Non-fiction books
Here we provide information about non-fiction books in German and English from our library that deal with the voyage of the Dunera, internment in England and Australia, and related topics.
Older publications can be searched for online, e.g., at antiquarian bookshops or platforms for second-hand items. We cannot guarantee availability.
New release
At the end of March 2026, Andrea Hammel’s book Die schwierige Geschichte der Kindertransporte 1938/39 nach Großbritannien (The Difficult History of the Kindertransports to Great Britain in 1938/39) will be published.
The Kindertransports saved around 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazis. This is often celebrated as a “humanitarian” act. However, the British government linked this to guarantees and financing through donations and volunteers. The decision was not based on the degree of threat to Jewish children in Germany, but on their potential contribution to England.
Die schwierige Geschichte der Kindertransporte 1938/39 nach Großbritannien. Berlin 2026. 200 pages. ISBN 978-3955657904. €22.00. (A revised German version of the 2024 edition The Kindertransport. What really Happened).
Not only were many children sent to unsuitable foster homes, but in June/July 1940, a previously unknown number were taken out of school or training and deported to Canada or Australia. On board the Dunera alone were 325 young people born in 1922, 1923, and 1924.
Andrea Hammel examines the actual events and background and writes with empathy and insight.
Prof. Hammel teaches German and is director of the Centre for the Movement of People at Aberystwyth University (Wales).
In English
The Internment of Aliens is the very first book about British internment policy. As early as September 1940, social scientist Francois Lafitte (1913-2002) published his study of the entire political environment in which the Churchill government declared 70,000 politically and racially persecuted people from Germany and Austria to be “enemy aliens” and the “Hitler’s fifth column.” Lafitte substantiates this with numerous examples of Nazi opponents who were imprisoned or deported by the British.
Francois Lafitte, The Interment of Aliens, paperback, 256 pages. Penguin Special, Great Britain, 1940. A new edition was published in England in 2001. ISBN 478-1870352963.
This also shows that the tribunals were used to deliberately exclude Nazi opponents from British public life. “The British government declared war on the wrong people” and endangered Britain’s reputation with this insult, Lafitte commented. Disregard for civil rights “turns friends into enemies.”
“Anyone who commits or tolerates injustice is doing Goebbels’ work,” Lafitte turns what was apparently a popular argument at the time against those who wanted to prevent criticism of the government.
Despite the short time that had passed since the events, Lafitte conducted research with authorities, institutions, etc. An interesting piece of evidence for the continuing xenophobic mood in Britain towards the end of the first year of the World War seems to be that about half of those quoted wanted to remain anonymous.
In five chapters, Lafitte not only deals with Britain’s treatment of refugees and their situation, as well as prisoners of war. Eyewitness accounts of the sinking of the Arandora Star are given some space. Naturally, however, the story of the Dunera is not included for reasons of topicality.
A group of historians from Monash University in Melbourne is overseeing the book project Dunera Lives as the result of their many years of work on the history of internment in Australia, the artists among the Dunera Boys, and the internees of the Queen Mary. The first volume, subtitled A Visual History, was published in 2018. Here, internment, the voyage of the Dunera, and the self-organized camp life of the internees form the backdrop against which an extensive body of visual art was created.
The second book, Dunera Lives – Profiles, tells the stories of 19 former internees. These are introduced by biographical contributions about Edward Broughton, the commander of the 8th Australian Employment Company who was highly respected by the soldiers, and Major Julian Layton, who ran the Australian camps on behalf of the British government. Both volumes are extensive and largely illustrated with color images.
Ken Inglis, Seumas Spark, Jay Winter, et al. Dunera Lives – A Visual History. Melbourne 2018. ISBN 978-1-925495-49-2. Dunera Lives – Profiles. Melbourne 2020. ISBN 9781925835656.
In 1980, Leni and Peter Gillman published a comprehensive review of British internment policy during World War II entitled Collar the Lot!. The events surrounding the Arandora Star and the Dunera play a central role in this collection of facts. The Gillmans also look at the background of political conflicts and contradictions which determined British policy on mass internment and deportations overseas. The wealth of documents, accounts of internees’ experiences, and the authors’ assessments result in a fascinating, fact-filled non-fiction book.
Peter and Leni Gillman Collar the Lot! How Britain Interned and Expelled its Wartime Refugees. London 1980, 334 pages. ISBN 0 7043 2244 7.
Among the non-fiction books about the Dunera, The Dunera Affair plays a special role. Back in 1990, Paul R. Bartrop and Gabrielle Eisen compiled extensive material covering around 400 pages, which is quoted without comment. This includes both official documents and personal items such as excerpts from diaries and memoirs. A short statistical appendix contains a compilation of the occupations of more than 1,400 men, broken down by age. A valuable resource for historical research.
Paul R. Bartrop, Gabrielle Eisen, The Dunera Affair. A Documentary Resource Book. Schwartz & Wilkinson, 1990, ISBN 1-56997-025-0.
Australian historian Peter Monteath introduces readers to 30 internment and prisoner-of-war camps that were operated in Australia during both world wars. The book includes several biographies, among them those of Edmund Resch, a pioneer of the Australian beer industry; artist Kurt Wiese, who later became internationally known as a book illustrator; and Reinhard Waldsax, who cared for his fellow prisoners as a dentist under extremely difficult conditions. In Captured Lives, Monteath provides a comprehensive insight into the internments, extensively illustrated with photos and drawings.
Peter Monteath, Captured Lives. Australia’s Wartime Internment Camp. NLA Publishing, 2018. ISBN 9780642279248.
Szulem Factor, a Polish Jew, arrived in Australia in July 1938. In May 1942, he volunteered for the Australian Army. He belonged to the 6th Employment Company until September 1945, ultimately rising to the rank of sergeant.
This part of the family history prompted his daughter June Factor to take up the subject. The historian looks behind the scenes of these units and sheds light on the contribution of these approximately 4,000 men, which was long swept under the carpet.
June Factor Soldiers and Aliens, Melbourne University Press 2022, 328 pages. ISBN 9780522878585.
This also applies to more than 600 former internees of the Dunera and Queen Mary who served in the 8th Employment Company. All of them were denied service with weapons. Factor not only discusses everyday work involving heavy loading and transport tasks, but also addresses the “Enjoyment Companies” and events in units occupied by soldiers of other nationalities.
In the first half of 1940, Kitchener Camp in southern England was a transit camp, primarily for up to 4,000 Jewish men from Germany and Austria, to whom England offered asylum until they could continue their journey to a third country. In Four Thousand Lives, Clare Ungerson describes the brief history of the camp, which was set up on the wasteland of an unused military camp and financed entirely by donations from the British population.
Clare Ungerson, Four Thousand Lives. The Rescue of German Jewish Men to Britain, 1939. The History Press, 2014 and 2019. ISBN 978 0 7509 9235 0.
Ungerson provides a broad overview of the circumstances that led the British government to make the site available and discusses its development and everyday life there.
The camp was soon closed because fears of a “fifth” Nazi column led to the internment of tens of thousands of refugees. In addition, the British military reclaimed the site, which had been made usable without any investment on its part and was initially used for training foreign pioneer soldiers.
A resource book about the British deportations to Canada comes from first-hand experience. Eric Koch, author of Deemed Suspect. A Wartime Blunder, was himself one of the deportees. It was not until later that he compiled his memories and many documents to describe the situation faced by the internees when they were deprived of their freedom in England and the British shipped them to Canada against their will. His account of the events leading up to the four ship transports, of which the Arandora Star did not reach its destination, also covers the experiences of the more than 2,000 refugees who were deported to Australia on the fifth ship, the Dunera.
Eric Koch, Deemed Suspect. A Wartime Blunder. Canada 1980, 272 pages, ISBN 0-458-94490-4.
In several projects and books, Berlin music historian Albrecht Dümling has examined the exile of Jewish musicians from Germany and Austria to Australia. In The Vanished Musicians, Dümling has revived this previously little-noticed topic with extensive research and findings from numerous interviews. The author places the Jewish musicians among the Dunera Boys and Queen Mary internees, such as Felix Werder and his father, the cantor Boas Bischofswerder, in the overall context of German-Australian music history. Separate chapters deal with the performances and concerts in the internment camps and the show “Sgt. Snow White” by soldiers of the 8th Employment Company.
The Vanished Musicians, Peter Lang Publishing, 2016, 576 pages. ISBN 9783034319515. Also available as an ebook.
The Kindertransports saved around 10,000 Jewish children from the Nazis. This is often celebrated as a humanitarian act. However, the British government linked this to guarantees and financing through donations and volunteers. The decision was not based on the degree of threat to Jewish children in Germany, but on their potential contribution to England. Not only were many children sent to unsuitable foster homes.
The Kindertransport. What really Happened. Cambridge 2024. 169 pages. ISBN 978-1509553778. (revised German edition in 2026).
In June/July 1940, an unknown number were taken out of school or training and deported to Canada or Australia. On board the Dunera alone were 325 young people born in 1922, 1923, and 1924.
In The Kindertransport. What Really Happened, Andrea Hammel examines the actual events and background with empathy and insight.
Prof. Hammel teaches German and is director of the Centre for the Movement of People at Aberystwyth University (Wales).
The Hay Historical Society compiled 200 pages of material on the three internment camps that had been set up near this town in the state of New South Wales, 450 kilometers north of Melbourne. In addition to a wealth of interesting information on the history of the camp, it also contains short biographies of interned artists as well as excerpts from interviews with participants in the 1990 Dunera reunion and with local eyewitnesses.
Hay Historical Society. Haywire. The War-time Camps at Hay. New edition 2014. ISBN 0 9577610.
The Dunera Scandal is a frequently cited non-fiction book by Australian author Cyril Pearl, first published in Australia in 1983. It is a good source for quotes from official documents and statements by Dunera Boys, although unfortunately the author does not cite any specific sources. However, the many poems and song lyrics penned by Dunera Boys are a bonus for readers.
Unfortunately, there are a few errors. Dunera Boy Walter Kaufmann criticized (“Dunera News” No. 12, page 19) incorrect information about himself (page 36f.) and a quote from Kaufmann’s book “The Turn of a Spiral,” which had not been published, at least not until the publication of this Dunera newsletter in mid-1987. The information about the Queen Mary internee Franz Lebrecht (not “Leberecht,” page 49) is completely incorrect.
Cyril Pearl, The Dunera Scandal, Angus & Robertson, Melbourne 1983, 234 pp. ISBN 0-207-14707-8.
Benzion Patkin was an Australian Zionist activist of Russian origin. Since 1941, he had been campaigning on behalf of Jewish internees in Hay and Tatura. The Dunera Internees deals with internment in Great Britain and the voyage of the Dunera. Based on reports from internees and extensive quotations from documents, it describes their situation in the camps as well as the psychological state of the prisoners.
Benzion Patkin, The Dunera Internees, Cassell Australia, 1979, 186 pp. ISBN 0-7269-6803-x.
Special: Dunera Boys in No.3 Troop No.10 (Inter-Allied) Commando
In the British Army’s No. 10 Commando, refugees carried out special missions on and behind the front lines of World War II. No. 3 Troop consisted of Germans and Austrians, most of whom were Jewish. Nine of the nearly 90 fighters in this unit were Dunera Boys. Together with their comrades, they were deployed in Normandy, Italy, and during the crossing of the Rhine at Wesel, among other places. Three former Dunera Boys are among the fallen. (Titles in German, see below).
Peter Leighton-Langer, The King’s Own Loyal Enemy Aliens. German And Austrian Refugees in Britain’s Armed Forces, 1939-1945. Vallentine Mitchell, London 2006, 400 pages, ISBN 978-0853036913.
Peter Masters, Striking Back. A Jewish Commando’s War Against the Nazis. Presidio Press, New York 1997, 340 pages, ISBN 978-0891416296.
Leah Garrett, X Troop. The Xecret Jewish Commando Who Helped Defeat the Nazis. Mariner Books, Boston 2021, 368 pages, ISBN 978-0358172031.
Ian Dear, Ten Commando 1942 – 1945. Leo Cooper Ltd., London 1987, 206 pages, ISBN 0-85052-1211
In German
The companion volume to the Berlin exhibition of the same name, Ausgewiesen! Berlin, 28.10.1938 (Expelled! Berlin, Oct. 28, 1938) promises to be an interesting read. It contains extensive illustrations and documentation of the “Polenaktion,” when the Nazis deported thousands of Polish Jews to Poland at the end of October 1938. The book’s focus on Berlin does not prevent readers from learning general and fundamental facts about the history of Jews not only in the capital during the Nazi era. The “Polenaktion” was ultimately a rehearsal for the organization of the later mass deportations of Jews to ghettos, Auschwitz, and other extermination camps.
Alina Bothe/Gertrud Pickhan (eds.), Ausgewiesen! Berlin, 28.10.1938. Metropol, Berlin 2018. ISBN 978-3-86331-411-8.
In several projects and books, Berlin music historian Albrecht Dümling has examined the exile of Jewish musicians from Germany and Austria to Australia. Dümling has brought this previously little-noticed topic to life in Die verschwundenen Musiker (The Vanished Musicians) with extensive research and findings from numerous interviews. The author places musicians such as Felix Werder and his father, cantor Boas Bischofswerder, among the Dunera Boys in the broader context of German-Australian music history. Separate chapters deal with performances and concerts in the internment camps and the show “Sgt. Snow White” by soldiers of the 8th Employment Company.
One of his most recent publications is Mein Gorilla hat ‘ne Villa im Zoo (My Gorilla Has a Villa at the Zoo). In it, Dümling explores the history of Weintraub’s Syncopaters and follows the trail of this jazz band, which was well known in Berlin in the 1920s, all the way to Australia.
Die verschwundenen Musiker. Cologne, 2011. ISBN 978-341206666. The English edition, Mein Gorilla hat ‘ne Villa im Zoo, Regensburg, 2022. ISBN 978-3949425-03-5.
Special: Dunera Boys in No.3 Troop No.10 (Inter-Allied) Commando
In the British Army’s No. 10 Commando, refugees carried out special missions on and behind the front lines of World War II. No. 3 Troop consisted of Germans and Austrians, most of whom were Jewish. Nine of the nearly 90 fighters in this unit were Dunera Boys. Together with their comrades, they were deployed in Normandy, Italy, and during the crossing of the Rhine near Wesel, among other places. Three former Dunera Boys were killed in action.
Peter Leightom-Langer, X steht für Unbekannt. Deutsche und Österreicher in den britischen Streitkräften im 2. Weltkrieg. Arno Spitz-Verlag, Berlin 1999, 312 pages, ISBN 3-87061-865-5.
Peter Masters, Kommando der Verfolgten. 87 Elitesoldaten im Kampf gegen Hitler. 450 pages, Munich 1997,. ISBN 3-7951-1649-X.
Wolfgang Muchitsch, Mit Spaten, Waffen und Worten. Die Einbindung österreichischer Flüchtlinge in die britischen Kriegsanstrengungen (With Spades, Weapons, and Words: The Integration of Austrian Refugees into the British War Effort), Vienna 1992, 266 pages, ISBN 978-3-608-98123-0.
