In 1942 approximately 116,000 Poles were evacuated from the USSR with Anders Army to Persia – but hundreds of thousands remained in the USSR

Conditions deteriorated in 1942 for Poles in the USSR: orphanages closed; Polish Delegatura were arrested; welfare stopped

On 16 January 1943 Soviet authorities took over all Polish welfare institutions

On 16 January 1943 the Soviets announced that all Polish deportees in the Soviet Union were now Soviet citizens

In February 1943 the Union of Polish Patriots, ZPP, was created in Moscow

In April 1943 the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic relations with the Polish Government-in-Exile in London in the wake of the Katyn dispute

The Polish government-in-exile estimated that at least 271,325 Poles were trapped in the USSR, forced to take Soviet citizenship

On 6 May 1943 a Polish army was created in the USSR under Soviet command – the 1st Tadeusz Kosciuszko Infantry Division

Poles in the interior of the USSR began to be repatriated back to Poland late 1945 with the majority being transferred in 1946.