The 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade
(1 Samodzielna Brygada Spadochronowa)
Crossing The Caspian Sea
What The Evacuees Experienced
The distance from Krasnovodsk to Pahlevi was around 250 nautical miles. In theory, crossing the Caspian Sea should have been easy enough for the Polish evacuees of 1942. However, reality was something else.
Ageing oil & coal boats were used during when crossing the Caspain Sea whereby the passengers were forced to stand due to lack of space and gross overloaded. The Polish evacuees were glad to be escaping the "Inhuman Land" in favour of "Freedom".
The names of the boats used during crossing the Caspian Sea, sailing dates and who was on them is covered in extensive detail in the research section of the website where these photos re-appear under their respective boat names.
I have spent much time scouring the web and archives for photos of the boats crossing the Caspian Sea to Pahlevi. Below is every photo known to exist of the Caspian Sea Crossings in 1942.
If you know of any sea vessels used in 1942 crossing the Caspian Sea, please, please do get in touch as these are gold dust and full of meaning to thousands of people tracing tracing their Polish roots.
For now, look at these photos and see how almost all of the boats were grossly overcrowded with sick, ill, malnourished Polish people, all desperately fleeing Stalin to the land of freedom, Pahlevi in Persia:
The Agamali-Ogly
The photos are from the deck of the Agamali-Ogly whilst crossing the Caspian Sea in 1942 during the evacuation of Poles that were held captive in the USSR.
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Each year, about 12,000 people visit this website to trace their Polish ancestry, uncover family stories, and connect with their roots. I believe that history should be accessible to all - but keeping this website alive comes at a cost, 7 years @ £1000 with zero donations to date has left a £7K dent. 😱😱😱
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