Enemy Aliens: From Unwanted Refugees to Valued Australians

Eight thousand so-called Enemy Aliens were shipped to Australia for internment for the duration of the Second World War. The number of ‘local’ internees amounted to 7,000 including many Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi Germany to escape persecution. This exhibit presents a glimpse into a range of responses at being classified as an Enemy Alien. Anecdotes recall some of the injustice and indignity as well as some of the humorous and ironic aspects of this predicament.

Other Events at the Sydney Jewish Museum

• Citizen Soldiers: The New South Wales Volunteer Rifles, 1854-85 - Hyde Park Barracks Museum
• Classical Fantasies: The Age of Beauty - Nicholson Museum
• Culture and Continuity: Journey through Judaism - Sydney Jewish Museum
• Egyptians, Gods and Mummies: Travels with Herodotus - Nicholson Museum
• Gadigal Place - Museum of Sydney