Has anyone else done any research on this? I briefly touched on it during my dissertation on Axis POWs in Britain, and fancy following it up. I'm pleasantly surprised at the number of books now available, even compared to a couple of years ago. Is anyone at a more advanced stage yet than me?
The history of interment of various groups during WW 2 in the US is fairly well documented. Most know of the wholesale round up and interment of Japanese-Americans on the US West coast. Interestingly, neither the large Japanese-American population in Hawaii or those living in the Eastern US were intered. The US also intered a large number of Italians and Germans the bulk of which were not US citizens in camps in the Eastern US. Some of these individuals were not released from these until as much as two or more years after the war ended; long after the interred Japanese were released. There were also large numbers of German and Italian POWs held in the US during the war. Many of these individuals decided to remain in the US once the war ended. As a matter of interest, about 2 years ago two of the original POW barracks buildings from a camp at the Papago Park military reservation in Phoenix AZ were put up for sale by their owner. Don't know the current outcome of that however.
Hi TA, I'm interested in the British angle, obviously, but until very recently there had only been one book published on the subject, and that was 1980. I've now discovered that several books were published during war time by groups angry at Jews and others who had fled Nazi persecution being banged up in Britain. Penguin even published one in 1940 called The Internment of Aliens ....it's on my wanted list!
I know the following site is not specifically about POWs but there is such a rich collection of links and information that it might be of help: Displaced Persons' (DP) Camps Table of Contents Book is available from: AbeBooks: Search Results - The Internment of Aliens
My father was interned as an Enemy Alien in 1940, shipped to Canada (he just missed the Arandora Star) and brought back to England early in '41. He was held at Monteith, Ontario. He found the whole experience a great education, and remained grateful for the rest of his life to the British authorities for bringing him and others back in the middle of the war when it would've been so much easier to leave them to rot. He wrote a lively and quite amusing account of his experiences, and the political and intellectual wrangling that developed amongst the internees - many of them, like himself, educated academics - in 'Enemy Alien', a contribution to a book 'Beyond Hatred', published in the 1970s. Regards, MikB
Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd tag onto this one. Are there any records regarding Category C aliens which would enable me to trace the movements of one particular person in 1939-40? Presumably they were required to register with local police stations? I have a secondary source regarding this individual suggesting she was in Brighton in late 1939 or early 1940. By late March she was living near Bath (primary source) but the secondary source then suggests she moved to Torquay for the summer. However, I'm not convinced by this and think it might be a confusion over placenames - wouldn't Torbay have been a restricted area in 1940?
Torbay and Torquay along the same road should have been as they are both coastal areas. That whole area in 40 should have been subject to restrictions. But maybe we have a local aboard? Later in 44 Torquay was a US boarding point for D day so harbour would have been restricted still..That whole area down to infamous Tiger exercise area was all within cycling distance..But a local member would confirm.
Are there any records regarding Category C aliens which would enable me to trace the movements of one particular person in 1939-40? The National Archives has a useful research page on internee records from both world wars that might be a good start. Best, Alan
Canada was not the only long distance potential destination. I had a friend who escaped to Britain after Kristalnacht, only to be interned when war was declared, and then shipped to Australia, not returning until well after the war.
