The enemy within

About 43 per cent of the 52,000 people defined as 'aliens' during the war were classed as 'enemy' - mainly Germans, Italians and Japanese.

The Italians were the largest non-British group in Australia. When Italy entered the war in June 1940, a number of these were interned, and many suffered assaults and harassment. The strongest reaction was in Queensland, which had the largest population of Italians, and where people were also more vulnerable to invasion.

However, as labour became scarce, and as Italian military involvement collapsed during the war, many internees were freed to work on civilian labour schemes. Many Italian prisoners of war also were released to work on farms.