This fascinating book tells the forgotten story of four to five thousand British civilians who were interned at the Ruhleben camp near Berlin during the First World War and formed a unique community in the heart of enemy territory. The civilians included academics, musicians, businessmen, seamen and even tourists who had been in Germany for only a few days when war broke out. This book takes a fresh look at German internment policies within an international context, using Ruhleben camp as a particular example to illustrate broader themes includeing the background to the German decision to intern 'enemy aliens'; Ruhleben as a 'community at war'; the role of civilian internment in wartime diplomacy and propaganda; and the place of Ruhleben in British memory of the war. This study will be of interest to all scholars working on the First World War, and to all those concerned with the broader impact of modern conflicts on national identities and community formation.
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About the Author
Matthew Stibbe is Reader in History at Sheffield Hallam University
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
My grandfather was an internee at Ruhleben, hence the interest.
The book gives a good amount of background to the politics and policies leading up to internment in 1914, describes why Ruhleben was "different", and describes the history of the camp itself together with some of the internees.
The irony of the camps name ("Quiet Life") does not escape the author.
The book also looks at the effects on the internees both during and after internment and the way the British Government treated them (badly - but then, what has changed 90 years later ?).
It gave me an entirely new view of what had happened (my grandfather never talked about it in any detail) and enabled me to find more information on the web.
Although it sometimes becomes a bit academic it is easy enough to read with references for further research if required.
Will be of interest to any family who had a relative interned in, or affected by the policy of Germany at the time.
The book gives a good amount of background to the politics and policies leading up to internment in 1914, describes why Ruhleben was "different", and describes the history of the camp itself together with some of the internees.
The irony of the camps name ("Quiet Life") does not escape the author.
The book also looks at the effects on the internees both during and after internment and the way the British Government treated them (badly - but then, what has changed 90 years later ?).
It gave me an entirely new view of what had happened (my grandfather never talked about it in any detail) and enabled me to find more information on the web.
Although it sometimes becomes a bit academic it is easy enough to read with references for further research if required.
Will be of interest to any family who had a relative interned in, or affected by the policy of Germany at the time.
By Chris
Format:Paperback
This book is written like a text book,you could not read it in long sittings,to be read chapter by chapter,it could have been condensed into half the length,very wordy as there seemed to be a lack of info to fill the book.Bought this book as my husband's grandfather spent 4 years in Ruhleben WW1,taken prisoner from the ship Edwin Hunter which was in port at the time war was declared.The book gave a certain degree of insight into conditions etc but it could have been presented in a much more readable format.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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3.0 out of 5 stars
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
a small book on a large topic.
10 Sep 2011
By G. Kaldis
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Stibbe consulted hundreds of sources but limits his discussion of the experience of the internees to general comparisons to internees elsewhere. Major happenings are made light of as the focus is on the overview. This was a period of growth for my uncle who was interned in the prison at age 18 and came out at 23 a well-educated man as there were so much intellectual and artistic stimulation. This group of prisoners created an utopian society in a prison environment. "We are not downhearted " was the frequent chant of the British prisoners.
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