Forgotten people and places: 'Stalin's Poles' in Persia, India and Africa, 1942-50

Abstract

Often overlooked in histories of displaced persons (DPs) who came to Australia after the Second World War are those who suffered Soviet rather than Nazi aggression, and who found salvation in DP camps outside of Europe. This article addresses this relative neglect by exploring the fate of Polish citizens who were deported to the Soviet Union during the war and spent up to eight years in DP camps in the Middle East, India and Africa before arriving in Australia. These camps provided a level of security and physical, psychological, and moral rehabilitation that historians argue was largely absent from the European DP camps after the war.