Exhibition: They Never Knew WhyThe Story of Holsworthy Internment Camp

Exhibition: They Never Knew WhyThe Story of Holsworthy Internment Camp

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Posted 2012-06-02 by glenopfollow

Tue 10 Apr 2012 - Sat 07 Jul 2012

Exhibition: They Never Knew Why…The Story of Holsworthy Internment Camp



As I walked through Liverpool Museum's latest exhibition ' They Never Knew Why… ' I grew increasingly disappointed and dismayed. Dismayed that Australians, even ones from another time, could be so unjust and arbitrarily discriminating against another race of people. Disappointed, as it reminds me of the current indiscriminate way that we intern asylum seekers. Yes, sure they were Germans and Austrians and yes we were at war with them, but many of these people were as Australian as anyone today. Australians who were committed to Australia, often born here or who had left their country of birth long behind and poured their heart and soul into their adoptive country.



They Never Knew Why depicts the story of the Holsworthy internment camp which was the largest of the three camps in Australia during World War One. Holsworthy camp held up to 6,890 male internees. Conditions were often harsh and basic. The male inmates were rounded up at the beginning of the war and detained purely due to their ancestry. No one was immune from imprisonment.

One of the most astonishing stories featured is that of Edmund Resch, whose name would be familiar to all Australian beer drinkers. Arriving in Australia at the age of 16, Edmund Resch went on to establish the Resch's beer empire. In 1917 at the age of 71, he was interned at the Holsworthy camp, no doubt to make an example of him and demonstrate that any 'German' no matter their wealth, status or contribution to society could be detained. His detention shows how arbitrary internment was as he somehow managed to avoid detention for the first few years of the war while other German born men worked and provided services to the camp but were not interned.



Accommodation at the camp was basic but the internees made the best of their circumstances. With a population the size of a small town, the inmates created their own social fabric with committees, societies and clubs. There were various sporting and athletic clubs, theatrical societies, orchestras, a weekly paper, shops and 19 cafes and restaurants that added a sense of normality.



At the end of the war after years of dispiriting internment and largely cut off from their families and society, over 5000 internees, even those married to Australian women with non-German speaking children, were deported back to Germany.

They Never Knew Why is free and runs until the 7th July 2012.



#liverpool
#west
#museums
#exhibitions
#free
!date 10/04/2012 -- 07/07/2012
%wnsydney
104643 - 2023-06-12 11:25:20

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