Zonderwater POW camp

The Zonderwater concentration camp was a prisoners of war (POW) camp that was established in 1941 during World War II in South Africa. Consisting initially of tents, in the Cullinan area, this internment camp became the biggest Allied concentration camp, with almost 100,000 POW. Still a member of the Commonwealth, Jan Smuts wanted to show that South Africa could meet its existing obligations to protect the security of the Empire. He had refused German POW because of German sympathies among the Ossewabrandwag and the Stormjaers, and instead housed Italian POW, far away from the theatre of war and their homes, as it would be unlikely that these opponents could return home In March 1941, Italian war prisoners from East Africa were transported by ship to Durban harbour, then by train to Pietermaritzburg on livestock wagons, to be deloused and inspected after which they were transported up to the waterless place (Zonderwater) near Pretoria. There, they met with inadequate facilities, accommodation and clothing against the highveld winter. "South Africa were not ready, we were not organised for, we were not expecting, such large numbers so suddenly" The camp and its commonders were not ready to receive prisoners nor could they house them according to the standards laid out in the Geneva Convention. Zonderwater's first camp commander was Col Rennie, who found duties challenging. He w

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