Enemy alien

Last updated

In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed. Usually, the countries are in a state of declared war.

Contents

Australia

Family held at Tatura Internment Camp 3, Australia, in 1943 The Riboni family.jpg
Family held at Tatura Internment Camp 3, Australia, in 1943

In Australia, in the wake of the outbreak of World War II, Jewish refugees and others fleeing the Nazis were classified as "enemy aliens" upon their arrival in Australia if they arrived with German identity papers. [1] [2] [3] Australian law in 1939 designated people "enemy aliens" if they were Germans or were Australians who had been born in Germany; later, it covered Italians and Japanese as well. [4] The Australian government would therefore intern them, sometimes for years until the war ended, in camps such as the isolated Tatura Internment Camp 3 D which held approximately 300 internees thus deemed "enemy aliens", mostly families, including children as young as two years of age, such as Eva Duldig — who two decades later represented the country that had interned her in tennis at Wimbledon. [5] [6] [7]

That internment camp was opened in 1940. [8] It was located near Shepparton, in the northern part of the state of Victoria. [1] [9] [3] There, armed soldiers manned watchtowers and scanned the camp that was bordered by a barbed wire fence with searchlights, and other armed soldiers patrolled the camp. [10] Petitions by many of those interned to Australian politicians, stressing that they were Jewish refugees (such as Karl Duldig, Slawa Duldig, and their toddler) and therefore being unjustly imprisoned, had no effect. [10]

Canada

The War Measures Act was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for internment during war, invasion, or insurrection. The Act was brought into force three times in Canadian history: during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914–1920, the Second World War's internment of Japanese Canadians, and in the 1970 October Crisis. [11] In 1988, it was repealed and replaced by the Emergencies Act .

Germany

Ilag were internment camps established by the German Army in World War II to hold Allied civilians, caught in areas that were occupied by the German Army. They included United States citizens caught in Europe by surprise when war was declared in December 1941, and citizens of the British Commonwealth caught in areas engulfed by the Blitzkrieg.

United Kingdom

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the United Kingdom had become a place of refuge for people who had fled Nazi persecution, including Jews and political refugees. At first, with the outbreak of war, the British government – in accordance with its policy of Defence Regulation 18B – placed these refugees with other enemy aliens regardless of their political allegiances. Later on, when Italy also declared war on Britain, some British Italians were also interned as enemy aliens.

The Isle of Man, relatively isolated from the British mainland and with a useful amount of holiday accommodation, was used to provide housing for the "Alien Civilians" (as it had in World War I). There were also efforts to move internees to Canada. In July 1940, the SS Arandora Star was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sunk while transporting Italian and German aliens to North America; 743 died. The 813 surviving prisoners were subsequently included in the 2,500 men transported by HMT Dunera for internment in Australia.[ citation needed ]

The Pioneer Corps was the only British unit that enemy aliens could serve in early on in the war. Many thousands of Germans and Austrians joined the Pioneer Corps to assist the Allied war efforts and liberation of their home countries. These were mainly Jews and political opponents of the Nazi regime who had fled to Britain while it was still possible, and included the cinematographer Ken Adam, writer George Clare and publisher Robert Maxwell. These men – often dubbed "The King's Most Loyal Enemy Aliens" – later moved on to serve in fighting units. Some were recruited by Special Operations Executive as secret agents. [12] [13]

Serving as German nationals in the British forces was particularly dangerous, since, in case of taken captive, with a high probability they would have been executed as traitors by the Germans. The number of German-born Jews joining the British forces was exceptionally high; by the end of the war, one in seven Jewish refugees from Germany had joined the British Army. Their profound knowledge of the German language and customs proved useful. Many of them served in the administration of the British occupation army in Germany and Austria after the war. [14]

United States

Map depicting the known internment sites wherein German Americans were interned during World War II German American internment sites during World War II.jpg
Map depicting the known internment sites wherein German Americans were interned during World War II

A well-known example of enemy aliens was that of the Japanese citizens residing in the United States during World War II. Many of these Japanese and Japanese-Americans were imprisoned in internment camps by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during wartime, alongside many German- and Italian-Americans. However, many Japanese-Americans and Italian-Americans were not actually "aliens", as they held American citizenship. The term "enemy alien" referred only to non-American citizens who were nationals of Axis countries. Included in this number were thousands of resident aliens who were prohibited from applying for citizenship by race-based naturalization laws; when war was declared against their native countries, their status changed from "resident" to "enemy" alien. Therefore, German American, Italian American, and Japanese American permanent residents were classified as enemy aliens and interned as such.

In total 10,905 Italian Americans and approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned in many different camps and sites across the country. German Americans were held in more than 50 different locations.[ citation needed ]

Citizens of an enemy country who lived in the United States during World War II were required to have an "Enemy Alien" card, and to register monthly with the authorities.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-German sentiment</span> Opposition to Germany, its inhabitants and culture

Anti-German sentiment is fear or dislike of Germany, its inhabitants, and its culture. Its opposite is Germanophilia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatura</span> Town in Victoria, Australia

Tatura is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia, and is situated within the City of Greater Shepparton local government area, 167 kilometres (104 mi) north of the state capital (Melbourne) and 18 kilometres (11 mi) west of the regional centre of Shepparton. At the 2021 census, Tatura had a population of 4,955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Australians</span> Ethnic group

German Australians are Australians with German ancestry. German Australians constitute one of the largest ancestry groups in Australia, and German is the fifth most identified European ancestry in Australia behind English, Irish, Scottish and Italian. German Australians are one of the largest groups within the global German diaspora.

The internment of Italian Americans refers to the US government's internment of Italian nationals during World War II. As was customary after Italy and the US were at war, they were classified as "enemy aliens" and some were detained by the Department of Justice under the Alien and Sedition Act. But in practice, the US applied detention only to Italian nationals, not to US citizens, or long-term US residents. Italian immigrants had been allowed to gain citizenship through the naturalization process during the years before the war, and by 1940 there were millions of US citizens who had been born in Italy.

HMT <i>Dunera</i> British passenger ship

HMTDunera was a British passenger ship which, in 1940, became involved in a controversial transportation of thousands of "enemy aliens" to Australia. The British India Steam Navigation Company had operated a previous Dunera (1891), which served as a troopship during the Second Boer War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internment of German Americans</span> Detention during both World Wars

Internment of German resident aliens and German-American citizens occurred in the United States during the periods of World War I and World War II. During World War II, the legal basis for this detention was under Presidential Proclamation 2526, made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act.

Camp 14 was one of three main prisoner of war and internee camps in South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian home front during World War II</span>

Although most Australian civilians lived far from the front line, the Australian home front during World War II played a significant role in the Allied victory and led to permanent changes to Australian society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish refugees from German-occupied Europe in the United Kingdom</span> Aspect of World War II

After Adolf Hitler came into power in 1933 and enacted policies that would culminate in the Holocaust, Jews began to escape German-occupied Europe and the United Kingdom was one of the destinations. Some came on transit visas, which meant that they stayed in Britain temporarily, while waiting to be accepted by another country. Others entered the country by having obtained employment or a guarantor, or via Kindertransport. There were about 70,000 Jewish refugees who were accepted into Britain by the start of World War II on 1 September 1939, and an additional 10,000 people who made it to Britain during the war.

Taiwanese Australians are Australian citizens or permanent residents who carry full or partial ancestry from the East Asian island country of Taiwan or from preceding Taiwanese regimes.

<i>Collar the Lot!</i> 1980 book by Peter Gillman and Leni Gillman

Collar the Lot! How Britain Interned & Expelled its Wartime Refugees is a book by Peter Gillman and Leni Gillman. It is a detailed account of British internment policy during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal City Internment Camp</span> United States historic place

Crystal City Internment Camp, located near Crystal City, Texas, was a place of confinement for people of Japanese, German, and Italian descent during World War II, and has been variously described as a detention facility or a concentration camp. The camp, which was originally designed to hold 3,500 people, opened in December 1943 and was officially closed on February 11, 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hay Internment and POW camps</span> Camps in New South Wales, Australia

The Hay Internment and POW camps at Hay, New South Wales, Australia were established during World War II as prisoner-of-war and internment centres, due in part to the isolated location of the town. Three high-security camps were constructed in 1940. The first arrivals were 2,542 internees from Nazi Germany and Austria, most of whom were Jewish; they had been interned in the United Kingdom as enemy aliens when the possibility of an Axis invasion of Britain was at its highest.

During World War II, 4,058 ethnic Germans along with several hundred other Axis-nationals living in Latin America were deported to the United States and their home countries, often at the behest of the US government. Although the arrest, internment and/or deportation of belligerent country nationals was common practice in both Axis and Allied countries during both World War I and World War II, subsequent US Congressional investigations and reparations during the 1980s and 1990s, especially for Japanese Americans interned, have raised awareness of the injustice of such practices. Unlike Allied civilians held in Nazi concentration camps or those interned by the Japanese, Axis nationals interned in Allied countries did not suffer from systematic starvation and widespread mistreatment by their captors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in the Isle of Man</span>

The history of the Jews in the Isle of Man goes back to at least the early 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Duldig</span> Austrian-born Australian-Dutch tennis player (born 1938)

Eva Ruth de Jong-Duldig is an Austrian-born Australian and Dutch former tennis player, and current author. From the ages of two to four, she was detained by Australia in an isolated internment camp, as an enemy alien. She later competed in tennis, representing Australia at the Wimbledon Championships in 1961. She also played at Wimbledon in 1962 and 1963 for the Netherlands, and competed in the Australian Open, French Championships, Fed Cup, and in the Israel-based Maccabiah Games, sometimes called the Jewish Olympics, where she won two gold medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Duldig</span> Austrian-born Australian sculptor (1902–1986)

Karl (Karol) Duldig was a Jewish sculptor. He was born in Przemyśl (Premissl), Poland, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire due to annexation, and he later moved to Vienna. Following the Anschluss in August 1938, he left Vienna and travelled to Switzerland where he was later joined by his wife Slawa Horowitz Duldig and his daughter Eva Duldig. In 1939 they travelled to Singapore – from where they were later deported, and were sent to Australia – where for two years he and his family were interned as enemy aliens. As a sculptor he was instrumental in introducing the Modernist style to an Australian audience, won the 1956 Victorian Sculptor of the Year Award, and had an annual lecture established in his name by the National Gallery of Victoria.

An Internment Camp in Vernon, BC was established to hold enemy aliens and POWs during the First World War. Once Canada entered World War I, fears of enemy aliens on the home front began to arise. To combat this, the Canadian Government implemented the War Measures Act which gave them the authority to intern and disenfranchise enemy aliens living in Canada. Approximately 8,500 enemy aliens were interned across Canada, with majority of the 24 camps located around the Rocky Mountains and large population centres in Ontario. Vernon housed the permanent camp in British Columbia, operating from September 18, 1914, to February 20, 1920.

References

  1. 1 2 Eva de Jong-Duldig (8 August 2017). "Driftwood: escape and survival through art". National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ Schaller, Maria (14 September 2017). "Eva De Jong-Duldig - Escape and survival through art". SBS German.
  3. 1 2 Phil Mercer (April 29, 2022). "Australian Musical Charts Family's Escape from Nazis in Europe". Voice of America.
  4. ↑ Poetics and Politics of Shame in Postcolonial Literature. Routledge. 7 May 2019. ISBN   9780429513756.
  5. ↑ Katz, Deborah (September 4, 2019). "Holocaust Footnotes: Escaping To Singapore". The Jewish Press.
  6. ↑ Miriam Cosic (April 29, 2022). "Melbourne's newest musical a multi-generational European family saga," Plus61J.
  7. ↑ Melinda Mockridge (2014). "Art behind the wire: the untold story of refugee families interned in Australia during the Second World War," Victorian History Library.
  8. ↑ "Part III, Matters Affecting Both Enemy Prisoners of War and Enemy Internees" (PDF). Australian Army.
  9. ↑ Henry Benjamin (March 4, 2013). "Times at Tatura". J-Wire.
  10. 1 2 "To the other side of the world," National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism.
  11. ↑ War Measures Act Conference (1977: McMaster University). (1978). The Japanese Canadian experience: the October crisis [proceedings]. Wilfrid Laurier University Book Shelves: London, Ontario: P. Anas Pub.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Fry, Helen, The King's Most Loyal Enemy Aliens - Germans who fought for Britain in the Second World War, 2007, ISBN   978-0-7509-4701-5
  13. ↑ Interview by Colin MacGregor Stevens with Major George Bryant (aka George Breuer)
  14. ↑ National Geographic documentary Churchill's German Army
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.