%0 Journal Article
%T Soplicovo over Yarkon. A G roup Portrait of Polish War Refugees in Tel Aviv (1940−1948)
%A Patek, Artur
%J Central European and Balkan Studies
%V 2021
%R 10.4467/2543733XSSB.21.004.13797
%N Tom XXX
%P 29-51
%K Tel Aviv, Polish war refugees, Poles in Tel Aviv 1939–1948, collective portrait
%@ 2451-4993
%D 2021
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/ssb/article/soplicowo-nad-jarkonem-proba-portretu-zbiorowego-polskich-uchodzcow-wojennych-w-tel-awiwie-1940-1948
%X 
	In 1939–1948, an important center of Polish pro-independence emigration emerged in Tel Aviv. In January 1945 2,291 Polish civilian war refugees resided there (6,718 in all of the Holy Land). Palestine was at the time a Mandatory Territory of the League of Nations, governed by Great Britain.
	The refugees created a community which differed from the local one. It had clear distinguishing features – it included a large percentage of ill and lonely persons who required care; it had a high rate of feminization, an atypical social and occupational structure (a high percentage of intelligentsia and freelance professions), and a varied ethnic and religious composition. The refugees included many members of pre-war elites, people of culture and politicians.
	The majority of the Poles declared their attachment to national values. However, this was also accompanied by negative phenomena – political divisions and internal feuds. The unlikelihood of returning home in the near future led to frustration. In some people, war experiences weakened ethical and moral standards; some came into conflict with the law.
	The lot of the Poles from Tel Aviv showed all problems of pro-independence emigration: (1) an interest in politics pervaded their lives; (2) material concerns caused increasing worry; (3) awareness of having no say in changing the political situation in the homeland.