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Discovering History Through the Visual Record: The Art of the Dunera Internees

LJLA Event with Dr Seumas Spark

The Dunera internees created an extraordinarily rich and vibrant visual record of their internment. This artistic record is a treasure trove for historians, offering vivid and often surprising glimpses of life and loss during wartime. 

This talk examines Dunera art and artists, with a particular focus on Robert Hofmann and Hans Rothe. At the time Hofmann was deported to Australia on the Dunera, he was probably Europe's pre-eminent portrait artist. He was an alumnus of the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, and a previous winner of the Prix de Rome. Rothe, less well known, was a sharp-eyed cartoonist whose works contained biting observations of prejudice and political folly.

The Dunera Boys were around 2,500 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria who were interned by the British and transported to Australia aboard the HMT Dunera in 1940. Although they had fled Nazi persecution, they were initially treated as enemy aliens. After arriving in Australia, they were interned at camps in Hay, Orange and Tatura.

Despite the difficult circumstances, the Dunera internees built a remarkable cultural and intellectual life behind the barbed wire. They established libraries, schools, orchestras, theatre groups, religious services and sporting activities. Many remained in Australia after their release and went on to make significant contributions to Australian science, medicine, academia, business, the arts and community life. Their story has become an important part of both Australian and Jewish history.

Dr Seumas Spark is an Adjunct Research Fellow in History at Monash University and a leading expert on the history of the Dunera Boys. He is the co-author of the two-volume Dunera Lives – A Visual History & Dunera Lives - Profiles, the co-created (With Kate Garrett) of the website Stories From the Dunera and Queen Mary and the past president of the Dunera Association. 

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