New on dunera.de 5 May 2024

In May 1941, one year after the internment of refugees from Nazi Germany began in England, around 2,000 people deported to Australia had reason enough to question their treatment. This was because the reasons for their arrest in England and deportation no longer applied: Since the summer of 1940, they were once again considered refugees from Nazi persecution and friends of Britain and its allies. In Australia, however, they were not treated as friends, but as prisoners of war and criminals. Their “Appeal for Justice and Humanity” – here in full – takes stock and makes demands.

Shortly after this appeal for help became known, Christian dignitaries in the state of Victoria issued an appeal for solidarity with and donations in favour of the refugees and internees living in Australia.

Josef Ganz was neither Dunera Boy nor personally acquainted with the Dehn family. Nevertheless, a contribution is due to him. The engineer and journalist had already developed concepts for low-cost cars in the 1920s, which were advertised as “Volkswagens” long before the Nazis came to power. Because Hitler wanted such a cheap car to propagate a flourishing economy, Ganz was imprisoned and his office cleared out. He managed to escape to Switzerland. In 1951, he came to Australia, where he acquired citizenship. In 1965, however, Australia’s government banned him from receiving the belated honour of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

We are grateful for any information we have received on people, events and topics. The appeal for solidarity has already been included (see above). New information on the men from Kitchener Camp who signed the photo with Heinz Dehn on the back has been added. Among them is a new short biography of Artur Redlich. The articles on the British tribunals and deportations to Canada and Australia have been supplemented with information found in a book by internee Eric Koch.

Further new articles will be published on 27 May.