Italian PoWs during World War 2
PRISONERS OF JAN SMUTS: ITALIAN PRISONERS OF WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA IN WWII KAREN HORN JONATHAN BALL BOOK REVIEWER CHRISTOPHER MERRETT
World War 2 Italian soldiers surrendered readily and led a docile life in South African prisoner of war (PoW) camps with many later settling as migrants. This stereotype Karen Horn regards as myth, looking in particular at five individuals out of 100 000 prisoners.
Jan Smuts accepted Italian prisoners as South Africa’s commitment to the Allies; but also because of labour shortages in the construction and farming sectors. However, most Italian soldiers had known only a fascist society and the cult of Mussolini.
Among them were hardliners. Zonderwater camp (Cullinan) was initially chaotic with scant regard for the Geneva Convention and the PoWs were accommodated in tents. There was concern about the country’s reputation and that South African prisoners might be vulnerable to retaliation. Outside employment was offered to those who signed a co-operation agreement. Amid public disquiet, labour camps were established and up to 4 000 PoWs worked on farms. Irredeemable fascists lived in one block at Zonderwater and in 1942 they rioted. Multiple escapes were helped by poor administration and confusion around Italian names.
While some PoWs simply accepted their fate, the stereotype of the docile prisoner is flawed.
In 1943, Colonel Hennie Prinsloo became Zonderwater commandant. A childhood occupant of an Anglo-Boer War concentration camp, he was a genius at human relations and
Zonderwater improved. He understood barbed-wire psychosis and the impact of mental and physical activity on self-esteem. Gardening, music, manufacture, sport and education flourished.
The surrender of Italy created new fissures among the PoWs. Repatriation expectations were dashed and hardline fascists became more committed. Italy was no longer an
Axis belligerent, yet a PoW limbo ensued and the complex processes of repatriation later took up to two years. Escapes continued, aided possibly by Axis sympathisers. Given changed war conditions, forbidden fraternisation increased and returning South African troops were often angry to find former enemies at home.
Zonderwater closed in March 1947, with 86 PoWs at large. The number of prisoners who stayed in South Africa was officially 870 and thousands returned as migrants. Two of the bestknown names are Gatti (Aurelio of ice cream fame) and Fiasconaro (Gregorio, pioneer of South African opera).
A snapshot of the Pietermaritzburg transit camp emerges from the experiences of Raffaello Cei, a cook. It does seem to have been relatively relaxed and the camp’s orchestra performed at the city hall. Cei would occasionally sleep outside the camp. The myth may be flawed, but some of it is grounded in truth.