A newsletter published by internees at the Onchan internment camp on the Isle of Man. In May 1940, the British Government introduced a policy of mass internment of refugees in the wake of German military victories. Jewish refugees were viewed as ‘enemy aliens’ and interned, with the prospect of being deported along with enemy prisoners of war.
Many of the internees were craftsmen, but there was also a high proportion of professionals such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, writers, teachers and musicians. By July 1940 the Onchan internees had produced a camp newspaper, The Onchan Pioneer, which reflected not only these intellectual and artistic talents but also a desire to use them in the British war effort.
