- Author:
Jacek Knopek
- Year of publication:
2004
- Source:
Show
- Pages:
35-62
- DOI Address:
http://dx.doi.org/10.15804/ksm200402
- PDF:
ksm/08/ksm200402.pdf
The specification of Polish civilian and military emigration to the North Africa, in the period of the World War II
The migration of Poles in the period of 1939-1945 is pointed in the article. Just like all the dislocations of population fulfilled in the period of 1939-1945, the afflux of Poles to North Africa had a compulsory character. The emigration from the Polish lands was caused by the war and the warfare, and in the aftermath with it, the extermination of population. Article, in an analytical way, talks over the migration processes to the north ~ African land in a chronological order. Till the year 1939, the migrations of Poles to the North Africa were not in pro- gress on such a large scale as the one that took place during the II World War. In the XIX and the first half of the XX century, Poles were coming to the North Africa in groups of several dozens or few hundreds of people. Before the outbreak of the World War II, in the North African territory, were about 1000 persons of the eco- nomical emigration and about 1000 persons of the military emigration. During the war, about 1300 Polish civilian emigrants, arrived in the territory of Maghreb, and stayed there from several weeks to few years; among them were Poles and also Polish citizens of Jewish descent. Poles in Egypt were a numerically larger group. However, the centers created there were temporary, and the residence of Poles was short - lived. There were no centers of Polish civilian emigration in the north - east Africa, which survived in that territory during the whole period of the war. Thus, the residence of Poles at the Nile had a completely different character. In a wider degree, in the north Africa during the war, arrived Polish military emigrants. Including the soldiers of the Foreign Legion, in the French North Africa stayed temporary, or for a longer time, about 8100 Polish militaries, among who the most numerous groups were of Polis aviators and the air force technical staff, the soldiers of Polish September and the Polish Army in the West. Like civilian people, they stayed in the Maghreb countries from several weeks to dozens weeks or so, because they were to be evacuated to the Polish Armed Forces in the West.
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