Enemy aliens: internment and deportation policy in Great Britain, September 1939-June 1940
Enemy aliens: internment and deportation policy in Great Britain, September 1939-June 1940
During the Second World War, Germans, Austrians and Italians living in Great Britain were designated as 'enemy aliens' and consequently interned. The worsening situation on the continent in May and June 1940 stirred up hysteria that spies and saboteurs could be amongst the Germans and Austrians. Mass arrests started in May 1940, and Italians were soon caught up in the detentions when Mussolini declared war on 10 June, thus filling internment camps to capacity. Canada and Australia agreed to take some of the 'most dangerous characters', facilitating the most controversial aspect of internment - deportation - which led to the ultimate tragedy when the SS Arandora Star was torpedoed and sunk on 2 July 1940. Building on previous scholarship that focuses on either German or Italian internment, this article examines both government policy towards and the internee experience of these two groups on an equal footing, thus furthering integration of the Italian narrative within internment historiography.
Arandora Star, Australia, Canada, internment, Italians, Second World War
261-276
Pistol, Rachel
bbdda05a-234c-43de-902b-d29dd10f4bb8
Pistol, Rachel
bbdda05a-234c-43de-902b-d29dd10f4bb8
Pistol, Rachel
(2024)
Enemy aliens: internment and deportation policy in Great Britain, September 1939-June 1940.
Modern Italy, 29 (3), .
(doi:10.1017/mit.2024.23).
Abstract
During the Second World War, Germans, Austrians and Italians living in Great Britain were designated as 'enemy aliens' and consequently interned. The worsening situation on the continent in May and June 1940 stirred up hysteria that spies and saboteurs could be amongst the Germans and Austrians. Mass arrests started in May 1940, and Italians were soon caught up in the detentions when Mussolini declared war on 10 June, thus filling internment camps to capacity. Canada and Australia agreed to take some of the 'most dangerous characters', facilitating the most controversial aspect of internment - deportation - which led to the ultimate tragedy when the SS Arandora Star was torpedoed and sunk on 2 July 1940. Building on previous scholarship that focuses on either German or Italian internment, this article examines both government policy towards and the internee experience of these two groups on an equal footing, thus furthering integration of the Italian narrative within internment historiography.
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enemy-aliens-internment-and-deportation-policy-in-great-britain-september-1939-june-1940
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Accepted/In Press date: 8 March 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 9 October 2024
Keywords:
Arandora Star, Australia, Canada, internment, Italians, Second World War
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 496057
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/496057
ISSN: 1353-2944
PURE UUID: 5b2877e5-33cb-432d-bec8-53c2779c1ef1
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Date deposited: 02 Dec 2024 17:43
Last modified: 03 Dec 2024 03:10
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Author:
Rachel Pistol
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