Immigrant's experiences: internment during World War Two

Extracts from an oral history in which Horst Salomon describes being arrested as a German traveling without the appropriate papers and his subsequent internment in Tatura, Victoria during World War Two.

In his full-length interview, Salomon recalls his experiences after coming to South Australia from Germany as a political refugee prior to the Second World War. At the outbreak of war he left his work as a farm labourer and travelled to Melbourne in an unsuccessful attempt to enlist in the airforce.

On his return to Adelaide Salomon was detained briefly for travelling without a permit. He and two brothers then began munitions work at Beverley. In mid 1940 Salomon was detained again and sent for internment at Tatura, Victoria. He describes the activities of Nazi sympathisers in the camp in some detail.

Salomon was released after successfully presenting his case to the Appeal Tribunal and returned to Adelaide late in the war. With his brother Ernest he joined the non-combatant 8th Employment Unit made up of former internees that was stationed at Melbourne. He recalled with pride the achievements of many members of the unit after the war.

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