Colonial Captivity during the First World War: Internment and the Fall of the German Empire, 1914–1919 (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare, Series Number 52)

With the outbreak of war in 1914, an estimated 30,000 German civilians in African and Asian colonies were violently uprooted and imprisoned. Britain's First World War internment of German settlers seriously challenged the structures that underpinned nineteenth-century imperialism. Through its analysis of this internment, this book highlights the impact that the First World War had on the notion of a common European 'civilising mission' and the image of empire in the early twentieth century. Mahon Murphy examines the effect of the war on a collective European colonial identity, perceptions of internment in the extra-European theatres of war, and empires in transition during war. Policymakers were forced to address difficult questions about the future rule of Germany's colonies and the nature of empire in general. Far from a conflict restricted to European powers, the First World War triggered a worldwide remaking of ideas, institutions and geopolitics. Cover Half-title Series information Title page Copyright information Table of contents List of maps Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Introduction Examining Extra- European Internment and the Fall of Germany’s Colonies Part I Empire, Internment, and the First World War 1 Internment in the First World War and the Global Context Introduction Writing on the Experience of Extra-European War Globalising the Great War Internment and the First World War Conclusion 2 The Geography of Internment Introduction Prewar German British Relations in the Colonies The First World War and the German Overseas Empire Internment and the German Colonies Togo Cameroon German South-West Africa German East Africa New Guinea Samoa Kiaochow Health and Internment in the Tropics Mobility Conclusion Part II The Experience of Internment 3 Rum, Solitary, and the Lash: Violence against Prisoners of War Introduction Violence and the European Imagination Discipline and Punish: The Dominions and Administration of Camps Violence from Below Reprisal and Punishment Conclusion 4 ‘Der Krieg ist kein Afternoon Tea!’ Identity and Internment Introduction Patriotism and Ties to Empire Rank and Class and the Captivity Experience Gender: Emasculating Female Internees? Racial Hierarchy and the Internment of Indigenous Troops Conclusion 5 The Propaganda of Internment: Presenting the Colonial Conflict to Europe Introduction The War of Words: Writing Home Gathering Intelligence on the Colonial War Severed Hands and the Image of Colonial Violence Conclusion Part III Global Connections 6 The British Empire and the Global Internment System Introduction Comparisons: Germany and Other Belligerent and Neutral Powers French West Africa Japan Conclusion 7 The End of German Colonial Rule: Repatriation Introduction Repatriation during the War Australia as the Ultimate Destination Internment in Neutral Countries and Postwar Repatriation Postwar and Enemy Alien Legislation Returning to Germany Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography Archive Sources United Kingdom The National Archives, London (TNA) Foreign Office Admiralty Colonial Office German War Documents Project: American Committee for Study of War Documents Selection (ACP) Ministry of Transport War Office Imperial War Museum, Department of Documents, London (IWM) The London School of Economics Archives, London (LSE) The Bodleian Library, Oxford (BLO) Germany Bundesarchiv, Berlin-Lichterfelde (BA) Archiv für deutsche Kriegsgefangene des Frankfurter Vereins vom Roten... Reichskolonialamt Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft Switzerland Archives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva (ICRC) Australia The National Archives Australia (TNAA) Online Primary Sources Published Primary Sources Newspapers Secondary Literature Books Journal Articles Doctoral Dissertations Index This study fills a vital gap in our knowledge of internment of German citizens in African and Asian colonies during the First World War, allowing a deeper understanding of the global reach of the conflict. It explores the implications for the collapse of empires during the twentieth century.