British civilian internees in Germany : the Ruhleben camp, 1914-1918 / Matthew Stibbe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stibbe, Matthew.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ruhleben (Concentration camp).

World War, 1914-1918--Prisoners and prisons, British.

World War, 1914-1918.

World War, 1914-1918--Prisoners and prisons, German.

Prisoners of war--Great Britain.

Prisoners of war.

Great Britain.

Prisoners of war--Germany.

Germany.

Physical Description:

xiii, 210 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2008.

Summary:

On 6 November 1914 the German military ordered the arrest of around four thousand British men of military age then living in Germany and their internment at the Ruhleben racecourse near Berlin. They came from all walks of life, including academics, professional musicians, businessmen, sportsmen and a large number of merchant seamen who had been captured in Hamburg. Some of the internees had never visited the UK and had acquired British nationality only by accident of birth. Others were tourists who had been in Germany for only a few days or weeks when the war broke out. In spite of various release schemes and exchange agreements, at least half of them were to remain in the camp until the end of the war in November 1918.

This book takes a fresh look at German internment policies within a European and international context, using Ruhleben camp as a particular example to illustrate broader themes. Key issues addressed include: the background to the German decision to intern 'enemy aliens'; Ruhleben as a 'community at war'; the role of civilian internment in wartime diplomacy and propaganda; the links between civilian prisoners and the population back at home; and the place of Ruhleben in British memory of the war.

Based on a wealth of primary sources from archives in five different countries, this fascinating study will be of interest to all scholars working on the First World War, and to all those concerned with the broader impact of modern conflicts on national identities and community formation.

Contents:

1 The politics of alien internment in Germany 23

2 Inside Ruhleben I: administration and physical conditions 52

3 Inside Ruhleben II: the prisoner community 79

4 Relief, punishments and reprisals 111

5 The end of internment 137

6 Ruhleben in British memory 163

Appendix British subjects resident in selected German towns and cities, autumn 1914 190.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780719070846

0719070848

0719070856

9780719070853

OCLC:

181601608