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In 1948-1949, on the eve of the Cold War, the International Organization for Refugees faced one of the major crisis in its history, concerning the resettlement of isolated Polish children. These children were part of the Polish population that had been deported by the Soviets after the invasion of Poland. They were afterwards part of the civil population that followed the evacuation of the Polish Army, with Commander in chief Anders, during the winter of 1941-1942. This article focusses on the children established by the British in the Tengeru Refugee Camp, in Tanganyika, a camp placed under the responsibility of the IOR since 1947. The following year, the IOR announced its intention to have these children resettled, in spite of the strong opposition of the Polish government. This crisis reveals both the political and diplomatic means the IOR disposed, as well as the limits the East-West division in Europe posed to its action. Moreover, it allows us to take a close look to the problems of the international humanitarian action, the part played by private factors such as the associations or the political and religious networks. Finally, it sheds light to the evolution of the international legal status of children in humanitarian and diplomatic practices after 1945.