A book on civilian internment during World War II, published by the National Archives of Australia in February 2007, has been chosen for a NSW Premiers History Award, announced last night.
The author Dr Klaus Neumann received the $15,000 John and Patricia Ward History Prize for the use of archives in writing history for his book In the Interest of National Security.
The National Archives commissioned Dr Neumann, one of its former grant recipients, to write a narrative history/research guide of the Archives’ records on some 15,000 civilians who were interned in Australia during World War II.
‘This book sheds light on a compelling Australian story with the help of the Archives’ extensive collection,’ said Ross Gibbs, Director-General of the National Archives.
‘We are proud that the book has been selected for this prestigious award and congratulate Dr Neumann on his achievement.’
The book tells the stories of seven men and three women who were considered a security risk and interned in camps during the war. It details the impact the traumatic event had on their lives, sometimes for many years. The 10 came from various backgrounds and included fascists and anti-fascists, Nazi supporters and Nazi resisters, and some with no political allegiances at all.
The History Prize judges commented that ‘in scrutinising case files held by the National Archives of Australia as well as private papers of former internees’ Klaus Neumann ‘deftly combines his examination of the policies themselves with an examination of how internment affected individuals’.
The announcement of the NSW Premier’s History Prize on 9 October for In the Interest of National Security, follows closely on the book’s selection for another award.
In August 2007 the book was highly commended in the Mander Jones Awards of the Australian Society of Archivists in the category ‘Best finding aid to an archival collection’.
One Mander Jones judge believed the ‘contextual material is beautifully written, the choice of subjects and stories is balanced and objective, the overall topic one that has previously received little attention.’