Remembering black musician who took part in Warsaw Uprising

As Britain observes Black History Month, the BBC has aired a programme telling the story of a Nigerian-born jazz musician who lived in Poland and is thought to be the only black participant in the Warsaw Uprising.

Warsaw memorial to Ali (August Agbola O'Browne).

Photo: PAP/Wojciech Olkuśnik

August Agboola Browne, "Ali" for short, was one of the 50,000 or so insurgents fighting in the biggest underground military operation in German-occupied Europe during World War II.

The uprising erupted on August 1, 1944 and lasted 63 days. A quiet ceremony in the Polish capital on October 2 marked the 76th anniversary of its tragic end.

Ali survived the uprising. However - as the BBC reports - his story did not come to light until 2009, when Zbigniew Osiński from the Warsaw Rising Museum discovered an application the Nigerian-born musician had filed in 1949 to a veterans' association.

Last year, a memorial to Ali was unveiled in Warsaw.

Elżbieta Krajewska has more…