Internment, World War 2 (1939-45)
About this module
Designed to give teachers flexibility, the content of this module is based in part on Captured Lives: Australia's Wartime Internment Camps by Peter Monteath (NLA Publishing, 2018), and the collection-in-focus exhibition The Dunera Boys: Seventy Years On shown at the National Library of Australian in 2010.
Topics in this module
Portrait of Prime Ministers R.G. Menzies and Winston Churchill at Downing Street, London, 1941, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137388175
(1942). [Japanese map of World War ll]. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-234704475
Theodor Engel, Study of a Dunera boy at Tatura, Victoria, 1943, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-152997802
Brendon Kelson, Garrison Gates Memorial (former entrance to POW camp), Binni Creek Road, Cowra, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-143115748
Module learning activities
Introductory activities
These activities aim to facilitate a shared understanding of the themes and concepts relevant to History for the learning levels this resource supports. They are designed to get students thinking in broad terms about the social and cultural context of World War II in Australia, before exploring more National Library collection material in each of the themes.
A Small Town at War
Have students use the National Library of Australia’s picture collection Drouin town and rural life during World War II as inspiration for compiling a collection of documentary images of their local area during World War II.
Government departments, such as the Department of Information, employed a number of very talented professional photographers. One of these was Jim Fitzpatrick, whose series of photographs for the Department of Information documented aspects of town and rural life in Drouin, Victoria. Fitzpatrick’s images deal with the lives of ordinary people; they affirm traditional Australian values and make it clear exactly what was at stake during the war years.
Ask students to check Trove and their regional library for digitised historical images. Read the essay from 2010 describing the creation of this fascinating series of 88 photographs.
Jim Fitzpatrick & Australia. Department of Information, (1944), Women shopping with coupons during world War II in Drouin, Victoria, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147034167
Jim Fitzpatrick & Australia. Department of Information, (1944), Women shopping with coupons during world War II in Drouin, Victoria, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147034167
Concluding activities
- The sketches of Theodor Engel (as seen in the Dunera topic) are a poignant reminder that those imprisoned came from all walks of life and ages. Explore Engels sketches.
- Conduct research into the internment policies of other Allied countries during World War 2. Are there any similarities or differences to Australia’s policies? Compare these approaches to internment and treatment of Prisoners of War by the Axis forces.
- Research where Australian soldiers were interned during World War II? What were their experiences like?
The National Library of Australia holds a number of recordings of interviews with people from Cowra and surrounding areas talking about their memories of the breakout. Free online Oral History recordings can be accessed in the catalogue.
Please be advised that the interviews may contain terms and references which are considered culturally inappropriate. They are the words of the creators/interviewees and they do not reflect the views of the National Library of Australia. Some recordings may also include graphic recollections of traumatic events and experiences.
Curriculum links
This resource has been developed to support the Australian Curriculum: History Depth Study ‘World War II (1939-45)’ for Year 10 students. It has specific reference to five content descriptions.
Overview of the causes and course of World War 2 (ACDSEH024)
Elaborations
- outlining the contributing factors of World War II (for example, the outcomes of the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations; the rise of Hitler and Japan’s imperial ambitions)
- identifying key events in the European theatre of war (for example, Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939; the Holocaust 1942–45; the Russians reaching Berlin in 1945)
- identifying key events in the Asia-Pacific theatre of war (for example, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941; the fall of Singapore in 1942; the American victory at the Battle of Midway in 1942)
Examination of significant events of World War 2, including the Holocaust and use of the atomic bomb (ACDSEH107)
Elaborations
- investigating the scale and significance of the Holocaust, using primary sources
explaining the race to build the atomic bomb (by Germany, Japan, the US) and why the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Experiences of Australians during World War II (such as Prisoners of War (POWs), the Battle of Britain, Kokoda, the Fall of Singapore) (ACDSEH108)
Elaborations
- explaining the significance of Kokoda as the battle that halted the Japanese advance on Port Moresby and helped foster the Anzac legend
The impact of World War II, with a particular emphasis on the Australian home front, including the changing roles of women and use of wartime government controls (conscription, manpower controls, rationing and censorship) (ACDSEH109)
Elaborations
- investigating the impact of World War II at a local and national level (for example, significant events such as the bombing of Darwin; the Japanese submarine attack on Sydney and the sinking of ships off the Australian coast; the ‘Battle of Brisbane’; the Cowra breakout and the Brisbane Line)
The significance of World War II to Australia’s international relationships in the twentieth century, with particular reference to the United Nations, Britain, the USA and Asia (ACDSEH110)
Elaborations
- evaluating the impact of World War II on the emergence of the United States as a major world power and on Australia’s alliance with the US (for example, the threat of Japan)
The resource also has relevance to the General Capabilities of Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural Understanding, and Personal and Social Capability.
More to learn and do
Kathy Weeden reading her book Phonobet, illustrated by Kim Drane and published by NLA Publishing, at Enlighten at the Library 2024
