Government In Exile Research Articles

Exiles and the Homeland: The State of Research

The goal of this article is to outline the current state of historical research on interactions between Polish exiles, who after the end of the World War II decided not to return to Poland, now governed by communists and shifted a hundred miles westward, and Kraj (Homeland) as well as to point out directions for further research in this field. When referring to emigracja (exiles), I do not mean all Polish postwar migrants but only the minority of them who were politically active. As a consequence, the concept does not embrace entire emigre communities in particular countries of settlement. Instead, I adopt a relatively large definition of “political exiles” that includes not only, obviously, groups and organizations engaged in political activities related directly to the homeland, including the president and the government in exile; opposition political councils and committees; political parties active in exile; and the influential monthly magazine Kultura, edited by Jerzy Giedroyc in Paris or the Polish Section of Radio Free Europe (RFE). The concept also comprises emigre institutions and circles, which concentrated their activities mainly on internal affairs of the exile, for example, social organizations (especially veterans); the “pro-Homeland” (prokrajowy) initiatives; newspapers and publishing houses in exile; organizations providing material support for the Homeland as well as doing research on Homeland affairs. The concept of a “Homeland,” written always with a capital letter, was created by Polish emigres when Poland was occupied during World War II. From the beginning, the concept included Poles living in Poland or Polish society, resisting Nazi and communist oppression, but not structures of the state that existed abroad.

Broadcasting by the Czechoslovak Exile Government in London, 1939–1945

This project places the wartime BBC broadcasts of the Czechoslovak Government-in-exile at the centre of a study of their work in London, analysing their programmes as one aspect of their performanc...

Rząd Polski na Wychodźstwie wobec zbrodni niemieckich w Polsce, 1939–1943. Uwagi do problemu

The policy of the Polish government in exile during World War II has been the subject of numerous studies, but it still seems reasonable to trace their relation to crimes committed on Polish soil. The aim of this article is not to present the whole problem, but just outline the attitude towards German crimes. It must be remembered that the Polish government was also confronted with the occupation policy of the Soviet Union and the crimes committed in Volhynia and Galicia by Ukrainian nationalists. The final caesura of the article is the President’s decree of on punishment for war crimes released on March 30, 1943.The Polish government was of the opinion that the crimes should be punished primarily on the level of individuals who committed them, but the consequence of the criminal policy of the Third Reich should be the adoption of such a post-war policy against Germany that would guarantee compensation for victim countries, including compensation for material damage, and lead to a change in the German mentality, which was blamed partly responsible for the policy of the Third Reich. Such an attitude was shared by the anti-Hitler coalition countries.On the practical level, the Polish government’s policy had several stages. Initially, they collected information, tried to make it public and sough the cooperation of other countries. Despite numerous doubts were reported, they decided to amend the Polish criminal law to allow punishing war criminals more proportionally, as they thought, to the committed acts. The government’s activity probably influenced the attitude of the Allies, although it is difficult to accurately recognize and describe this issue. As a result of the situation after World War II, the new Polish authorities pursued a policy of punishing the guilty. Due to the international situation, i.e. the growing conflict between the coalition partners, many criminals escaped punishment.

Patriotism, money and control

This article analyses the strategies that were used to mobilize Norwegian seamen during the Second World War. The large Norwegian merchant fleet, and consequently the manning of it, was of great importance to the Allied war effort. Due to the German occupation of Norway, the mobilizing of seamen was implemented from exile. This strongly affected the Norwegian exile Government’s efforts for securing the participation of the seamen, with good help from the trade unions. In all phases of the war, the motivational factor that was considered most important to maintain among the seamen was the retrieval of a free Norway. Hence, various forms of propaganda were used to preserve this motivation. The wide range of mobilization tools also included the use of money, improvement of social and welfare benefits, and, most importantly, control and legal measures. Compared to earlier research in this field, this article argues that a broader strategy was used, and that the Allies, primarily represented by British authorities, played a more active role.

Is China’S Claim of Title Over Taiwan Justified

From history Taiwan has had very close relations with China, with several Chinese regimes having control of the Taiwan. Moreover, the region has also been ruled by other countries among them Japan and the Dutch. In the recent years there have been trends to recognize Taiwan as a state but Chinese government has often claimed it owns the title over Taiwan and that the government of Taiwan is just like any other regional government of other parts of china. The question has been is china a government in exile for Taiwan? Can Taiwan claim to be an independent state? This paper looks at these questions by dissecting the Taiwan dilemma on the basis of the Montevideo convention on the rights and duties of states 1933.

Brygada Korwina w szeregach ZWZ–AK w latach 1941–1943

The Korwin Brigade in ZWZ–AK in 1941–1943 The Korwin Brigade was created by Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Wiktor Boczkowski, pseudonym Korwin, a Polish Army Intelligence officer, in Warsaw in September 1941. The Brigade was part of the structures of the regional Counter–Intelligence and subsequently the Counter–Intelligence for the Warsaw District of the Union of Armed Struggle–the Home Army (ZWZ–AK) under by Cavalry Captain (Res.) Alfred Mieczyslaw Klausal, pseudonym Łosoś, Baron, and Mecenas. The Brigade acted within the ZWZ–AK structures until September 1943, conducting Counter– Intelligence work aimed predominantly against the Polish Workers’ Party (PPR) and the People’s Guard (GL). By this time it enjoyed considerable successes in invigilating GL and PPR members in Warsaw. These accomplishments were rendered possible by professionally conducted Counter– Intelligence operations and conflicts within the PPR and the GL, which paralysed the work carried out by communist Intelligence. The activity of the Korwin Brigade was highly regarded by Boczkowski’s direct superior, Cavalry Captain Klausal, and the Second Department of the Chief Command (KG) of ZWZ–AK. Nonetheless, in September 1943 Colonel Marian Drobik, head of the Second Department KG ZWZ–AK, ordered Lieutenant Colonel Boczkowski to suspend all activity and hand over his subordinates to the Home Army Chief Command. The reason for this decision could have been the disclosure of Boczkowski’s cooperation with the commander of the National Armed Forces (NSZ) Colonel Tadeusz Kurcyusz. In June 1943 Boczkowski undertook the task of establishing contact between Tadeusz Kurcyusz and Jerzy Kurcyusz, head of the civilian liaison outpost of the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile in Istanbul. The possibility that this attempt to disband the Brigade was caused by behind–the–scenes efforts of General Stanislaw Tatar, head of the Organisational Department of KG AK, and Colonel Drobik, intent on establishing contact with the Communists, should not be excluded. These steps were kept secret from General Tadeusz Komorowski, Chief Commander of AK. Lieutenant Colonel Boczkowski disobeyed the commands issued by the head of the Second Department KG AK and together with a majority of his subordinates opted for collaboration with the Delegation of the Government in exile. At the same time, the Information Department of the General Staff of GL effectively paralysed the Intelligence activity of the Brigade. On 14 October 1943 a communist death squad shot Stanislaw Janota, a leading member of the Korwin Brigade. Conflicts with superiors and the efficient campaign conducted by the communist Counter–Intelligence ended the activity of the Korwin Brigade in ZWZ–AK.

Wacław Komarnicki o Konstytucji marcowej

Waclaw Komarnicki (1891–1954) was an outstanding Polish lawyer and academic. He was a constitutionalist and served in government in the II and III terms of the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939). Educated in Lyviv and at Dopat, Komarnicki taught law at the University of Stefan Batory in Vilnius, where he became a professor, and at the School of Political Science in Warsaw. He was also a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, a political activist and Minister of Justice in the Polish Government in Exile in London, where he later died. His academic research and personal contribution in relation to the March Constitution of 1921 and its amendment in August 1926, is deserving of particular attention.

Walka i propaganda. Powstanie w getcie warszawskim z perspektywy polskiego Londynu

Tekst traktuje o reakcjach tzw. polskiego Londynu na wybuch powstania w getcie warszawskim i samobójstwo Szmula Zygielbojma. Przedmiotem analizy są stenogramy posiedzeń rządu polskiego na uchodźstwie, dzienniki czynności prezydenta i premiera, stenogramy posiedzeń Rady Narodowej, korespondencja przesyłana do rządu z Warszawy, treść oficjalnych enuncjacji rządowych i zawartość polskiej prasy z okresu kwiecień–czerwiec 1943 r. Autor rekonstruuje stan wiedzy rządu na temat sytuacji w Warszawie oraz przedstawia chronologię jej upowszechniania. Zastanawia się także nad wpływem ówczesnego kryzysu politycznego (ogłoszenie przez propagandę niemiecką informacji o mordzie polskich oficerów w Katyniu i zerwanie przez Stalina stosunków dyplomatycznych z rządem polskim) na traktowanie sytuacji w okupowanym kraju, a szczególnie walk w getcie warszawskim.

To Walk With the Devil: Slovene Collaboration and Axis Occupation, 1941-1945, by Gregor Joseph Kranjc

To Walk With the Devil: Slovene Collaboration and Axis Occupation, 1941-1945, by Gregor Joseph Kranjc. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2013. xi, 329 pp. $32.95 US (paper). Gregor Kranjc has produced a detailed study of the local collaboration with Italian and Germany occupation forces in Slovenia during the Second World War. His purpose is to correct earlier historians' dichotomous perspective, especially the post WWII Yugoslavian communist track on collaboration and the view proffered by the exiled anti-communist emigres. The first view holds that there was a wide spread popular resistance toward the occupiers with only a small group of collaborators attempting to maintain their positions of privilege. The emigre version states that the Slovenians had to choose between evils (the Germans or the communists) with the goal of preserving the Slovene nation. Kranjc amply demonstrates that both are mythologies in need of modification. Yugoslavia entered into WWII with the idea of preserving its statehood through an alliance with the Axis powers. This effort was subverted by a group of anti-Fascist military officers who overthrew the government and attempted to form a monarchy led democracy. The folly of this aspiration was underlined by the immediate invasion and dissection of Yugoslavia by German, Italian, and Hungarian forces. Slovenia was sliced into three portions, a part for each occupier. Kranjc focuses on the area which the Italians first occupy: the Province of Ljubljana. Ljubljuana is significant because the area had relatively more independence than other parts of Yugoslavia during the early occupation, and because of what happened to anti-partisan forces from this region after the war. The mass murders, trials, and mob justice enacted against collaborators (perceived and real) are the impetus for his exploration of the topic. Chapter two lays out the history of Slovene and Yugoslavia between 1900 and the eve of WWII. The history of previous occupiers including resistance and collaboration is a key point in this story. The political divide between the communists and the non-communists was established prior to the war, with Government and Church leaders dynamically opposed to communism. Resistance to the Axis invaders is explored in chapter three. The resistance started small: hiding food stuffs, collecting weapons, and gathering intelligence to pass on to the British and Yugoslavian government in exile. Armed resistance was not yet a rational option due to the overwhelming military clout of the invaders and the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviets. Armed resistance began when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. The Yugoslavian communists, in the main form of the Liberation Front under Tito were the backbone of the communist contribution to the resistance. The Italians, who occupied Slovenia, poured in thousands of troops to meet the armed partisans. They were ultimately unsuccessful. Kranjc does not spend a large amount of text on Tito or on resistance as his study is about collaboration. Collaboration, and its complexity, is the focus of the remainder of the book. In the first two years the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies seemed unlikely and so hopes of a successful war against the Fascists appeared delusional. People settled into the Italian occupation and worked to make a life for themselves. This involved carrying on business which inevitably led to dealing with the invaders, and at times this presented opportunities for great profit. …

Friedrich Hermann Schubert. Ludwig Camerarius (1573-1651): Eine Biographie and Die Pfalzische Exilregierung im Dreissigjahrigen Krieg. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des politischen Protestantismus. 2. Auflage. Mit Beitragen zu Leben und Werk des Verfassers, ed. Anton Schindling

This volume, edited by Anton Schindling, provides the welcome opportunity to acquire a classic of post-1945 historical writing as well as essays relating to the life of the author, Friedrich Hermann Schubert. First published in 1955, Schubert’s biography of the Palatine official Ludwig Camerarius has never been superseded and it still needs to be consulted by anyone interested in the role played by the Palatinate in the Thirty Years War. Some have been tempted to dismiss Camerarius as a failure, and there is much to support such a view. He was one of the principal advocates of the Palatine adventure in Bohemia. In the aftermath of the Battle of the White Mountain he played a leading role in the Palatine exile government in the Netherlands, but he failed to organise a successful counter-assault on the imperial forces. In 1626 he entered Swedish service as ambassador, hoping to forge the kind of anti-imperial alliance that had proved so elusive in the early years of the conflict. By 1639, however, he had given up hope. He retired from public life and thenceforth devoted himself to amassing an extraordinary collection of letters, which still survives as the Collectio Camerariana in Munich.

The power(lessness) of Czechoslovak Jews during the Second World War

The article evaluates the perceptions of Jewish power among the Czechoslovak exiles in Britain during the Second World War. The analysis documents the apparent persistence of prejudices against the Jewish minority among the Czechoslovak non-Jewish authorities that eventually formed the government-in-exile (1940–5), under the presidency of Edvard Beneš (1884–1948). The Czechoslovak exiles believed that the Jewish minority, in particular the Jewish nationalists (Zionists), had vehement supporters within Jewish circles in Western countries. Furthermore, they believed that the Jewish press played a significant role in the formation of public opinion in Britain and especially in the United States. In the early 1940s, the government-in-exile embarked on a policy of national homogenisation of post-war Czechoslovakia and was anxious to give concessions to the political representatives of the ethnic minority groups in exile, in particular the Germans, Hungarians and Jews. Yet the concerns about Jewish influence in liberal democracies granted several political concessions to the Jewish minority, in particular the appointment of a Zionist representative, Arnošt Frischer (1887–1954), to the exile parliament. This notwithstanding, by analysing the internal situation among the Czechoslovak Jewish groups in London, the article documents the internal weakness and disputes among the Jewish groups which gradually revealed the utter powerlessness of the Jewish exiles during their negotiations with the Czechoslovak authorities. The Jewish groups (the assimilationists, Orthodox and secular nationalists) were divided by mutual as well as internal disputes which were not concealed from outside observers and were utilised by the exile government. What emerges from the analysis is an impression of quarrelling groups that could not agree on any of the fundamental issues and whose only power was the ability to court the support of Western Jewish groups, which were perceived by the non-Jewish exiles as influential actors in US and British society.

The “Tibet question”: Tibetan, Chinese and Western perspectives

The historical conflict between Tibet and China goes back almost a thousand years. Both sides use history to argue their point about the core issues in this dispute – Tibet's claim of independence and autonomy, and China's of suzerainty. This article looks at the historical roots of this conflict, particularly since 1949, when China began its gradual takeover of Tibet. Chinese policies toward Tibet, which have been driven by a desire to communize and sinicize Tibet, has been met by stiff resistance from the Tibetans, who see Han Chinese dominance as a force that will, over time, destroy Tibet's unique religion, language, culture, and history. This resistance has drawn the attention of the West, who see Chinese policies in Tibet as a symbol of the failings of Beijing's rulers to embrace a strong commitment to human rights at the same time that China is becoming a global economic power. The 14th Dalai Lama, a key figure in this conflict, and his government-in-exile have served as bridges to Western efforts to try to force Beijing to embrace more open, humane policies toward Tibetans throughout China. His retirement as political head of the exile government in 2011, coupled with China's growing economic and strategic power globally, raises serious questions about the willingness of the USA, and other democratic powers to risk their relationships with Beijing to continue to promote true human rights and autonomy throughout the Tibetan Plateau.

Anticipation of Civil War: The Polish Government in Exile and the Threat Posed by the Communist Movement During the Second World War

After the occupation of Polish territories by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1939 a Polish government was formed in exile. At the same time in occupied territories underground resistance organisations emerged. All pre-war parties, to some extent, collaborated with each other. Throughout the war the government, its agencies in occupied Poland and the armed resistance prepared to take power after the war. They assumed that the end of the war would be followed by a civil war, or at least by revolutionary activities, as had happened after the First World War. Since the Communist party remained outside the consensus formed by the war time organizations, the government in exile and those loyal to it in occupied Poland feared that it would spearhead Soviet entry into Poland. Moreover they were anxious that the Communists would act as a catalyst for the revolutionary upsurges, which they anticipated. Thus throughout the war, but in particular from 1943, they gathered intelligence information on Communist activities in occupied Poland. They also investigated the likelihood of the Communists acting as a focal point for the disaffected radical elements from the peasant and the Socialist parties. This article suggests that contrary to the assertion that the main aim of war time policies was the restoration of an independent Poland, planning for the capture of power played an important role in war-time debates.

Conceiving Modernity

This article examines the trope of reproduction in narratives of Tibetan refugees living in Dharamsala, India. As they make sense of their personal histories, Tibetan refugees invoke a collective story that mirrors human rights literature on Tibet. Women come into contact with this literature through its incorporation into a political discourse expressed by the exile government and health institutions. The article traces facets of this discourse that deal centrally with reproduction. Political discourse on reproduction articulates pronatalism as a solution to the refugee community's concern with survival, and the discourse frames modernity as a site of violence through China's reproductive regulations. And yet, Tibetan refugees also employ the notion of modernity when discussing their own free reproductive decision-making, positioning modern reproductive interventions in opposition to Indian society. The article demonstrates that Tibetan refugees navigate competing figurations of modernity by expressing political resistance and affiliation through the idiom of reproduction.

Witold Zygmunt Kulerski activities – secretary Stanisław Mikołajczyk’s – after World War II

Witold Zygmunt Kulerski was one of the closest associates of the Prime Minister of Polish government in exile Stanislaw Mikolajczyk. During World War II he was one of the closest collaborators of Stanislaw Mikolajczyk- Office of the Vice-President of the National Council of the Republic of Poland, Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile. Kulerski’s commission devoted much attention to the affairs of Germany. This issue has been leading in international affairs, it is no wonder that Congress PSL lot of space devoted to it. Speaker stressed that the People’s Movement during its period of organizational and ideological took the view that the main “(...) the objective must be to secure Polish and Slavic world securing the aggressive spirit of the German”. Kulerski’s commission expressed concern due to the lack of activity of the Polish government to sign agreements and treaties of trade and economic with other countries than the Soviet Union. The committee members in their speeches stressed that in many areas of trade and international agreements are being overtaken by other countries and are overlooked in transactions due to insufficient activity of the Polish Government.

Miłosz, wojna i poezja cywilna

Miłosz, war and civilian poetryThe article addresses the reaction of the Polish population during Second World War towards the military resistance to the occupier. The author offers a case study of the life choices of Czesław Miłosz, the poet. Considering them hopeless and counterproductive, Miłosz decided not to participate in military actions. He had no confidence in the Polish government in exile and its military decisions. Instead, the poet concentrated on writing and publishing; he also criticized what he viewed as unjustified sacrifice of life in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. His attitude was criticized then, and today continues to be a source of attacks against the poet. The article analyses the logic of national solidarity in the times of foreign occupation and the arguments of the poet’s critics. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that Miłosz’s stand was beneficial not only for himself but also for the community as a whole.

„Lechoń w Algierze”, czyli o pewnej (nieodegranej) roli dyplomatycznej

This paper is based on the unknown up to this point documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Polish Government in Exile from 1943. It shows the authorities efforts to engage Jan Lechoń in the activity of Polish diplomacy by the French National Committee for Freedom chaired by gen. Ch. de Gaulle in Algeria. In this situation the poet’s experiences on the post of cultural attaché at the Polish Embassy in Paris before the war play a key role. The article reports the poet’s political views, his political and propagandistic activity in the circle of Polish émigré in the US as well as his personal feelings towards the government’s proposal and arguments which finally made him decide to give up this post.

From Foe to Partner to Foe Again: The Strange Alliance of the Dutch Authorities and Digoel Exiles in Australia, 1943-1945

From Foe to Partner to Foe Again:The Strange Alliance of the Dutch Authorities and Digoel Exiles in Australia, 1943-1945 Harry A. Poeze (bio) The Netherlands East Indies, the vast Dutch colony, was invaded by the Japanese and occupied with relative ease. The Indies government surrendered on March 8, 1942. In the days leading up to the surrender, on orders of the Dutch Governor General, a number of government officials left for Australia. The Dutch government in exile in London—Germany occupied the Netherlands from May 1940—authorized the formation of an Indies government in exile in Australia, named the Netherlands Indies Commission. The commission was inaugurated on April 8, 1942, and was headed by H. J. van Mook. Starting in April 1944, the Raad van Departementshoofden (Commission of Departmental Heads) acted as Van Mook's cabinet. It consisted of six members, with Loekman Djajadiningrat as the sole Indonesian among them. Matters regarding the Dutch and Indonesians in Australia were supervised by Ch. O. van der Plas, who held the rank of Chief Commissioner for Australia and New Zealand and who was undoubtedly the most influential member of the Raad. The Indonesians stranded in Australia beginning in March 1942—mostly seamen and soldiers—cost Van der Plas a lot of time and caused him much worry. Moreover, [End Page 57] he was also responsible for the almost forgotten community of political prisoners, interned in Boven Digoel, in the Southeast New Guinea jungle. That part of the Netherlands Indies was all that was left of the Dutch realm. But the area was threatened, and for that reason Van der Plas organized an evacuation of Digoel internees to Australia in March 1943. The influx of some five hundred Indonesians was to cause a lot of work for Dutch and Australian officials. But the unconventional Van der Plas also seized the opportunity to employ former exiles for anti-Japanese propaganda activities within the Netherlands Indies Government Information Service (NIGIS). He went even further by endorsing, or perhaps even stimulating, the establishment of Serikat Indonesia Baroe (SIBAR, Association for a New Indonesia), an organization intended to become in the post-war Indies a national party, with official Dutch backing. He consciously sought the support of the exiles, many of whom were communists, to promote SIBAR. For these communists, cooperation fitted in with the Allied struggle against fascism, even if this involved siding with a colonial power. Examples of such cooperation are also to be found in Vietnam, Malaya, and the Philippines, but none went as far as the Dutch partnership offer, and nowhere else was a colonial government more deeply involved with communist leaders as was the Indies Commission in Australia. This qualitative difference distinguishes SIBAR from other colonial-communist wartime cooperation endeavors, and justifies the designation "strange alliance." Boven Digoel In 1927, the Dutch colonial government founded its internment camp, Boven Digoel, which comprised settlements named Tanah Merah and Tanah Tinggi, deep in the inhospitable jungle of New Guinea, three days by ship up the Digoel River. The Governor General of the Netherlands Indies could use his discretionary powers, granted to him under article 37 of the Indische Staatsregeling (Indies Constitution), to send a person considered a threat to law and order to a designated place in the Netherlands Indies, from which place the person was not allowed to leave. The term of detention was for an indefinite period, and only the Governor General could lift the detention. He was not required to justify his decision in each case. The direct reason to develop Boven Digoel was the communist insurrection of 1926-27, which surprised and shocked the colonial government and colonial society. Mass arrests followed, and no fewer than thirteen thousand people were placed in custody initially. To start judicial procedures against such an enormous number of people was, of course, beyond the capacity of the courts. Moreover, the majority of those jailed could hardly be prosecuted under the existing criminal law, despite the presence of a number of broadly worded clauses. Nonetheless, about forty-five hundred individuals were processed, convicted, and sent to jail. Of the eighty-five hundred others, the vast majority were released. About a thousand were considered...

The Polish Government-in-exile: National Unity and Weakness

The Polish Government-in-exile was the legal representative of the largest group of Holocaust victims and of the land where most of the ghettoisation and killing took place. This study argues that the exile government’s policies towards the Jews resulted from a combination of factors: a general weakness and dependence on the host country; urgent calls from Poland for effective action to stop German crimes; the need to respond to demands voiced by the exiled Polish-Jewish leaders; the need to take into account reports on anti-Jewish sentiments among the Polish underground and in society more generally; the antisemitic position of one of its constituent parties; and the evolving knowledge of what was happening to the Jews in occupied Poland.

The Monks of Drepung Gomang Monastery: Impressions and Speculations on Alternative Models of Masculinity as they Relate to Resilience to Trauma

ABSTRACTAs a practitioner of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, I volunteered with the Tibetan Government in Exile in the field of mental health. In late 2006, the Tibetan Government in Exile approached me to evaluate and counsel monks who had left Tibet to get a monastic education at the Drepung Gomang Monastery in Mungod, Karnataka. I was struck by the resilience of these young men, despite the horrors they had survived in the process of trying to get this education in their own country, which is under occupation by the Chinese, and fleeing Tibet alone, during adolescence or as very young children. I want to offer some speculative impressions about my experiences and observations of the masculinity of these monks, which felt quite different from my experience with other men. This article attempts to make sense of my experience of their masculinity, and to account for the differences I observed, but could not fully understand. I offer some speculations about the relationship of their experience of masculinity, as an additional factor in their resilience to trauma.Although the therapeutic encounter with them was the occasion to bring these differences to my attention they do not form the basis for my speculations. These are based on my understanding of masculinity as theorized by psychoanalysis, and what I have learned about the history, functioning and ideals, which inform Tibetan culture and the monastic order. I highlight two aspects of the masculinity of Buddhist monks from this tradition: one which comes from the Bodhisattva tradition and incorporates nurturing “feminine” qualities, and the second which involves sublimating and neutralizing “dangerous” “female” qualities into their attainment of higher spiritual ends. I speculate in the end on the ways in which an alternative experience of gender may be a contributing protective factor in the survival of violence and exile. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.