Prisoners of Jan Smuts
eBook - ePub

Prisoners of Jan Smuts

Italian Prisoners of War in South Africa in WWII

  1. 272 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Prisoners of Jan Smuts

Italian Prisoners of War in South Africa in WWII

About this book

Equally skilled in a variety of trades other than in the art of love, the Italian prisoners of war (POWs) who were incarcerated in South Africa during the Second World War are a source of great fascination to this day. Who were these men? And what made some of them attempt dramatic escapes, while others wanted to stay behind after the war?The first Italian POWs arrived in the Union of South Africa in early 1941, most of them being held in Zonderwater Camp outside Cullinan or in work camps across the country. The government of Jan Smuts saw them as a source of cheap labour that would contribute to harvesting schemes, road-building projects such as the old Du Toit's Kloof Pass between Paarl and Worcester and even to prickly-pear eradication schemes.Prisoners of Jan Smuts recounts the stories of survival and shenanigans of the Italian POWs in the Union through the eyes of five prisoners who had documented their experiences in memoirs and letters. While many POWs seemed to appreciate the opportunities to gain new skills, others clung to the Fascist ideas they had grown up with and refused to work.Many opted to remain in South Africa once the war had ended, forging quite a legacy. These included sculptor Edoardo Villa, who left an important mark in the local and international art world, and businessman Aurelio Gatti, who built an ice-cream empire whose gelato was to delight generations of South Africans.

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Yes, you can access Prisoners of Jan Smuts by Karen Horn in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & World War II. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Jonathan Ball
Year
2024
Print ISBN
9781776192847
eBook ISBN
9781776192854
Topic
History
Subtopic
World War II
Index
History

Table of contents

  1. Title page
  2. Dedication
  3. Author’s note
  4. Author’s note
  5. Introduction
  6. Principal personalities
  7. 1. Young Fascists in Italy’s African colonies
  8. 2. Early days at Zonderwater camp
  9. 3. Cheap labour: POWs for hire
  10. 4. Trouble brews at Zonderwater
  11. 5. An ‘epidemic of escaping’
  12. 6. Prinsloo to the rescue
  13. 7. Well-being through art, music and education
  14. 8. The fall of Mussolini
  15. 9. Ossewabrandwag and Fascist prisoners
  16. 10. Armistice jitters
  17. 11. Freedom at any cost
  18. 12. ‘What are you doing in my bedroom?’
  19. 13. Love beyond the rules
  20. 14. The long wait to return home
  21. 15. The end – but not yet
  22. 16. ‘I also need so much to cry’
  23. Epilogue
  24. Epilogue
  25. Bibliography
  26. About the book
  27. About the Author
  28. Imprint page