‘Enemy aliens’ in wartime:civilian internment in South Africa during World War I

Abstract

This article explores the previously neglected history of civilian internment in South Africa during World War I. German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish nationals were classified as ‘enemy aliens’. They included mostly male immigrants, but also several hundred women and children deported from Sub-Saharan colonial contact zones. The main camp was Fort Napier in Pietermaritzburg, holding around 2,500. Based on sources in South African, German and British archives, this multi-perspectival enquiry highlights the salience of the South African case and integrates it into wider theoretical questions and arguments. The policy of civilian internment was rolled out comprehensively throughout the British Empire. Not least lessons learnt from the South African War (1900-1902), when Britain had been widely criticised for harsh conditions in its camps, led to relatively humane prisoner treatment. Another mitigating factor were the pro-German sympathies of the Afrikaner population. Nevertheless, suffering occurred through isolation and deportation. Remembering the First World War mainly as a ‘’soldiers’ war’ on the Western Front generates too narrow a picture. Widening the lens on civilians of both sexes in overseas territories supports notions of war totalisation.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02582473.2016.1246593
Divisions: ?? 3980600Jl ??
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Centre for Language Research at Aston (CLaRA)
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Aston Centre for Europe
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Centre for Critical Inquiry into Society and Culture (CCISC)
Aston University (General)
Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in South African Historical Journal on 23/11/2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02582473.2016.1246593
Uncontrolled Keywords: World War I,German civilian internees,minority persecution,Fort Napier,women prisoners,History
Publication ISSN: 0258-2473
Last Modified: 02 Dec 2024 08:19
Date Deposited: 11 Oct 2016 08:15
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
http://www.tand ... 73.2016.1246593 (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2016-11-23
Accepted Date: 2016-10-03
Authors: Manz, Stefan (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-9136-0380)
Dedering, Tilman

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