At the outbreak of World War II, he joined the French army. After being captured by the Germans, he spent eighteen months in a camp as a prisoner of war. During this period he learned German and wrote poems, which were published in HOSTIES NOIRES (1948).

In 1944 Senghor was appointed professor of African languages at the École Nationale de la France d'Outre-Mer. Senghor's first collection of poems, CHANTS D'OMBRE (1945), was inspired by the philosopher Henri Bergson. It dealt with the themes of exile and nostalgia.