An Imperial Refuge: Race and Colonialism in Polish Accounts from British East Africa

By analysing their positions towards race and colonialism, the present article complements existing studies on the Polish refugees and officials who settled in British East Africa during and after the Second World War. By using lesser-known materials, I draw a general image of Polish attitudes towards the colonial realities of the region. I underline that many Poles, despite aspiring to the entirely ‘white’ racial status in the colonies, displayed a postcolonial understanding of the position of Africans in the British colonial system.