One of the less known episodes in the history of colonial Southern Rhodesia, was the hosting, on behalf of the Empire, of over 12000 German, Austrian and Italian internees as well as Polish and Iraqi reftigees during the Second World War. This study looks at the historical background to the establishment of camps for internees and renigees in the colony. The internees came in two main waves, first as many Axis nationals were interned in British African colonies, and later, as the war developed, Italian internees and refugees, particularly from Poland, arrived. This article describes how the camps were set up and agreements for financing them. It looks at problems that arose in their management, particularly the difficulty in staffing a workable Corp. Finally, it looks at the closing down of the camps, and the subsequent use that was made of the various facilities that had been built.
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