'Sometimes a little injustice must be suffered for the public good' : how the National Security (Aliens Control) Regulations 1939 (Cth) affected the lives of German, Italian, Japanese and Australian born women living in Australia during the Second World W

Abstract

Throughout Australia’s history xenophobic immigration policies and security measures have appeared in times of uncertainty. The implementation of the Anti‐Terror laws in 2005 inspired me to carry out research on important security measures introduced at the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. Migrants living in Australia became subject to the National Security (Aliens Control) Regulations 1939 (Cth) introduced by the Commonwealth government. ‘Non‐British’ persons living in Australia were required to register as ‘aliens’; nationals from countries with which Australia was at war were classified as ‘enemy aliens’. This included all German Italian and Japanese nationals. In addition, Australian women married to enemy aliens lost their British nationality under the Nationality Act 1920 (Cth) and were required to register as enemy aliens. This study focuses on five groups of women affected by the legislation: Australian born women of German descent, Italian born women, Australian born women of Japanese descent, German Jewish refugee women, and Australian born women married to Italian nationals. These groups were chosen not only to highlight the various ways in which the Regulations were applied to women of different nationalities, but also to address a gap in the literature on the control and internment of ‘alien’ women, despite the vast amount of material that was available at the National Archives of Australia (NAA). This thesis is in large part based on archival research. Files on over 700 women were examined, many of which had never before been consulted. I also conducted five interviews, including three women who were registered as enemy aliens during the war. This dissertation has 3 parts. Part I provides an analysis of the Aliens Control Regulations and those who helped administer the laws. It also provides context on the operation of these laws by detailing the experience of Italian women who were detained under the Regulation just moments after Italy entered the war. Part II provides case studies illustrating the diverse ways in which these Regulations were applied. Part III shows women who fell victim to circumstance – German‐Jewish refugee women who were wrongly categorized as ‘enemy aliens’ and Australian born women married to Italian nationals, unaware that they had lost their British status. The case studies presented in this thesis show that ‘war hysteria’, discrimination, isolation, racism and victimization were all part of the wartime experience of these women who were caught in the net of the Aliens Control Regulations.