The Enemy Within? The Process of Internment of Enemy Aliens in Queensland 1939-45 (original) (raw)

2008, Australian Journal of Politics & History

The mobilization of Australia for war involved not simply the recruitment, training, and transportation of the armed forces to aid Britain, but also internal preparedness and reorganization. Whilst the period from the declaration of war against Germany in September 1939 to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 may be regarded as an interlude before the trauma of total warfare, crucial internal policies and procedures were then being established that would have far-reaching repercussions. Mimicking the hysteria generated in World War One over the presence of enemy aliens and naturalized British subjects of enemy origin, the federal government moved swiftly to identify, assess, and, in many cases, intern Germans, Italians and, later, Japanese. These procedures became increasingly prevalent and punitive in response both to impending Allied defeat in Europe in 1940 and, more specifically, to the anticipated Japanese invasion in late 1941. These fears were often more pronounced in Queensland than in other areas of the Commonwealth for a number of reasonsthe vast state's geographical vulnerability to attack and, most importantly, the high concentration of enemy aliens on the northeast coast. Paul Hasluck argues that the internment of enemy aliens was one of the 'most important measures taken during the first six months of war. . .'I The War Book, prepared by the Department of Defence and modelled closely on its British counterpart, had already indicated those issues and procedures which were regarded as potentially significant in the event of war.* It laid down that the internment of resident enemy aliens should be restricted to 'the narrowest limits consistent with public safety and public sentiment'.' Yet, as federal parliamentarian Maurice Blackburn observed in the House of Representatives debate on the National Security Bill in 1939: 16 17 21 1