The Internment of Belligerent Military Personnel in Neutral Ireland During World War II

The article is devoted to the internment of belligerent military personnel in neutral Ireland during WWII as one of the aspects of neutrality policy the country adhered to. The author uses sources that are not widely known in Russia.

The article also mentions the issue of declaring emergency by the Irish government and introducing emergency legislation by the Irish parliament to enforce the policy of neutrality.

The article studies aspects of interning belligerent crews that crash-landed in Ireland and sailors rescued by Irish boats in neutral waters. The author follows the history of their internment starting from August 1940, when the first belligerent crew was interned, to August 1945, when the remaining Germans internees were repatriated to Britain.

Despite the fact that the internment camp reminded more of a tourist camp rather than the prison, the Allied internees didn’t give up their efforts to escape in order to return to war. The German internees, in turn, having no opportunity to return to Germany even if they did escape, patiently waited for the war to end.

It was difficult to imagine Ireland as Britain’s ally given the history of relations between them, nevertheless, the two countries’ government carried out covert cooperation. Based on the nature of Anglo-Irish interaction, the author concludes that Irish neutrality was benevolent towards Britain, despite popular belief that Irish neutrality was strict and impartial.

Keywords

Ireland, WWII, neutrality, internment, belligerents, cooperation with Britain

Received

12.08.2020

Publication date

29.01.2021

Number of characters

36475

Cite

GOST	Ankudinova N. The Internment of Belligerent Military Personnel in Neutral Ireland During World War II // Novaia i noveishaia istoriia – 2021. – Issue 1 C. 138-148 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://nni.jes.su/S013038640013381-7-1 (circulation date: 06.05.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013038640013381-7
MLA	Ankudinova, Natalia "The Internment of Belligerent Military Personnel in Neutral Ireland During World War II." Novaia i noveishaia istoriia 1 (2021):138-148. DOI: 10.31857/S013038640013381-7
APA	Ankudinova N. (2021). The Internment of Belligerent Military Personnel in Neutral Ireland During World War II. Novaia i noveishaia istoriia (1), pp.138-148 DOI: 10.31857/S013038640013381-7

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