Between 1939 and 1947, the Caribbean island of Jamaica –
then a British colony – was haven or detention centre for thousands of
displaced Europeans; an often under-recognized contribution to the Allied war effort.
A civilian camp accommodated evacuees from Gibraltar and, belatedly, provided
sanctuary for groups of mainly Jewish refugees. Others who had fled Europe
ahead of looming fascist threats would be interned in military detention camps
whose populations were swollen by German and Italian civilians from several
British West African colonies, co-mingled for convenience with hundreds of
German and Italian merchant mariners captured at sea during the early months of
the war.
World War II Camps in Jamaica
disentangles the conditions
under which these various populations were held, drawing on primary records,
personal accounts and media coverage; noting differences and similarities in
their management; considering the camps and their populations within the local
context; and considering the extent of interface and interaction that ensued
despite official efforts to keep the incoming populations separate and transitory.