Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War
The British naval base at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys played a vital role during the Second World War for the Allied war effort. It housed the British Home Fleet and provided a strategic military base for Allied operations in the North Sea, Atlantic and the Arctic. Although Scapa Flow’s military histo...
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2011
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Online Access: | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37614/ http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37614/1/WRAP_Custodis_jshs%252E2011%252E0007.pdf https://doi.org/10.3366/jshs.2011.0007 |
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ftuwarwick:oai:wrap.warwick.ac.uk:37614 2023-05-15T15:11:00+02:00 Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War Custodis, Johann 2011-05 application/pdf http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37614/ http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37614/1/WRAP_Custodis_jshs%252E2011%252E0007.pdf https://doi.org/10.3366/jshs.2011.0007 unknown Edinburgh University Press http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37614/1/WRAP_Custodis_jshs%252E2011%252E0007.pdf Custodis, Johann (2011) Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War. Journal of Scottish Historical Studies, Vol.31 (No.1). pp. 72-98. doi:10.3366/jshs.2011.0007 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/jshs.2011.0007> D731 World War II Journal Article NonPeerReviewed 2011 ftuwarwick https://doi.org/10.3366/jshs.2011.0007 2022-03-16T20:32:21Z The British naval base at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys played a vital role during the Second World War for the Allied war effort. It housed the British Home Fleet and provided a strategic military base for Allied operations in the North Sea, Atlantic and the Arctic. Although Scapa Flow’s military history is well served, the barriers built by Italian prisoners of war (POWs) to strengthen its defences in the early war years have received little attention.1 Britain faced a peculiar dilemma in the Orkneys: defences needed to be fortified given Scapa Flow’s key location and military role, but manpower was extremely scarce. Civilians were reluctant to work on the islands due to harsh and dangerous working conditions. Since efforts to attract them via compulsion and bonus schemes, and to employ migrant workers were insufficient, the government employed 1,200 Italian POWs instead, despite the scheme’s doubtful legality under the Geneva Convention. This article examines the history and significance of the Italians’ employment in the Orkneys and demonstrates that their contribution was vital for the construction of the Churchill barriers. Previous studies have neglected the multiple strikes by the prisoners and their protests against illegal work and some wrongly assume that the prisoners were not participating in the construction of the barriers. This article explicitly examines the legality issue and the prisoners’ extensive employment. Although their employment violated the Geneva Convention, British authorities and neutral delegates deemed it legal, thus securing the barriers’ completion. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic The University of Warwick: WRAP - Warwick Research Archive Portal Arctic Journal of Scottish Historical Studies 31 1 72 98 |
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The University of Warwick: WRAP - Warwick Research Archive Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftuwarwick |
language |
unknown |
topic |
D731 World War II |
spellingShingle |
D731 World War II Custodis, Johann Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War |
topic_facet |
D731 World War II |
description |
The British naval base at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys played a vital role during the Second World War for the Allied war effort. It housed the British Home Fleet and provided a strategic military base for Allied operations in the North Sea, Atlantic and the Arctic. Although Scapa Flow’s military history is well served, the barriers built by Italian prisoners of war (POWs) to strengthen its defences in the early war years have received little attention.1 Britain faced a peculiar dilemma in the Orkneys: defences needed to be fortified given Scapa Flow’s key location and military role, but manpower was extremely scarce. Civilians were reluctant to work on the islands due to harsh and dangerous working conditions. Since efforts to attract them via compulsion and bonus schemes, and to employ migrant workers were insufficient, the government employed 1,200 Italian POWs instead, despite the scheme’s doubtful legality under the Geneva Convention. This article examines the history and significance of the Italians’ employment in the Orkneys and demonstrates that their contribution was vital for the construction of the Churchill barriers. Previous studies have neglected the multiple strikes by the prisoners and their protests against illegal work and some wrongly assume that the prisoners were not participating in the construction of the barriers. This article explicitly examines the legality issue and the prisoners’ extensive employment. Although their employment violated the Geneva Convention, British authorities and neutral delegates deemed it legal, thus securing the barriers’ completion. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Custodis, Johann |
author_facet |
Custodis, Johann |
author_sort |
Custodis, Johann |
title |
Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War |
title_short |
Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War |
title_full |
Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War |
title_fullStr |
Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War |
title_full_unstemmed |
Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War |
title_sort |
exploiting the enemy in the orkneys : the employment of italian prisoners of war on the scapa flow barriers during the second world war |
publisher |
Edinburgh University Press |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37614/ http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37614/1/WRAP_Custodis_jshs%252E2011%252E0007.pdf https://doi.org/10.3366/jshs.2011.0007 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_relation |
http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/37614/1/WRAP_Custodis_jshs%252E2011%252E0007.pdf Custodis, Johann (2011) Exploiting the enemy in the Orkneys : the employment of Italian prisoners of war on the Scapa Flow barriers during the Second World War. Journal of Scottish Historical Studies, Vol.31 (No.1). pp. 72-98. doi:10.3366/jshs.2011.0007 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/jshs.2011.0007> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3366/jshs.2011.0007 |
container_title |
Journal of Scottish Historical Studies |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
72 |
op_container_end_page |
98 |
_version_ |
1766341925730779136 |