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Africans in Poland, also known as Afro-Poles or Afro-Polish (Polish: Afropolacy), are citizens or residents of Poland who are of African descent. As of 2024, among European countries, the proportion of people from Africa is one of the lowest (<0.1% of the total population).
History
The origins of the Afro-Polish community are rooted in educational immigration to the Polish People's Republic. The Communist government strongly supported anti-colonial movements in Africa as part of broader Soviet policy. From the 1950s to the 1980s, many Africans emigrated to Poland to pursue their educations. While most African students in Poland returned to their countries of origin, many decided to remain in Poland and acquire citizenship. The contemporary Afro-Polish community includes many of these Africans and their descendants.
In 1955, the 5th World Festival of Youth and Students was held in Warsaw. Organized by the leftist, anti-imperialist World Federation of Democratic Youth, the festival invited thousands of delegates from around the world, including almost 1,000 Africans. The Communist leadership of Poland wished to express solidarity and promote socialism to Africans from colonized nations. This was one of the earliest Polish encounters with non-white people, following the end of the multicultural and multiethnic Second Polish Republic following World War II. The Polish Press Agency was given the task of documenting the African visitors, which began an ongoing series of Polish press photography depicting African visitors and residents of Poland.
Members of Sejm, Killion Munyama and John Godson, 2013
Media related to African diaspora in Poland at Wikimedia Commons
