Poland in South Africa

The aim of the event was to commemorate the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. The film presents the forgotten history of Polish refugees in Africa during World War II. Thousands of women and children, deported to Soviet gulags, after leaving the USSR and wandering for many weeks, found their temporary home in East African villages. The story is told through unique archival materials and direct accounts of Polish women (one of whom is the director's grandmother), who reached an unknown land in the early 1940s and spent the last years of the war there. Consul Marta Gutkowska gave an occasional speech. After the screening, the audience had the opportunity to talk virtually with the film's director.

Photos: Grazyna Koornhof/Polish Embassy in Pretoria