Nevertheless, during the two great evacuations (the first, between March 24 and the beginning of April 1942; the second, between August 10 and September 1, 1942), from Krasnovodsk across the Caspian Sea to Pahlavi, and the smaller overland evacuations from Ashkhabad to Mashhad (March and September 1942), about 115 000 Polish citizens (including some 37 000 civilians, of whom about 18 300 were children) left the Soviet Union. The soldiers of Gen. Anders' army went on to fight in many battles, including the one at Monte Cassino; the civilians, because they could not be repatriated, were forced to remain in foreign lands for the remainder of the war.
The first stop of the refugees evacuated with Anders' army was Iran, where they found temporary quarters in large transit camps initially located in Pahlavi and Mashhad, later in Teheran and Ahvaz. While Gen. Anders' troops were subsequently transferred to Palestine and from there to Iraq, the civilians remained in Iran. To accommodate the refugees, a sprawling stationary camp was established in Isfahan. Because it housed several sub-camps for the thousands of orphaned Polish children, Isfahan came to be known as the "City of Polish Children". The relief assistance afforded by Polish, British, American, and Iranian authorities improved their living conditions and brought the devastating contagious diseases under control - diseases, acquired in the Soviet Union, which continued to rob the refugees of their lives even after liberation (over 2000 refugees died in Iran alone). In time, various Polish institutions, including 24 schools serving some 3000 students, were established in Iran and several Polish periodicals and newspapers appeared.
Their stay in Iran, however, was cut short because of the hostility of the Soviets occupying Northern Iran and because of the threat of the German armies which had already reached the Caucasus. Eventually, the refugees were transferred from Iran to other countries, such as Lebanon, Palestine, India, Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika, North and South Rhodesia, South Africa, Mexico and New Zealand. Wherever they went, the Polish refugees encountered effusive good will, not only on the part of the respective governments that invited them, but also on the part of the native populations. Welcoming signs with Polish flags, white eagles, and words of encouragement often greeted their arrival, high government officials paid them visits, and even commemorative monuments were erected in their honour! Unlike the Soviet Union, these were, after all, ancient civilized cultures.
