The enemy at home: German internees in World War I Australia

Authors:  Nadine Helmi and Gerald Fischer

Citation: Helmi, Nadine & Fischer, Gerald. The enemy at home: German internees in World War I Australia, Kensington, N.S.W. : UNSW Press, 2011.

Summary:  Media dealing with both World Wars typically concentrates on specific people such as the soldiers that participated in the battles, their families who were left behind as well as the civilian populations and governments of the nations that were involved. But what about the other segments of society? What of, for example, the people who were incarcerated by their own government during wartime? In conjunction with the Migration Heritage Centre New South Wales' online exhibition of the same name, this addresses that in its own way. At the time of the First World War close to seven thousand people of German and Austrian ancestry and varying occupations were held captive. Through a combination of extracts taken from diaries kept by the inmates and still images courtesy of the German photographer, Paul Dubotzki, the book sheds light on this situation. Through previously unreleased materials it reveals how they coped with confinement within the internment camps.

Time Period(s): World War I

External Links:

Exhibit page
http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/enemyathome/the-enemy-at-home/index.html

Goodreads page
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11534912-the-enemy-at-home