'To be truly British we must be anti-German' New Zealand, enemy aliens and the great war experience.

• Author: McGibbon, Ian
• Position: Book review

'TO BE TRULY BRITISH WE MUST BE ANTI-GERMAN' New Zealand, Enemy Aliens and the Great War Experience

Author: Andrew Francis

Published by: Peter Lang, Bern, 2012, 299pp, US$65.95.

On 5 August 1914 New Zealand found itself at war with the German Empire, a state with which it had no quarrel. This state of affairs arose from events taking place on battlefields on the other side of the world and from decisions, in London, in which New Zealand had no involvement. Yet the news was greeted with enthusiasm, at least among the thousands who gathered outside Parliament Buildings and among those who later flocked to recruiting stations to join the expeditionary force the government immediately offered. A wave of xenophobia followed, directed at the close to hand manifestations of the enemy--Germans and Austrians who had emigrated to New Zealand or were visiting the country. Anti-Germanism was reflected in calls for immediate action to curtail the activities of enemy aliens within the country even as troops prepared to fight Germans on the battlefield.

Andrew Francis sets out to explain this phenomenon by looking at treatment of enemy aliens and assessing the degree to which 'pro-imperial sentiment, issues of citizenship and national identity determined the actions of British New Zealanders during the conflict'. He does so by looking at both the government responses and those of the population generally, as reflected in Parliament and press. He suggests that a vociferous press campaign lay at the heart of the virulent anti-German feeling that welled up, occasionally spilling over into violent action against German businesses.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Francis examines the government's response to these developments, suggesting that Prime Minister William Massey faced increasing difficulty in placating a patriotic public intent on action against Germans in their midst. He devotes a chapter to the case of George von Zedlitz, professor of modern languages at...