lamus-dworski: African volunteers in the Polish army during the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921).

lamus-dworski:

African volunteers in the Polish army during the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921). Images via Afryka.org andMuzeum Lotnictwa.

There’s sadly not much of surviving records about them. One newspaper article specifies that name of one of them was “Dżek” (probably Jack) and he came from South Africa (or just southern parts of the continent). Most likely all of them acquired Polish citizenship before joining the Polish troops. Pictures show members of the 12th Air Intelligence Squadron (12. Eskadra Wywiadowcza).

The Polish-Soviet conflict broke out just after the end of the World War 1 in the Eastern Europe. It attracted many unexpected volunteers from around the world, who fought against the Bolshevism alongside the newly freed Poland - country that had just regained independence and returned to the map of Europe after over a century of the foreign occupations [see: Partitions of Poland]. The war largely determined the Soviet-Polish border for the period between the two World Wars.