As a result of the Second World War over five thousands Polish
reached Lebanon to find their safe haven. Although their colony
was not more numerous compared to other nationalities,
between 1943-1950 they built up a politically and socially
recognizable group. This work describes the historical and
political context of those surprising Polish-Lebanese relations.
Commemorative plaque funded by the refugees,
Church of the Maronite Patriarchal Seminary,
Ghazir, 1947. (fot. MZS)
When Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany on 1 September
1939, followed by the Soviet Union on 17 September 1939, a
number of Polish nationals managed to leave their occupied
country via Romania, Hungary and the Balkans heading towards
Palestine and Lebanon (respectively under British and French
mandate) and then reach Polish troops in France. In Beirut they
could count on the help of the Polish Consular Agency
(established in November 1933), Polish Capuchins and a small
Polish diaspora, in particular the Miklasiewicz and Manasterski
families.
The presence of this community dated back to the 19th - century.
In 1861, following a conflict between the Christians and Druze in
Mount Lebanon, the “Sublime Porte” forced by France, Russia, Britain, Austria and Prussia agreed to
create the autonomous Mutasarrifiyah of Jabal Lubnan under the Christian governor - general
(Mutasarrif). One of them, Muzaffar Pasha, alias Władysław Czajkowski (Czaykowski), 1902-1907, was of
Polish origin. He was a son of Sadyk Pasha Michał Czaykowski, founder of a Polish Cossack Brigade in the
Ottoman army formed to fight against the Russians. Ottoman authorities were obliged also to keep a
Christian garrison charged to maintain the peace in the region. This duty was assigned to the Polish
regiment of Dragoon of the Imperial Ottoman Guards under command of Colonel Jan Gościmiński
(Tuffan bey) and Colonel Ludwik Sas Monasterski (Lutfi bey). Existing between 1865 and 1889, it was one
of the last Polish military formations after partitions of Poland in the 18th - century.
With the growing number of recruits arriving to Beirut, General Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister and
Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces, decided to
create, as of April 1940, a Polish unit in the French territory of
Levant under command of the then Colonel, General
Stanisław Kopański. The newly formed Carpathian Brigade
was part of the French Army of the Levant and was
established in Homs, Syria. However after French defeat in
June 1940 the Polish unit was ordered to leave territory under
authority of Vichy government from that time on. After
difficult negotiations with new French authorities in Beirut,
the Carpathian Brigade defected with arms to Palestine to
join British forces. It was reorganized in Egypt and renamed:
The Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade. As a part of
the British 8th Army, it took an active and a decisive role in
Tobruk’s defence. In 1942 it formed the backbone of the 3rd
Identity card received by the Polish recruits arriving
to a port in Beirut. (Piotr Jaroszczak Carpathian Rifle Division and then the Polish II Corps.
www.kki.pl/piojar/brygad/brygad/formow/formow.
html).
Following the Vichy government defeat in the Levant in July
1941 and having friendly relations with General Charles de
Gaulle, W. Sikorski decided to open Polish military outposts in
Lebanon, including a hospital for pulmonary diseases in
Bhamdun. At the end of the summer of 1942, the Polish
Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade returned to the Lebanese
capital for military exercises in the mountains. Lebanon also
hosted other Polish units, as well as the submarines “Sokół”Falcon and “Dzik” – Wild Boar. In November 1941 Radio Levant
in Beirut, controlled by Free French Forces, began transmissions
in Polish once a day and doubled frequency in summer 1942.
Each programme was started and closed with Chopin’s polonaise
and could be heard in occupied Poland as well as in the Soviet
Union. Finally a conference of Polish diplomatic representatives
from the Middle East took place in Beirut in June 1943 in the
presence of the Polish Prime Minister. Consequently the Polish
Press Office, a division of the Ministry of Information in
Jerusalem, was opened at the Martyrs Square in Beirut. On 27
June 1943 General Sikorski made a speech to his compatriots
transmitted by Radio Levant. It was his last one. He was killed in
a plane crash in Gibraltar on 4 July 1943. In December 1943, it
was the turn of his successor as the Commander-in-Chief,
General Kazimierz Sosnkowski to visit Lebanon. Up till that time the Polish community did not exceed
one hundred people.
Zygmunt Zawadowski, Polish Minister and Henri
Pharaon, Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs,
o
1946. (fot. : La Revue du Liban, N 3, 14.09.1946 BNL)
With a nomination of a new Consul General for Lebanon and
Syria in October 1943, the Polish-Lebanese relationships
moved into a new phase. Dr Zygmunt Zawadowski
(1899-1978), an experienced diplomat, who had served the
previous four years at important posts in Danzig, Spain,
Portugal and USSR, quickly tied close and friendly relationships
with prominent Lebanese figures like President Bechara elKhoury, Prime Minister Riad el-Solh, or future President
Charles Helou. The importance of the post in Beirut had grown
significantly. Starting from 1 August 1944 it was transformed
into the Legation of Poland to Lebanon and Syria and Dr
Zawadowski became the Extraordinary Envoy and
Plenipotentiary Minister of Poland to Lebanon and Syria.
Finally, he made an extremely significant and unique
diplomatic act of unconditional recognition of Lebanon’s
independence on 17 August 1944. Poland was the first country
to make such step without any reserves and Dr Zawadowski
was the first diplomat who presented his credentials to the
President of Lebanon. This act played an important role in the
Lebanese authorities’ decision to accept and accommodate a
considerable number of Polish refugees from Iran.
Presentation of the credentials to the President of
Lebanon on 17 August 1944. (fot.: L’Orient, 18 August
1944 – Gulbenk)
The direct upshot of the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939 was imprisonment of thousands of
Polish nationals for so-called “anti-Soviet attitude or activity” and then deportation of over a million
Polish to Siberia and Central Asia between 1940 and 1941. The situation changed radically with the
outbreak of Soviet-German war in June 1941. According to the agreement between the Soviet Union
and Poland signed in July 1941 the deportees were granted “amnesty” and were allowed to leave the
place of their detention. Stalin agreed also to create a Polish military unit under commandment of
General Władysław Anders released from infamous NKVD prison in Moscow. Nevertheless the promised
Soviet assistance was scarce and reluctant. General Anders quickly realized that there had been no
future alongside the Red Army and decided to evacuate to the Middle East to join the British forces.
After negotiations and diplomatic maneuvers, 115 000 civilians and military were able to leave the
Soviet Union to Iran in 1942. Malnourished, exhausted by diseases, hard labor and a long journey, they
were helped by British doctors and the American Red Cross, which cooperated with the Polish Red
Cross, founded in Beirut in January 1942 by the Polish diaspora. After recovery, those who enrolled in
the Polish army were transferred to Iraq and Palestine to join the Polish II Corps incorporated in the
British Forces, known for its Italian campaign. Children and women were moved to Isfahan where the
Polish authorities organized schools and boarding.
The Polish–Soviet relations became critical after the discovery of mass graves in the Katyn Forest in April
1943. The commission of the Red Cross, at the request of the London-based Polish government-in-exile,
concluded that the uncovered bodies were those of Polish officers executed in 1940 during Soviet
occupation. USSR claimed the victims had been murdered by the Nazis, and continued to deny
responsibility for the massacres until 1990, when it officially acknowledged and condemned the
perpetration of the killings by the NKVD. As a result Stalin had broken off diplomatic relations with
Poland and supported Polish communists, who subsequently formed a new regime, taking over power in
the country liberated by the Red Army. The peace conferences of the Allies: the Soviet Union, Great
Britain and the United States in Yalta in the Crimea (4-11 February 1945) and Potsdam, Germany
(17 July -2 August 1945) had confirmed the status-quo and shortly after they withdrew their support to
the London-based Polish government-in-exile. Following the peace conferences, the Polish borders were
moved westward and territories in the western part of Ukraine and Belarus, formerly in Poland, were
ceded to the USSR.
Despite the friendly reception of the Polish refugees in Iran, the country was not prepared to
accommodate thousands of foreigners. Therefore their evacuation became urgent. With the help of the
British authorities and international organizations, refugees were transferred to India, Africa, New
Zealand, Mexico, Palestine and Lebanon, always on a temporary basis, with the hope that once the
political situation stabilized, they would be able to return to their homeland.
In January and February 1944, the Polish Minister in Lebanon requested a residence permit for 500
university graduates supposed to become, later, officials in independent Poland. However, the Lebanese
authorities demanded a guarantee of the Polish government to cover all related expenses. Additionally
refugees were not supposed to work professionally. Polish Legation accepted all these conditions in
March 1944, though its financial situation had become critical with new geopolitical changes in Europe.
Therefore the Lebanese government and Dr Zawadowski asked General Louis Spears, representing
British authorities in Lebanon, for further guarantees. The conditions were accepted in June 1944 and
the number of visas was increased up to 1,500. After a short stay in a camp at Saint Simon beach in
Beirut, the newly-arrived were accommodated at Lebanese families in Christian villages around Beirut:
Ghazir, Zouk Mikael, Ajaltoun, Bdedoun, Beit Chebab, Roumieh and Baabdat. For each village, the
Delegation of the Polish Social Assistance chose an administrator, his deputy, as well as a secretary and
the Polish church authorities assigned a priest. In addition, a doctor, or at least a Polish nurse, was
present with a basic pharmacy.
Finally, a primary school, a library with
a cultural hall and a canteen were set
up for refugees. Children could also
attend one of three Polish high
schools. Moreover, Polish hospital
existed in Dekuane until the summer
of 1948 and in June 1947 a cemetery
for refugees was also established in
Beirut. According to the press
statement of Dr Zawadowski issued in
September 1946, there had been
approximately 4,400 Polish refugees
in Lebanon at that time: 2,300
women, 700 men and 1,400 children
Polish children in folk costumes visiting President Bechara El-Khoury, next to the under the age of 18. Each received
President – Dr Z. Zawadowski, Polish Minister, 1944.
monthly a sum of 12 pounds sterling
(fot. Fundacja “Archiwum fotograficzne tułaczy”).
from the Delegation of the Polish
Social Assistance in Beirut to cover the costs of a stay in Lebanon, especially rent.
“Taking into consideration that the amounts paid to Polish residing in Lebanon do not give any
opportunity to make savings, we must admit that the entire amount is spent by refugees on the territory
of Lebanon, which has, certainly, favorable influence on economic development in the country and is a
convenient compensation of pre-war tourism”, he said. (“L’Orient”, 13 September 1946)
Starting from November 1946, the refugees were taken directly under the care of the Consulate General
of Great Britain, where an office for the Polish counselor was established. Financial subsidies were
managed by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), then the
International Refugee Organization (IRO) and radically reduced. However the main reason for the Polish
presence in Lebanon was related to higher education opportunities for young Polish at well-known
universities: French Saint Joseph University (USJ) and the American University of Beirut (AUB). The
commandment of the Polish Army, aware that the country would need qualified professionals after the
war, signed an agreement with the Delegation of Free French Forces in the Levant to allow students,
mobilized to the army before the end of their studies in Poland, to complete remaining courses and
examinations at USJ. The Faculty of Medicine organized special regime classes (1942-43, 1944-46, 1947),
where out of 36 students, 30 were Poles, 3 Czechs, 1 Austrian and 1 Hungarian. Later, those young
soldiers integrated their military units. Furthermore, between 1943 and 1947, sixteen Polish seminarians
completed their theological studies at USJ and were ordained priests. One of them was Władysław Rubin
(1917-1990), later cardinal of the Roman Curia and Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental
Churches. At AUB students were accepted only for a full program of at least three years on the basis of
an agreement between the University authorities and the Polish Legation, representing the Polish
Minister of Education. Since autumn 1941, civilian students, who managed to escape occupied Poland at
the beginning of the war and graduate at the Polish school in Palestine, as well as former deportees,
who attended schools in Iran, were arriving to Beirut. After 1945, they were joined by the Resistance
members - Armia Krajowa (the Home Army) liberated by the Allies from Nazi concentration camps.
Women constituted 80% of Polish students. At that time the universities were rather reticent in
admission of female students. Nonetheless, the Legation was persuaded that young Polish girls should
have had an access to higher education. As a result they were often the first female students at their
respective faculties like at the USJ Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
Bayard Dodge, President of AUB, 1923-1948, noted in his memoir:
“[...] Over a hundred of Polish boys and girls were sent to
the University, where they proved to be excellent students
and had a splendid influence on the campus. Because of
the war and the presence of large armies, the simplicity of
former times was rapidly giving way to a new period of
modernization. Men and women students were permitted
to act together in plays and to enjoy dances in West Hall.
[...] The number of “co-eds” rapidly increased. The Polish
students helped to interpret European ideas to their college
mates. [...]”
In addition to AUB and USJ, some students joined the
Graduate School of French Literature and the newlyestablished Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in Beirut
(ALBA). The Polish considerably strengthened the Academy
in number, but mainly with their previous artistic
experience. It is worth mentioning that the first two
promotions of architecture in 1948 comprised of five Polish
(including two female-students) and only three Lebanese.
Students formed a core of the Polish refugees in Lebanon.
Their organization "Bratnia Pomoc Studentów Polaków"
BRATNIAK - a "Polish Students’ Mutual Aid Society"
founded in November 1944 and based on the system of student fraternities, collaborated closely with
the Legation in the organization of cultural events, but in particular in relation with local press. In total,
about four hundred young Polish studied in Lebanon. Two hundred received diplomas. Those who had
to leave Lebanon before graduation could continue their education in new places of residence thanks to
references of their respective Lebanese universities. The tuition was paid by the London-based Polish
Ministry of Education until the Allies’ recognition of a new communist government in Warsaw. In 1946,
the British Consulate withdrew its support. However the charges were still covered by the Legation with
help of the command of the Polish Armed Forces in Beirut and donations of Lebanese friends.
PION, a monthly publication of the “Bratnia Pomoc
Studentów Polaków” – “Polish Students’ Mutual Aid
Society”, 1946 (private archives of Halina Wagner).
Polish intellectuals, who found themselves among refugees, were gathered at the Polish Institute in
Beirut of Prof. Stanisław Kościałkowski (1881-1960), a famous professor of history of Vilnius University,
affiliated with the Polish Institute of New York and approved by the Lebanese authorities. Thanks to
their initiative a compendium of knowledge about Polish culture and history - "Bolonia" was issued in
1946, translated from French into Arabic by Joseph Dagher, the curator of the National Library of
Lebanon. Its excerpts were published in the Lebanese Al-Adib journal. By 1945 the Polish Press Office
integrated the Legation. Moreover the publishing house "Reduta" created in Palestine in 1946 by the
command of the Polish Armed Forces in the East moved its headquarters to Lebanon in 1947.
Dr Zawadowski became its president. “Reduta” published a bulletin in Arabic, as well as various political
periodicals in English, as the Eastern Quarterly, and another, in Polish, Sprawy Bliskiego i Środkowego
Wschodu.
Both were transferred to London respectively in 1949
and 1952. However the most important publication was
the Arabic translation of "Anhelli" by the famous
Romantic poet Juliusz Słowacki (1809-1849) conceived
in Ghazir during his three months stay in the Lebanese
Mountain and Beirut in 1837. The refugees also
acknowledged another 19th - century Polish figure
closely tied with Lebanon - Maksymilian Ryłło (18021848), the superior of the Jesuit mission and Apostolic
Delegate in Lebanon. His most important achievement
was the establishment of an educational institution for
the Middle East to become Saint Joseph University in
Beirut in 1875.
The last chance to expose disagreement with new
regime in Poland at an international forum was the
session of UNESCO in Beirut in 1948. Although the
Legation, representing the London-based governmentin-exile could not be officially invited, thanks to good
relations with the Lebanese authorities, seven refugees’ Plaque funded by the refugees to commemorate stay of
representatives participated in the conference and Dr
Juliusz Słowacki in Saint Antoine Monastery in Ghazir.
(fot. MZS)
Zawadowski was invited to official meetings.
Subsequently, he published in several Lebanese newspapers an open letter to delegates of UNESCO,
saluting Lebanese hospitality and exposing the difficult situation of the Polish refugees. Since 1947, IRO,
in collaboration with the Legation, managed to evacuate over 5,000 people to Great Britain, Australia,
Canada, Argentina and the United States. Only six hundred refugees decided to go back to Poland.
Approximately two hundred Polish, including women
married to Lebanese, remained in Lebanon.
Plaque funded by the refugees to commemorate Father
M. Ryłło, Saint Joseph Church, Beirut. (fot. MZS)
It should be noted that several Lebanese public figures
were awarded for helping Polish refugees: President
Bechara El Khoury received the highest Polish decoration:
“The Order of the White Eagle”; Prime Minister Riad elSolh, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs - Hamid Franjieh and
Henri Pharaon, Minister Hussein Oueyni - the Order of
Polonia Restituta. Polish distinctions were awarded also to
Alexis Boutros, president of ALBA, Bayard Dodge,
president of AUB, Father Victor Pruvot, the rector of USJ
and other Lebanese figures. However, the most moving
ceremony took place during the visit of the commander of
the Polish Armed Forces in the East - General Józef Wiatr
on 29 October 1946. As a sign of gratitude of the Polish
army, he handed to the President of Lebanon - “Buńczuk”
- a horse tail hair attached to a silver pole, an oriental
symbol of military and civil authority of "Hetman", the
commander-in-chief of the Polish army in 15th - to 18thcentury.
In conclusion, it is worth underlining once again the
actions of the Legation and the Polish Minister
Dr Zawadowski. The organization of higher education
in the best universities of the region for young
Polish, the placement of over 5,000 refugees in
villages and not in camps, effective public relations,
all these actions exceeded the competency of the
Legation, but the results were prolific and Lebanon
was one of the last countries which recognized the
new regime in Warsaw in 1956.
As Prof. Kościałkowski wrote in his book “The Polish
and Lebanon...”:
General J. Wiatr handing over the “Buńczuk” to the President
Bechara El-Khoury, 29 October 1946, (fot. La Revue du Liban,
“The recall of the Lebanese hospitality reserved for
o
N 10, 2 Nov. 1946 – Gulbenk, BNL).
thousands of Polish exiles will remain forever in their
memory [...]. It is a fact that will not disappear without a trace. It must be therefore beneficial for the
future Polish-Lebanese relations. Because although the Poles have various imperfections, this does not
exclude that they have virtues: gratitude is not the least.”
Based on “Le Cèdre et l’Aigle. Les Polonais au Liban, une coexistence singulière” by Marzena ZielińskaSchemaly.