Refugee Camps as Forgotten Portals of Globalization:

Polish World War II Refugees in British Colonial East Africa

  • Jochen Lingelbach

Abstract

From 942–950, nearly 20,000 Polish refugees lived in over 20 camps in ive British colonial territories. This article uses the concept of portals of globalization to analyze these camps in a frame that goes beyond national historiography. The interaction that took place between the Polish refugees and actors of the hosting colonial societies is regarded as a low that local authorities tried to regulate. Colonial oicials understood the poor, white refugees as a potential threat to the stability of the racially deined colonial hierarchy. The portals of globalization concept connects this local history with historical developments of global reach, which manifested in the refugee camps. This episode was, however, forgotten – i.e. did not become part of a collective memory – as it did not it into any national narrative.

Available Formats

Published

2017

How to Cite

Lingelbach, J. (2017). Refugee Camps as Forgotten Portals of Globalization:: Polish World War II Refugees in British Colonial East Africa. Comparativ, 27(3-4), 78–93. https://doi.org/10.26014/j.comp.2017.03/04.05