How were persons of German descent treated in Australia during World War 1?

Answer 1

At the commencement of the war, the Australian government immediately stood down any German politicians or those of obvious German descent. This was despite the fact that Germans, as a cultural and social group, had made huge contributions to Australian society ever since the arrival of the first immigrants in the 1830s and 1840s. Whether it was acting on its own behalf or under pressure from overseas, the Government enforced a policy that would effectively destroy the German socio-political influence, and a number of moves were undertaken to this end.

During World War I, many Germans were held at internment camps around Australia. There was fear that seemingly innocent German immigrants could be spying for the German government. This paranoia even extended to some German-speaking peoples whose families had been in Australia since the 1840s. In all, during World War I, 6,890 Germans were interned. Of these, 4,500 were Australian residents before the war began. Others were sailors from German navy ships or merchant ships who were arrested while in Australian ports when the war broke out, while others still were merely visitors.

German clubs were closed, businesses were shut down, many Lutheran schools were closed (all of the Lutheran schools in SA were closed), and the leaders of the community, including Lutheran pastors, were interned. (Six of the Qld pastors who were interned were British naturalised subjects, and two of them had actually been born in Australia). German, as a language, ceased to be taught in some schools. The Germans were often ferried for long distances by rail, during which they were subjected to harsh treatment, including unnecessary handcuffing and general abuse. Their luggage was searched, or just stolen and/or destroyed.

German-sounding place names were anglicised, and some German families avoided internment and harassment by anglicising their names.