Robert Aufrichtig: Dunera Internee
On 10 July 1940 the HMT Dunera left Liverpool, England with 2,036 Jewish refugees from Austria and Germany, 451 German and Italian prisoners of war and others scheduled for internment in the remote rural town of Hays in New South Wales, Australia. Into the ship that had a maximum capacity for 1,500 including crew, were crammed 2,542 men, aged between 18 and 45 who, as well as dealing with the inhumane conditions, were subjected to ill-treatment by the British guards on board.
Despite the fact that most of the Jewish internees had fled Continental Europe to escape certain death at the hands of the Nazis, it had been suggested that some of them may have been agents planted to assist a planned German invasion of Britain. Thus began an ordeal that was to extend beyond the nightmare seven-week journey to Australia.
Full Story Here and following the links through on those pages shows quite a story…
