Poland in South Africa

The eleventh edition of the South Africa – Poland Heritage Conference took place on 24 November 2024 in Johannesburg entitled the "Commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the Russian invasion of Poland and the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising".

The event is organized cyclically by Stefan Szewczuk, president of the Association of Siberians in South Africa, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Pretoria (continuously since 2014) and for several years also with the Holocaust and Genocide Centre in Johannesburg. The event was attended by: Stefan Szewczuk, who gave a lecture on "Berling's Army and my grandparent’s role of in the Warsaw Uprising”; Dr Pieter L. Möller, former lecturer in history at the North West University and in Stellenbosch, who gave a lecture on “The South African Air Force and the Warsaw Airlift: Examples of Bravery”; Dr Cobus Rademeyer, lecturer in history at Sol Plaatje University, who gave a lecture on “The Polish Orphans of Oudtshoorn (1943-1947): The Jan Smuts Factor”; and Jarryd Clark, a masters candidate of the University of Pretoria, who discussed his thesis “An Enigma within Enigma: The Underrepresented History of Polish Codebreakers during the Second World War II”. The event was moderated by Tali Nates, Director of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre.