Читать книгу Not Welcome - Sue Everett - Страница 11

Britain had declared war against Germany on 3 September 1939. Tribunals were immediately set up to classify refugees according to their perceived possible risk to society as ‘A’ class, ‘B’ class and‘C’ class alien categories. Secondly, they were classified as either ‘Refugees from Nazi oppression’ or ‘Non-refugees’. ‘A’ class aliens, representing the highest threat, were interned; the remaining classes were allowed to remain free for the time being (‘B’ class with some restrictions imposed). Eight months later, in May 1940, Germany invaded Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg and the Allied front in Europe collapsed; air raids became a regular occurrence. Shortly after this event, Prime Minister Churchill made an announcement in the interests of public security, declaring his famed ‘collar the lot’ decree at a time when invasion seemed imminent, and afterwards a media frenzy whipped up anti-German refugee hysteria. Misinformation gave a false impression which conveyed the idea that there was fifth column parachutist involvement prevalent within this refugee population, i.e. Nazi agents planted among ‘anti-Nazi’ refugees. At that time an estimated 80 per cent of the refugee population was Jewish. Churchill’s decree authorised the detention of several thousand German and Austrian male refugees, including long-term British residents.

As Nazi tanks raced towards the Channel ports after bombing Paris and Brussels, refugee alien classes that hitherto had remained free were ordered to be interned – all men aged between sixteen and 70; some were even arrested during their attendance at school. During a three-week period refugees were rounded up and held in internment camps all around Britain. It was a totally indiscriminate process as many people already classified in ‘B’ or ‘C’ ‘enemy alien’ categories remained free as police couldn’t deal with the large numbers; so from necessity the police force mainly concentrated on rounding up ‘refugees’ along the wide coastal strip between Dorset in the south and Inverness in the north. This initial roundup netted approximately 20,000 men. For many it was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; many University of Cambridge staff members were spending the Whitsun public holiday weekend at the seaside and inadvertently got caught up in the indiscriminate rounding up for ‘temporary internment’.

Due to bureaucratic bungling, clearly innocent people, many eminent in their field of occupation, were indiscriminately interned. Lutz was interned without having been subject to any questioning or attendance at any tribunal process in establishing his status as a perceived threat to Britain.

Jewish refugees had mostly been treated sympathetically until now in England by the British government, although this sympathy would prove to be hollow when overcome by the more xenophobic factions of the Churchill government, despite being only a minority. Unfortunately, people in a position to do something to stop the hysteria did little, preferring to stand back and say ‘some of my best friends are Jews but …’

On 15 June 1940, a request from the High Commissioner of the UK in Australia, Sir Geoffrey Whiskard to the Menzies Government resulted in an agreement for Australia to accept 6000 internees and prisoners of war and asked that particulars of classifications of persons be forwarded immediately so that the necessary arrangements could be made. The British Government had made similar requests to the South African and Canadian Governments, who had already agreed to receive 4000 internees and 3000 prisoners respectively. Eventually just over 2500 men on board the HMT Dunera were to arrive on Australia’s shores.

On 23 July 1940 Sir Herbert Emerson, Director of the Evian Committee, League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Vice Chairman of the Government’s Advisory Council on Aliens, and a member of the Committee of Three assisting Sir John Anderson in dealing with the problem of aliens of enemy nationality, wrote a memorandum to the Australian High Commissioner. This memorandum on the treatment of refugees, stated that:

…The truth is that the great majority of ‘B’ and ‘C’ class are decent, well-living persons who have gone through one suffering after another, and who have very good grounds for hating the Nazi system. They belong to the same classes and the same types as provided emigrants to Canada and Australia before the war began.

He also suggested that it would be most desirable to keep the refugees as fully employed as possible and finally, that after the war, Australia might be willing to retain some of these deportees, who would make excellent citizens, and who would add to the economic welfare of the country. Sir Herbert’s constructive proposals were soon lost and forgotten. Two outstanding critics of the Government’s internment policy were Independent MP Eleanor Rathbone and Labour MP Major Cazalet who, on 10 July – the day the Dunera sailed from Liverpool – initiated debate on the recent treatment of refugees. They complained that the refugees had been interned with complete disregard to the individual merits of each case, and while recognising that the safety of England was of paramount importance, they appealed for their cases to be reviewed and the release of those whose loyalty was not in question.

On its release in September 1940 (about the time HMT Dunera internees reached Sydney harbour), public reaction was generally sympathetic to Francois Lafitte’s book The Internment of Aliens where the author listed eminent and obvious anti-Nazi sympathisers, some already having spent periods of incarceration in German concentration camps. Doubts and criticisms of Britain’s internment policy followed. This led to the announcement by the Home Secretary that category ‘C’ refugee internees would soon be able to apply for release.

Churchill later reversed his position giving his reason as the need for more manpower stating that, ‘mistakes re: internment were partly due to haste and partly to stupidity and muddle’. By October 1940 thousands of internees were freed in Britain following the issue of the ‘White Paper on Categories Eligible for Release from Internment’; this included cases of special hardship and sixteen categories of employability; also those who had played a public part in opposing the Nazi system; finally those who could make a contribution to science, learning, literature and art. But it was too late for the internees on HMT Dunera; they were already interned in Australia while their more fortunate compatriots, who remained in Britain, were being released. No such provisions were made for them by the Australian Government. Fortuitously for some, a few internees were recalled to Britain immediately on their arrival in Sydney.

Internment in Britain On that fateful day of 12 May 1940, Lutz and his uncle were unexpectedly arrested and immediately interned. They had had no previous interview or formal classification. When the arresting officer came to take Lutz and Hans away one Sunday morning, it was quite a shock to Lutz but he remembers being surprised that the officer was so pleasant in his manner and almost apologetic. However, no explanation was given; the policeman merely said, ‘Sorry, but you’ve got to come with me’. They were both told to pack a suitcase each but told not to bring much as they would be back home in a few days.

Lutz and Hans were taken first to the arresting house (presumably at the local police station) and locked in a cell for a few hours before being taken to a clearing station for all internees arrested in that area. They waited a few more hours, watching as their numbers increased and were eventually loaded into buses. Lutz and his uncle travelled by car to Brentwood Barracks from Westcliff accompanied by a police officer where they were interned for a few more days, then travelled the few hundred miles by army transport to Huyton (near Liverpool) on 23 May 1940, where they were imprisoned until 10 July. During this time Lutz became aware that he had been classified as a ‘C’ class enemy alien (later to be reclassified as a ‘friendly enemy alien’).

One of his early diary entries states that on 1 July a contingent of internees arrived from Lingfield and Kempton Park. Franz was initially interned in Lingfield and his recollection is that Lutz was there with him. I think it most probable that he and Frank met up when the Lingfield contingent arrived at Huyton a few weeks later.

Lutz didn’t see his uncle after he left for Huyton; they were in different army transports and they don’t appear to have resumed contact during their time at Huyton. Hans eventually returned to live with his mother in Westcliff, England and it is doubtful that he ever married.