Polish Women as “Sweet Pillagers” in Persian Poetry

Between 1942 and 1945, Iran served as both a transit country and a refuge for approximately 120,000 Polish exiles who had survived the Soviet gulags and kolkhozes. Among them were soldiers as well as a significant number of civilians (about 45,000). While the military moved to the war fronts to support the Allies, the civilians – primarily women and children – remained in refugee camps, awaiting further relocation. Although generally isolated from Iranian society, many Polish refugees nevertheless managed to venture into the cities and lead independent lives. Their presence has left some marks on Persian literature, particularly in prose. These Polish traces in Persian fiction have gradually increased over time and are receiving growing scholarly attention. However, when it comes to Persian poetry, verses on the Polish exiles are extremely rare and largely unexplored. Therefore, this paper seeks to partly fill this lacuna by examining a Persian poem composed during the Second World War that addresses the “Polish beauties”.