Remembering a Polish refugee camp in Mbala, Zambia: community initiatives, excavations, museum exhibitions and local memories

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMbewe, Mary
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-12T10:55:55Z
dc.date.available2026-01-12T10:55:55Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractThe history of Polish refugee camps in Zambia during the Second World War remains an understudied subject, with limited scholarship on the fate of these settlements after the war. This article examines the former Polish refugee camp in Mbala, demonstrating that its history persists in local memory despite its abandonment (by 1950) and later transformation into residential plots (by the 1990s). Unlike other Polish refugee sites in Zambia that have largely faded from public consciousness, Mbala’s camp continues to be remembered through place names, preserving portions of the former camp, oral history traditions, and museum activities, including exhibitions and research. Drawing on archival sources, oral testimonies, and museum activities in Mbala, this article argues that Mbala’s unique socio-historical context, characterised by its relatively slow urbanisation and the role of local custodians of memory, has facilitated the continued remembrance of the camp. The study highlights how local communities engage with and sustain historical narratives even in the absence of formal national commemoration. By exploring these processes of remembrance, the article contributes to broader discussions on post-war refugee histories, contested memories, and the politics of memorialisation in Africa.
dc.identifier.citationMbewe, M., 2025. Remembering a polish refugee camp in Mbala, Zambia: Community initiatives, excavations, museum exhibitions and local memories. Memory Studies, 18(5), pp.1172-1188.
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1177/17506980251375344
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10566/21661
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSAGE Publications Ltd
dc.subjectAbercorn
dc.subjectMemorialisation
dc.subjectNorthern Rhodesia
dc.subjectPolish Refugee Camps
dc.subjectSecond World War
dc.titleRemembering a Polish refugee camp in Mbala, Zambia: community initiatives, excavations, museum exhibitions and local memories
dc.typeArticle

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
mbewe_remembering_a_polish_refugee_camp_2025.pdf
Size:
626.82 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Research Articles (History)