Internment, World War 2 (1939-45) | National Library of Australia (NLA)
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Internment, World War 2 (1939-45)

Explore Australia’s World War II home front through the lens of wartime internment. Aligned with the Australian Curriculum: History for Year 10 students, this module invites students to investigate the personal and political impacts of internment in Australia, drawing on a rich selection of primary sources to examine themes of war, migration, identity and civil liberties.
Year 10 Humanities

About this module

Using an inquiry-based approach, this module develops students' skills as historians through engaging historical sources. Featuring sources from the National Library's collections, the resource caters for flexible approaches to suit diverse classroom contexts and learning styles.

A research tool used for this module was NLA Publishing's Captured Lives: Australia's Wartime Internment Camps by Peter Monteath.

Copyright for teachers

You can download all collection materials in this resource for education purposes. For more information, go to copyright for teachers.

Topics in this module

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is seated at a table wearing glasses. He is signing a document. Standing behind him and leaning over his shoulder is Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies. Both men are wear dark suits with white shirts. Menzies is wearing a dark tie, Churchill a bow tie.

Portrait of Prime Ministers R.G. Menzies and Winston Churchill at Downing Street, London, 1941, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137388175

War in Europe again - 'My melancholy duty'

Topic

At 9.15 pm on Sunday 3 September 1939, Australia’s Prime Minister, Robert Menzies (1894-1978), gave a radio address, announcing that Australia was at war with Germany.

Digital Classroom
Map of the world during World War II showing Japanese and German influence and occupation, international boundaries, transportation, oil fields etc. Scattered around the map are depictions of war technology including battleships, aircraft and artillery. Some countries have depictions of animals or 'things' relevant to the country eg. in the middle of Australia is a kangaroo, emu, a platypus and sheep. Inset at bottom left and right are close ups of the Mediterranean and Solomon Islands respectively.

Japanese map of World War ll, 1942, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-234704475

Enemy aliens and war with Japan

Topic

As the outbreak of war was announced, police forces around Australia moved swiftly to ensure there were no concerns about security at home.

Digital Classroom
Charcoal on paper sketch of the head and shoulders of a young man. He has hair neatly swept back. He is wearing an collared white shirt with the collar open. He is in profile staring off to the right.

Theodor Engel, Study of a Dunera boy at Tatura, Victoria, 1943, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-152997802

Dunera

Topic

In the years leading to the outbreak of World War II, Hitler and his government’s anti-Semitism became increasingly violent.

Digital Classroom
A black and white photograph of the main garrison gates of the former Cowra Prisoner of War camp. The gates now sit in a grassy park surrounded by trees and bushes.

Brendon Kelson, Garrison Gates Memorial (former entrance to POW camp), Binni Creek Road, Cowra, 1996, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143115748

Cowra

Topic

Opened in 1941, the Cowra camp was used as a site to house the growing number of Prisoners of War (POWs) from the Mediterranean theatre of war, mainly Italian and German troops.

Digital Classroom

Introductory activities

These activities are designed to help students build a shared understanding of life in Australia during World War II before engaging with specific collection items.

Activity 1: A small town at war

Explore how war affected everyday life in Australian towns using historical photographs as inspiration.

  1. Introduce students to Jim Fitzpatrick’s photographs of Drouin, Victoria—taken during World War II for the Department of Information.
  2. Have students use Trove and their local or state library collections to locate digitised images of their own region during World War II.
  3. Ask students to:
    • Compile a selection of documentary photographs
    • Consider how these local images compare with the Drouin series
    • Discuss what the images suggest about life on the home front
A black and white photograph showing a group of women shopping for food and supplies using wartime coupons. There are three shopkeepers behind the counter handing out goods and taking coupons

Jim Fitzpatrick and Australia. Department of Information, Women shopping with coupons during world War II in Drouin, Victoria, 1944, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147034167

Jim Fitzpatrick and Australia. Department of Information, Women shopping with coupons during world War II in Drouin, Victoria, 1944, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147034167

Concluding activities

These activities help students reflect on the diverse experiences of World War II, including internment and remembrance.

Activity 2: Explore internment and prisoner experiences

Use personal stories and international comparisons to deepen understanding of wartime policies and experiences.

  1. View Theodor Engel’s sketches from the Dunera topic and discuss what they reveal about life in internment.
  2. Research internment policies in other Allied countries.
    • What were the key similarities or differences with Australia's policies?
    • How did these countries treat prisoners and internees compared to Axis powers?
  3. Investigate where Australian soldiers were held as prisoners during the war.
    • What were their conditions like?
    • How were they treated?

Activity 2: Remembering Cowra

Use oral histories to explore the impact of the Cowra breakout on local communities.

  1. Search the catalogue for oral history interviews with people from Cowra and nearby areas.
    • These recordings include first-hand accounts of the breakout and its legacy.
  2. Ask students to:
    • Listen to one or more interviews
    • Summarise what they learned about the event
    • Reflect on how personal memory adds to our understanding of history

Note: Some recordings may contain culturally inappropriate language or distressing content. These are the original words of the interviewees and do not reflect the views of the National Library of Australia.

Curriculum links

This resource has been developed to support the Australian Curriculum: History Depth Study ‘World War II (1939-45)’ for Year 10 students. 

  • The causes, outbreak and course of the Second World War and the significance of Australian involvement (AC9HH10K01)
  • The places where Australians fought, and their perspectives and experiences during the Second World War, such as the fall of Singapore, prisoners of war (POWs), the Battle of Britain and Kokoda (AC9HH10K02)
  • The significant events and turning points of the Second World War, including the Holocaust and use of the atomic bomb (AC9HH10K03)
  • The effects of the Second World War, with a particular emphasis on the continuities and changes on the Australian home front, such as the changing roles of women and First Nations Australians, and the use of wartime government controls (AC9HH10K04)
  • The significance of the Second World War to Australia’s immediate post-war economic, political and social development, and Australia’s international relationships in the 20th century (AC9HH10K05)
  • The commemoration of the Second World War, including different historical interpretations and debates (AC9HH10K06)

More to explore

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Author Kathy Weeden reading and acting out her book 'Phonobet' to children and their parents in the foyer during Enlighten

Kathy Weeden reading her book Phonobet, illustrated by Kim Drane and published by NLA Publishing, at Enlighten at the Library 2024

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Page published: 25 Jun 2025
World War 2

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