogoro, Kigoma, Dar es Salaam, Iringa and Tosamaganga in Tanganyika.

At that time, the Poles were the largest minority of European origin in East Africa.

Life in settlements

The largest Polish settlement in Tengeru had 947 houses. At the peak period, 4,018 people lived in it. The Kondoa settlement had 430 people, who lived in twenty barracks built of clay. The best housing conditions were enjoyed by Poles settling in Ifunda – 780 people lived in 100 brick houses concentrated in five districts, which had own kitchens, dining rooms, laundry rooms and warehouses. In the Kidugala settlement, 798 Poles lived near the deserted post-German Protestant mission.

Residents of Tanganyika, on their own initiative, helped newcomers from Poland to settle in the new country. The local tribes provided the Poles with building materials and food and worked on the construction of Polish settlements.

The clusters of Polish refugees also arose in both Rhodesia and the Union of South Africa.

A commandant – usually a British official – stood at the head of the administration of each of the settlements. He was assisted by the camp manager appointed by the Polish Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. The settlements were divided into sections and groups, and the heads of departments of education, pastoral care, health care, culture and work were appointed. There were also councils representing residents. The costs of maintaining the settlements were covered by the British authorities towards the debt of the Polish government and the Polish Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare reporting to the government in exile in London.

The Poles living in the settlements in the then Tanganyika formed well-organized communities with an efficiently functioning educational system, cultural and sporting activities. Own farms were run. Children and adolescents were provided with pre-school and school care at various levels of education. Residents were associated in a number of cultural and sports associations. Scouting was popular. The Polish press developed (the biggest titles: “Pole in Africa” and “Voice of Poland”, and a number of newspapers published in settlements), and even Polish-language radio programmes broadcast from Nairobi.

Closing of settlements

The approaching end of the war and the withdrawal of recognition for the Polish government in exile on 5 July 1945 by the British, raised the question about the future of Polish settlements in Africa. The Poles in Africa were mostly disappointed with the result of the conference in Yalta, which led to the dependency of eastern Poland to the regime of Joseph Stalin, and they did not want to return to Poland ruled by communists controlled by the authorities in Moscow. Only about 3,800 Polish refugees from Africa decided to repatriate to the country, which accounted for about 20% of the total. The majority refused to return to the country.

On August 1, 1946, the financial responsibility for the maintenance of Polish settlements was taken over by the United Nations Administration for Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) and from July 1947 by the International Refugees Organization (IRO). Due to financial reasons, it was decided to limit the number of Polish settlements, leaving only two – in Tengeru (Tanganyika) and Koja (Uganda).

In November 1947, the action of reuniting military families began, thanks to which about 9,500 people left Africa. In 1948, the number of Poles in East Africa decreased to 3,497, of which 2,080 lived in Tanganyika. Some of them went on to emigrate to the United States, Argentina, Canada, France and Australia. The settlements in Koja and Tengeru ended their activities only in the second half of 1952. A few hundred people remained in Tanganyika. The last Pole, Mr. Edward Wójtowicz, was buried in Tengeru in 2015.