The Holocaust and Wales: Internment of ‘enemy aliens’ Part 2

Description

In this collection of resources, we explore the internment of Jewish refugees as ‘enemy aliens’ in 1939. After the outbreak of war in September 1939, all Germans and Austrians in Britain became ‘enemy aliens’ and had to register with the police. Although most remained at liberty, in the summer of 1940, restrictions tightened due to the risk of German invasion, and tens of thousands were interned. The increase in numbers of those interned exhausted the capacity of existing sites and, although most refugees were interned in camps in Britain, some were deported to other countries, notably Canada and Australia.

Using two oral history testimonies, this resource explores the internment of Jewish Refugees as ‘enemy aliens’ in the UK and their experience of having been sent to camps in Canada and Australia.

This is resource 2 of 2 on the topic of Internment of ‘enemy aliens’ and it is recommended that teachers use both resources.

Image above: Enemy Aliens and Internees card for Heinrich David Pinkus. The National Archives, Kew, London, England, HO 396 WW2 Internees (Aliens) Index Cards 1939-1947, Archive Reference: HO 396/135. Image: Findmypast. Original document: ©Crown Copyright. Image reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, England.

This resource was produced as part of the 'Côf a lithr, llythyrau a geidw: creating Holocaust resources for Welsh schools' partnership project between Centre for the Movement of People (CMOP), Aberystwyth University, and Jewish History Association of South Wales/Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig De Cymru (JHASW/CHIDC). The project is kindly supported by the Association of Jewish Refugees, Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust, Jewish Historical Society of England and Garfield Weston Foundation.

Curriculum for Wales

Health and Wellbeing, Humanities, Languages, Literacy and Communication

Age: 14-16 / Progression Step: 5

Learning Activity Pack

This resource provides learning activities for your students using our website. It is one of two on the topic of Internment of ‘enemy aliens’. Here is a link to the other resource in this series:

Internment of ‘enemy aliens’ Part 1

See the Quick Links below for content to accompany this resource.