A visit by St Nicholas to the Polish settlement of Tengeru in 1944.

It was 1944, the war was underway and the youngest residents of the Polish settlement of Tengeru were visited by St. Nicholas. According to tradition, 6 December was also celebrated by Polish citizens in Africa. The excitement generated by St. Nicholas’ visit was described in the magazine “Nasz Przyjaciel”: ‘An extremely important and solemn event, due to the large number of children in the settlements, was St. Nicholas Day. His visit always aroused a lot of joy among the youngest children. It has to be said that in the largest estate, the smallest details were taken care of and the work done by the honoured guest required considerable effort. The day before the festivities, Santa’s arrival was announced through megaphones. The following morning, he would appear with his retinue. Everyone was dressed up. Santa visited the entire housing estate, which was divided into seven groups. He also met with the leadership, for example in Tengeru with K. Korzeniowski and British Commandant John Minnery in the lead. He also did not miss the parish priest of Tengeru’.
Source: M. Solarz, Pastoral activities among the population evacuated from the USSR (1942-1952), 2023 Kraków, pp. 144-145.
Photo from the collection of Janina Lewszuk, Archive of the Documentation Centre of Resettlement, Expulsion and Displacement of the UKEN.