Poland making film on World War II refugees
KARACHI: The story of Polish refugees who took shelter in Karachi during World War II will be retold in a documentary being prepared by a state television journalist from Poland.
The filmmaker, Anna Pietraszek, is preparing at least two documentaries that would help promote relations between the two countries. After the Soviet invasion of Poland on Sept 17, 1939, and annexation of its eastern territories, many of the Polish people were sent to Siberia. Later, these refugees were expelled and they, after travelling through Siberia, entered Iran and finally reached Karachi.
Between Aug 24, 1942, and Dec 31, 1944, about 28,000 Polish refugees stayed in Karachi at two refugee camps. The biggest camp was set up near University Road at a place then called Country Club and it accommodated nearly 21,000 people.
When the Country Club camp became overcrowded and the Polish refugees were still coming, a new camp for around 7,000 of them was established in Malir along with a military camp where US soldiers were billeted.
Both the camps were supervised and administered by representatives of the British and Polish governments. The camps were very well organized, having their own schools, canteens, binaries, hospitals, theatres, orchestra, post office, churches and sports, games, cultural-educational as well as social life was very active.
There are 58 graves of Polish nationals, who died during that period, at Karachi’s Christians Cemetery (Gora Qabristan). A monument, as a token of Poland’s gratitude to Karachiites for giving shelter to their refugees, would also be installed.
The second documentary, according to Anna Pietraszek, is based on the life of a high-ranking Polish official, Air Commodore Wladyslaw Turowicz, and other Polish technicians and officials who helped build the Pakistan Air Force soon after independence.
She said that Mr Turowicz had fought the Second World War along with the Allied Forces and when after the war Poland came under the communist regime, many Poles did not return to their homes and stayed back in the UK.
She said soon after Pakistan’s independence, its High Commission in UK started looking for qualified people for its air force, and Air Comm Turowicz, along with many other Polish officials, joined PAF on a three-year contract.
Turowicz liked the country and its people so much that after the expiry of his contract, he stayed back and remained with the air force, and after retirement from the air force, he joined the SUPARCO as its executive director. He died on March 12, 1980. His wife is still living here and his daughter, Anna, is married to a Pakistani air force official, who has retired now.
The journalist has urged the elder people, who might have seen and still remember the memory of Polish refugees when they were staying here in the early 1940s, to come forward and share their experiences with her or the consulate officials (on telephone numbers 587 9593 – 4, or Fax 587 9592 and e-mail: “[email protected]”) so that a complete picture of that time could be portrayed in the documentary.
The Polish journalist was speaking at a press conference, accompanied by the Polish consul-general in Karachi, Ireneusz Makles. Both the consul general and the filmmaker expressed the hope that with these documentaries, the friendly relations between both the countries would be strengthened further.
They said the younger generation in both the countries was not properly aware of these pages from the common history that they shared. They said that when Polish people were in need, Karachi cites helped them by giving them shelter, hospitality and opened their homes for refugees. They said the Polish people will never forget this gesture.
Pakistan Air Force Retired Officers’ Association representative Group Captain (retd) S. Ahtesham A. Naqvi, who had worked with the late Air Comm Turowicz; and Pakistan Poland Trade and Investment Forum chief M. Waseem Vohra also spoke.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/9/2004
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