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World War II internee, alien and POW records held in Canberra – Fact sheet 59

Introduction

Internees are those prisoners of war or enemy aliens who are obliged to reside within prescibed 'camps', generally unable to leave until the termination of the related conflict or war.

During World War II internment in Australia was subject to the National Security Regulations. There were many camps Australia-wide where not only aliens were interned but also overseas internees and prisoners of war who were transferred to Australia.

The Archives holds many records relating specifically to internment and internees, aliens and prisoners of war. These include individual case files and more general titles which may refer to individuals. It was not uncommon for internees to be moved from one camp to another, even to another state. Thus records that relate to individual internees may be difficult to identify, and may exist in the collections of more than one office of the Archives.

This fact sheet identifies records held in Canberra of WW II internees, aliens and prisoners of war. Records in other offices can be identified from the Archives' publication Finding Families: The Guide to the National Archives of Australia for Genealogists or the RecordSearch database.

Records held in Canberra relating to WW II internees, aliens and prisoners of war

Investigation Branch (CA 747)

Series title	Date range	Series number
Correspondence files	1931–39	A369
Prisoner of war files	1939–45	A7919
Copies of war proclamations	1939–40	A393

Investigation Branch (CA 747) (to 1946), Commonwealth Investigation Service (CA 650)

Series title	Date range	Series number
Correspondence files	1916–53	A367
Correspondence files of the CIS	1916–60	A8911
Correspondence files	1941–49	A373
General correspondence	1939–49	A11797

Attorney-General's Department (CA 5)

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Correspondence files, war series	1939–49	A472
	Military courts prisoner of war trials	1943–46	CP337/1

Prime Minister's Department (CA 12)

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Correspondence files, secret and confidential series	1926–39	A1606
	Correspondence files	1939–47	A1608

Department of the Interior (CA 31) (to 1945), Department of Immigration (CA 51)

Series title	Date range	Series number
Correspondence files (restricted immigration)	1939–50	A433
Correspondence files (non-British European migrants)	1939–50	A434
Correspondence files (alien registration)	1946–50	A437

Department of External Affairs (CA 18)

Series title	Date range	Series number
Correspondence files	1927–42	A981
Correspondence files	1943–44	A989
Correspondence files	1945	A1066
Correspondence files	1946–50	A1067

Department of Defence (CA 19) (to 1939), Department of Defence Co-ordination (CA 37) (1939 to 1942), Department of Defence (CA 46) (from 1942)

Series title	Date range	Series number
Correspondence files	1924–40	A664
Classified correspondence files	1935–58	A816
Report on the Directorate of Prisoners and War Internees	1939–51	A7711
Correspondence files	1940–57	A663

Defence Division, Department of Treasury (CA 68)

	Series title	Date range	Series number
	Classified correspondence files	1941–63	A1308
	Correspondence files	1942–62	A649

Security Service, Tasmania (CA 746)

Series title	Date range	Series number
Correspondence files	1942–45	A376
Rt Hon. John Joseph Ambrose Curtin PC	–	CP+258
Prime Minister's Department	–	CA+12
Folders of miscellaneous correspondence	1941–45	M1415
Folders of correspondence on 'Special Subjects'	1941–45	M1416

For more information

For further information about the Archives' holdings relating to internee, alien and prisoner of war records consult the following fact sheets:

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