Collection of Italian Prisoner of War and Blue Division Letters
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Abstract
This collection primarily contains correspondence from Italian prisoners of war during World War II. Various prisoners were at P.O.W. camps in Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, East Africa (E.A.C., East Africa Command), South Africa, Australia, India, Great Britain, India, the United States, Italy, and Germany. Also included are correspondence and papers from a soldier and the chaplain of the Blue Division, a group of Spanish volunteers that served in the Germany Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.
Historical Note on Italian Prisoners of War
Following the 1943 Armistice of Cassibile, in which Italy surrendered to the Allies, Germany retaliated and occupied most of Italy to the north, creating a puppet state, the Italian Social Republic. Rather than continue fighting as allies of the German army, the majority of Italian soldiers and officers arrested by Nazi Germany and Italian fascists were taken to German internment camps in Germany or Eastern Europe. Instead of being called prisoners of war, Germany re-designated these detainees as "military internees" as a way to work around the rights granted prisoners of war, as outlined by the Third Geneva Convention.
Even after the armistice, there was no change in status for Italian POWs interned in Allied prisoner of war camps. Due to labor shortages in Great Britain, Australia, and the United States, they were retained as POWs.
Historical Note on the Blue Division
In the Second World War, a group of Spanish volunteers and conscripts served in the German Army, fighting on the Eastern Front. They were called the Blue Division, or División Española de Voluntarios by the Spanish Army, and 250. Infanterie-Division by the German Army.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor. Letters were received in packets organized by location of POW camp.
Scope and Contents
This collection primarily contains correspondence from Italian prisoners of war during World War II. Various prisoners were at P.O.W. camps in Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, East Africa, South Africa, Australia, India, Great Britain, India, the United States, Italy, and Germany. The grouping of East Africa comes from the letters identified as coming out of the East Africa Command (E.A.C.) and/or the Middle East Command, both of which were commands of the Britishy Army.
Also included are correspondence and papers from a soldier and the chaplain of the Blue Division, a group of Spanish volunteers that served in the Germany Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.
Subjects
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People
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Repository has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in 1936-1946, are expected to enter the public domain in 2066.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Collection of Italian Prisoner of War and Blue Division Letters; TAM 773; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Kevin Jackson, February 2015. There is no information regarding the original provenance. The accession number associated with this gift is 2019.010.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Loose items were placed in new acid-free folders according to the groupings they arrived in. Materials were placed in new acid-free boxes.
