From 1942 until the end of the Second World War there was a population 120,000 strong of Polish migrants in Iran, this was part of around 300,000 Poles that had been forced out of their homeland by the Russians and forced into the east of the Soviet Union and Siberia.
The details are fascinating and strictly speaking outside of the remit here, but they should not, and if you are researching Polish ancestors, must not be overlooked.
- Iranian Documentary, “The Lost Requiem” produced by Khosrow Sinaiin 1983. This film took twelve years for the producer to make as he researched, filmed and interviewed as many people as he could locate from the former Polish community which spent the years from 1942 in Iran. The film has been made available by the producer and can be found at YouTube.
Other Links
Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest 
Is it in Polish or English?
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The video is in English.
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Thank you – my Polish isn’t very good, so nice to know this is in English…I will find the time to watch it as my family was in Iran during this period.
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Teresa that is fascinating. I was very interested in this when I uncovered it during research and whenever I mention it people are always surprised.
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Yes – it is not something many people are aware of unless their families (or at least some members of the family) survived the ordeal…There’s another film about it called A Forgotten Odyssey – here’s the website: http://aforgottenodyssey.kresy-siberia.org. Watching it was very painful for me.
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I am sorry Teresa that it is painful to watch. I do understand the difficulties. None of us like to think that their ancestors & family members were hurt or suffered. It was a dreadful time.
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