Thank you Mike for your site and for reproducing my father’s story – “Robert Aufrichtig: Dunera Internee”. This was indeed a black mark against Britain’s wartime government. For my father, it meant he was forcibly despatched to Australia and was half-way through the tortuous 57-day voyage when his terminally ill mother died. He eventually arrived at the Hay internment camp the very day before my brother was born. He never spoke about his experiences, which was a sure sign that he never got over not being present at either of these events, or the inhumanity of the deportation.

As my article highlights, despite the Dunera having a maximum capacity of 1,500, more than 2,500 were crammed onto the vessel. Most of the passengers were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria who had fled to Britain – a country renowned for fairness and justice. Many of them could be forgiven for thinking they had avoided the Nazi concentration camps, only to end up on a British floating version.

And the man with whom lay the ultimate responsibility for the inhumane treatment meted out to the innocents? Winston Churchill – who later described the decision as “a deplorable mistake”.

Thanks again
Ronny