To Govern a Community of Refugees: Some Insights into the History of the Polish Refugee Administration in East Africa, 1942–1945

The relocation of thousands of Polish refugees in East Africa in 1942 required a considerable effort to set up institutions capable of providing social and political care upon their arrival from Iran. Th e aim of this article is to give some insights into the tremendous task performed by the Polish officials to establish an effective administration in various British territories in Africa. Due to severe shortages of appropriate cadres the governmental agencies in refugee settlements and in Nairobi were understaffed and plagued by conflicts. The erosion of credibility of the Polish Government-in-Exile aft er the Yalta conference led to the gradual marginalization by the British of the refugees’ institutions in Africa. Nevertheless, the Polish administration in Africa survived the end of the war in 1945 and its structures functioned until the departure of the majority of Poles between 1948 and 1950.