Introduction
The conflict originated as the Great War on both sides of the front, then became the European War and when the United States entered in 1917 on the side of the Entente Powers, it then became a World War. Today the entire victors Nations still call it as the Great War. Germany-in terms of soldier deployment numbers. and the loser Nations have avoided this term, because they had to come to terms with the greatest loss.

The 'Great War' (First World War) of 1914–1918, was devastating to all countries involved and was played out on a huge scale. From 1914–1918, about 65 million men marched to war. Over 8 million never returned; more than half the men were wounded (French, 2008, p. 267). It was unlike any other conflict experienced in human history. For Australia, it was a time when the notions of duty and responsibility were debated, when elements of our national identity began to evolve and, overwhelmingly, there was the experience of shock, grief and loss. In a military sense, the Western Front, which stretched 750 kilometres from the Belgian coast, through France to the Swiss border, was a baptism of fire for the new nation of Australia, who for the first time 'engaged the main army of the main enemy in the main theatre of war' (Dennis & Grey, p. 667).

Internment as a global phenomenon of the Great War.

It has only been in the last 20 years that academic researchers  and historiography has examined its attention to other ,forgotten victims of internment ,including enemy aliens ,enemy civilians  and national minority ethnic groups ,who were caught up in the process of internment. This also included women and children. The Great War, for the first time in human conflict, saw internment of enemy aliens across the globe.

Internment Camps, holding enemy aliens, civilians and minority ethnic communities, as well as military prisoners were found on every continent, and was truly a global phenomenon. According to research undertaken by Matthew Stibbe ,in addition to nine million prisoners of war [POWs],the warring European states interned more than 400,000 enemy aliens –civilians of enemy nationalities ,between 1914 and 1920. Stibbe argues that if you take enemy aliens and other outsiders together ,as many as 800,000 civilians in Europe alone experienced some form of internment during the Great War and its aftermath.Stibbe also states that a further 50,000 -100,000 non-combatants were interned in the rest of the world. In terms of scale and reach it was truly a global phenomenon. In terms of the conditions of internment camp, they varied widely. The research indicates that internment was very much depended on the attitude of military officials and individual camp commandants and their respective staffs. This link, over time will provide an overview of the global nature of internment.

Concept of Total War
The conflict originated as the Great War on both sides of the front, then became the European War and when the United States entered in 1917 on the side of the Entente Powers, it then became a World War. Today the entire victors Nations still call it as the Great War. Germany-in terms of soldier deployment numbers. and the loser Nations have avoided this term, because they had to come to terms with the greatest loss.

The most identifiable consequence of total war in modern times has been the inclusion of civilians as targets in destroying a country's ability to engage in war. Total war also resulted in the mobilization of the so called home front and introduced the threat of the “enemy at the gate.” Propaganda and censorship became a required component of total war in order to boost production. Rationing took place to provide more material for waging war. Another consequence was the expansion of the military, because wars were no longer local affairs, soldiers had to be deployed globally.

Although civilian internment has become associated with the Second World War in popular memory, it has a longer history. The turning point in this history occurred during the First World War when, in the interests of ‘security’ in a situation of total war, the internment of ‘enemy aliens’ became part of state policy for the belligerent states, resulting in the incarceration, displacement and, even murder, of hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world.

World War I was a total war, involving the governments, economies and populations of participating nations to an extent never seen before in history. This was distinct from the way ‘smaller’ wars had been fought, like the Crimean War (1853-56) and late-19th century colonial wars, like the Boer War. In ‘total war’ – a term not coined until the 1930s, by German general Paul von Ludendorff – the entire nation was called into service, rather than just its military. Governments played an active and interventionist role, passing laws that would be intolerable during peacetime. Ministers and departments took control of economic production, nationalizing factories, determining production targets, allocating manpower and resources. Conscription was introduced to bolster military forces and resources like ships, trains or vehicles were commandeered for military purposes. Wartime governments also acted to protect national security, by implementing press censorship, curfews and strict punishments for breaches and violations. They also made extensive use of propaganda, both to raise public morale and to raise money through war bonds.

It has only been in the last 20 years that academic researchers  and historiography has examined its attention to other ,forgotten victims of internment ,including enemy aliens ,enemy civilians  and national minority ethnic groups ,who were caught up in the process of internment. This also included women and children. The Great War, for the first time in human conflict, saw internment of enemy aliens across the globe.

Internment Camps, holding enemy aliens, civilians and minority ethnic communities, as well as military prisoners were found on every continent, and was truly a global phenomenon.

According to research undertaken by Matthew Stibbe ,in addition to nine million prisoners of war [POWs] ,the warring European states interned more than 400,000 enemy aliens –civilians of enemy nationalities ,between 1914 and 1920. Stibbe argues that if you take enemy aliens and other outsiders together ,as many as 800,000 civilians in Europe alone experienced some form of internment during the Great War and its aftermath.Stibbe also states that a further 50,000 -100,000 non-combatants were interned in the rest of the world.
In terms of scale and reach it was truly a global phenomenon.
In terms of the conditions of internment camps, they varied widely. The research indicates that internment was very much depended on the attitude of military officials and individual camp commandants and their respective staffs.
This link, over time will provide an overview of the global nature of internment.

Definition:
Internment, detention or confinement of a person in time of war. In Australia like the rest of the world, such persons were denied certain legal rights, notably habeas corpus, though in certain cases they had the right to appeal their custody. Even if they were not strictly POW’s, civilian internees were generally treated according to international POW standards. During the Great War enemy aliens (nationals of Germany and of the Austro-Hungarian and Turkish empires) were subject to internment.

The internment of enemy aliens in the First World War was a global phenomenon. Camps holding civilian as well as military prisoners could be found on every continent, including in nation-states and empires that had relatively liberal immigration policies before the war. This article focuses on three of the best-known examples: Britain, Germany and the United States. Each had its own internment system and its own internal threshold of tolerance for violence. Nonetheless, they were interconnected through wartime propaganda and diplomacy, and through constant appeals to the rules of war, the rights of "civilized" nations and the requirements of self-defence.
During World War I, for security reasons the Australian Government pursued a comprehensive internment policy against enemy aliens living in Australia.

Initially only those born in countries at war with Australia were classed as enemy aliens, but later this was expanded to include people of enemy nations who were naturalized British subjects, Australian-born descendants of migrants born in enemy nations and others who were thought to pose a threat to Australia's security.
Australia interned almost 7000 people during World War I, of whom about 4500 were enemy aliens and British nationals of German ancestry already resident in Australia.

The internment of enemy aliens in the Great War, on a global nature, was another unique feature of the war.
Throughout the world, internment camps holding prisoners both military and civilian prisoners could be found.

Follow up
Stibbe, M. [2008] Civilian Internment and Civilian Internees in Europe.1914-1920. Immigrants and Minorities, 26 1-2.

Unlike other wars, this war was not only on land, or only on sea, fighting took place simultaneously in land, sea, under the sea, and in air (aeroplanes and bombing). Actually it even went on to trying to destroy resources and means of trade from the other side, this total war had a much broader vision of how to destroy the enemy. It wasn’t just trying to kill the soldiers, it involved everyone. This new model of war was between nations, not only a quarrel between rulers, thus even civilians were badly treated by occupying powers such as night raids.

The severity of this war was also deeply shocking when compared to the previous wars. The use of new technology and for being a much more expansive war caused appalling casualties such as 10 million people killed and 20 million people wounded. Newly discovered technology made it possible the use of new forms of killing-poisonous gas. Even though there was a law that prisoners would not be ill treated, this time there was ill treatment of prisoners, and a bitterness that only grew between populations and other powers, due to all the propaganda and hate “installed” over the people. The Germans used an anti-British campaign through the means of the press, the Belgian people who were supposed to be a neutral country were deported in order to work in German factories, and the Turks who massacred and treated Armenians as slaves, an act of genocide.

Australia
During World War I, for security reasons the Australian Government pursued a comprehensive internment policy against enemy aliens living in Australia.
Initially only those born in countries at war with Australia were classed as enemy aliens, but later this was expanded to include people of enemy nations who were naturalized British subjects, Australian-born descendants of migrants born in enemy nations and others who were thought to pose a threat to Australia's security.
Australia interned almost 7000 people during World War I, of whom about 4500 were enemy aliens and British nationals of German ancestry already resident in Australia.
During World War I, internment camps were set up in each state and the Australian Capital Territory. The National Archives holds limited records about these camps.

Berrima, New South Wales
Bourke, New South Wales
Enoggera (Gaythorne), Queensland
Holsworthy (Liverpool), New South Wales
Langwarrin, Victoria
Molonglo, Australian Capital Territory
Rottnest Island, Western Australia
Torrens Island, South Australia
Trial Bay, New South Wales

Other World War I Camps
During World War I internees were also accommodated in a number of other smaller or temporary camps, often before being transferred to one of the larger camps. Some of these are listed below.

Bruny Island, Tasmania
Fort Largs, South Australia
Garden Island, Western Australia

The internment of enemy aliens in the Great War, on a global nature, was another unique feature of the war.
Throughout the world, internment camps holding prisoners both military and civilian prisoners could be found.

Britain
England first used concentration/internment camps in the Boer War in South Africa.
During the Great War England had established a raft of camps throughout the United Kingdom. Camberley is an affluent town in Surrey England, 31 miles (50 km) southwest of London. One of the first camps established was Camberley. The camp, that contained 8,000 inmates, had thick barbed wire defences and was patrolled by armed soldiers.
The main ones being on the Isle of Man. During World War I the British government interned male citizens of the Central Powers, principally Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. They were held mainly in internment camps at Knockaloe, close to Peel, and a smaller one near Douglas.

The Isle of Man
The Isle of Man was used as a base for Alien Civilian Internment camps in both WWI (1914-18) and again in WWII (1939-45) ......... for WWI a very large camp (effectively a small, self-contained, township) was established at Knockaloe, Patrick, on the west coast near Peel. This camp was for male internees - women were not interned. There was another smaller camp at Douglas.
During Great War, there was a concentration camp in Frongoch and Merionethshire, in Wales. First German POWs were held here until 1916, then 1,800 Irish political prisoners were held there following the Easter Rising, including Michael Collins. The prisoners were very poorly treated and Frongoch became a breeding ground for Irish revolutionaries.
During World War Irish Republicans were imprisoned in camps in Shrewsbury and Bromyard.
According to the historical research undertaken by Panayi, her research shows that hundreds of thousands of German captives and detainees were held in Britain during the Great War. Their numbers having peaked at 115,950, comprising 24,522 civilian and 91,428 military internees, in November 1918.These men, shows that mass internment was almost exclusively a male experience, are split into three categories: German civilians resident in Britain in 1914 who were subjected to increasing levels of control; German civilians seized by the British around the world, especially in the British Empire and on the high seas, who were transported for detention in Britain; and German combatant POWs, captured on the Western Front and transferred to the United Kingdom in increasing numbers.

Ireland: pre-1922
During the Anglo-Irish War of 1919 to 1921, 12,000 Irish people were held without trial.

Wales
During World War I, there was a concentration camp in Frongoch, Merionethshire. First German POWs were held here until 1916, then 1,800 Irish political prisoners were held there following the Easter Rising, including Michael Collins. The prisoners were very poorly treated and Frongoch became a breeding ground for Irish revolutionaries.

Canada:
Britain’s declaration automatically committed Canada to war against the Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.
More than 400,000 Canadians were of German descent. Over half of them Canadian born and lived in long established German communities in Nova Scotia and Ontario.
According to research undertaken by John Herd Thompson, there were over 129,000 Austrians in Canada 1914, but in fact were Ukrainians’ who came from Galicia and Bukovyna in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Since the 1890s, there had been a steady flow of Ukrainians to Canada.The beginning stages of the First World War saw increasing suspicion by the Canadian populace of immigrants from Germany and Eastern Europe, particularly Ukrainians, Austrians, Poles, Czechs and Slovaks.
The War Measures Act, passed in 1914, like the War Precautions Act in Australia gave the Canadian Federal government extensive powers of arrest, detention, exclusion, and deportation of individuals, and specifically denied the right of bail and habeas corpus to anyone arrested that he was an enemy alien.  Over 80,000 immigrants from these nations were forced to carry special identity cards and report for regular interviews with local authorities. Further, 8,579 "enemy aliens" (5,000 of which who were of Ukrainian origin) were interned in twenty-four detention camps during the course of the war, the federal government confiscating their property and monies in the process. Most of the POWs of German nationality and German-speaking Austrians were separated from the other internees and placed into a "first-class" category. This meant that they were generally kept in relatively more comfortable camps, such as the one established in Fort Henry, near Kingston, Ontario However, the majority of those described as "Austrians" (on lists of prisoners these men were often more precisely categorized as "Galician’s" of "Greek [Ukrainian] Catholic" religious affiliation or as "Ruthenia’s", although the word Ukrainian was also used in some official reports) were sent to work sites in Canada's hinterland, to places like Spirit Lake, Quebec; Castle Mountain, Alberta; and Otter Creek, British Columbia There they were obliged not only to construct the internment camps but to work on road-building, land-clearing, wood-cutting, and railway construction projects As the need for soldiers overseas led to a shortage of workers in Canada, many of these "Austrian" internees were released on parole to work for private companies, the federal and provincial governments, and the railway companies. Their pay was fixed at a rate equivalent to that of a soldier, which was less than what they might have expected to make if they had been able to offer their labour in the marketplace. As General Otter drily noted, this "system proved a great advantage to the organizations short of labour". Thus, the internment operations not only uprooted families but also allowed for exploitation of many of the internees' labour. All endured hunger and forced labour, helping to build some of Canada's best-known landmarks, such as Banff National Park. Moreover, 81 women and 156 children, dependants of male internees, were voluntarily interned. Although responsibility shifted in 1915 from the Department of Militia and Defence to the Department of Justice.
Map 1 Internment Camps in Canada
The First World War ended in 1918, but the forced labour program was such a benefit to Canadian corporations that the internment was continued for two years after the end of the War. Although some were used for only a few months, others were operated up until 1920.
Internment Camp Locations
Were set up mostly in Canada's Hinterland
Four internment camps opened in Canada’s western national parks: at Banff, Jasper, Mount Revelstoke and Yoho.

List of Internment Camps found in Canada.

Camp	Location	Date of Opening	Date of Closing
Ottawa	Ottawa, ON	January 01, 1914	December 31, 1920
Montreal	Montreal, QC	August 13, 1914	November 30, 1918
Kingston	Kingston, ON	August 18, 1914	November 03, 1917
Halifax	Halifax, NS	September 08, 1914	October 03, 1918
Winnipeg	Winnipeg, MB	September 08, 1914	July 29, 1916
Vernon	Vernon, BC	September 18, 1914	February 20, 1920
Nanaimo	Nanaimo, BC	September 20, 1914	September 17, 1915
Brandon	Brandon, MB	September 22, 1914	July 29, 1916
Lethbridge	Lethbridge, AB	September 30, 1914	November 07, 1916
Petawawa	Petawawa, ON	December 10, 1914	May 08, 1916
Kapuskasing	Kapuskasing, ON	December 14, 1914	February 24, 1920
Toronto	Toronto, ON	December 14, 1914	October 02, 1916
Niagara Falls	Niagara Falls, ON	December 15, 1914	August 31, 1918
Beauport	Beauport, QC	December 28, 1914	June 22, 1916
Sault Ste. Marie	Sault Ste. Marie, ON	January 13, 1915	June 29, 1918
Spirit Lake	Trécesson, QC	January 13, 1915	January 28, 1917
Amherst	Amherst, NS	April 17, 1915	September 27, 1919
Valcartier	Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, QC	April 24, 1915	October 23, 1915
Mara Lake Camp #1	Sicamous, BC	June 02, 1915	July 29, 1917
Monashee Mountain	Cherryville, BC	June 02, 1915	July 29, 1917
Mara Lake Camp #2	Sicamous, BC	June 03, 1915	July 29, 1917
Fernie	Fernie, BC	June 09, 1915	October 21, 1918
Morrissey	Morrissey, BC	June 09, 1915	October 21, 1918
Banff National Park	Banff, AB	July 14, 1915	July 15, 1917
Castle Mountain	Castle Mountain, AB	July 14, 1915	July 15, 1917
Edgewood	Edgewood, BC	August 19, 1915	September 23, 1916
Revelstoke	Revelstoke, BC	September 06, 1915	October 23, 1916
Yoho National park	Field , BC	September 06, 1915	October 23, 1916
Eaton	Saskatoon, SK	October 13, 1915	March 21, 1919
Munson	Munson, AB	October 13, 1915	March 21, 1919
Jasper	Jasper, AB	February 08, 1916	August 31, 1916

Note: Montreal, Winnipeg, Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Sault Ste Marie were receiving stations where prisoners were only kept until they could be sent to a permanent one.

United States:
In the United States, there was the internment of German-Americans and internment of German citizens from 1917 onwards.
President Wilson issued two sets of regulations on April 6, 1917, and November 16, 1917, imposing restrictions on German-born male residents of the United States over the age of 14. The rules were written to include natives of Germany who had become citizens of countries other than the U.S, Some 250,000 people in that category were required to register at their local post office, to carry their registration card at all times, and to report any change of address or employment. The same regulations and registration requirements were imposed on females on April 18, 1918. Some 6,300 such aliens were arrested. Thousands were interrogated and investigated. A total of 2,048 were incarcerated for the remainder of the war in two camps, Fort Douglas, Utah, for that west of the Mississippi and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, for that east of the Mississippi.
The cases of these aliens, whether being considered for internment or under internment, were managed by the Enemy Alien Registration Section of the Department of Justice, headed beginning in December 1917 by J. Edgar Hoover.

Germany
Early History
German South West Africa, 1904–1908
Between 1904 and 1908, following the German suppression of the Herero and Nama in the Herero and Namaqua genocide, survivors were interned at the following locations in German South-West Africa (now Namibia):

Shark Island Concentration Camp
Windhoek Concentration Camp
Okahandja Concentration Camp
Karibib
Swakopmund Concentration Camp
Omaruru
Luderitz

World War I
In World War I male (and some female) civilian nationals of the Allies caught by the outbreak of war on the territory of the Germany were interned. The camps (Internierungslager) included those at:

Ruhleben, for up to 4,500 internees, on a horse race-track near Berlin.
Holzminden in Lower Saxony, for up to 10,000 internees.
Havelberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, for 4,500 internees, including nearly 400 British Indians.
Celle Castle in Lower Saxony.
Rastatt Camp, for French civilians.

Ruhleben Camp was an internment camp near Berlin, Germany, which housed civilians of the Allied Nations who were living, working or holidaying in Germany on the outbreak of World War One.
In 1914, thousands of British civilians and merchant seamen, along with foreigners from other nationalities with British connections, were interned at the hastily constructed prisoner of war camp at Ruhleben racecourse by Spandau, near Berlin, Germany. Most would not see freedom from the camp until the end of the war, but managed to maintain a unique way of life for the four years of their unwelcome internment.

South Africa
Fort Napier is in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Fort Napier - South African Internment camp for German nationals during World War I. From October 1914 to late 1919, Fort Napier was used as an internment camp for about 2,500 German nationals from the then German South West Africa and from all over the Union of South Africa. It was the sole internment camp for German men in Southern Africa during World War I.
A large number of women and children were also interned at Fort Napier - they were kept in a separate camp. The main focus of the government, however, seemed to be to keep potential fighting men, subverters and informants (spies) at bay. The term concentration camp was first used by the British military during the Boer War (1899–1902). Facing attack by Boer guerrillas, British forces rounded up the Boer women and children as well as black people living on Boer land, and sent them to 34 tented camps scattered around South Africa. Altogether, 116,572 Boers were interned, roughly a quarter of the population This was done as part of a scorched earth policy to deny the Boer guerrillas access to the supplies of food and clothing they needed to continue the war.

The camps were situated at Aliwal North, Balmoral, Barberton, Belfast, Bethulie, Bloemfontein, Brandfort, East London, Heidelberg, Heilbron, Howick, Irene, Kimberley, Klerksdorp, Kroonstad, Krugersdorp, Merebank, Middelburg, Norvalspont, Nylstroom, Pietermaritzburg, Pietersburg, Pinetown, Port Elizabeth, Potchefstroom, Springfontein, Standerton, Turffontein, Vereeniging, Volksrust, Vredefort, Vryburg and Winburg.[ Though they were not extermination camps, the women and children of Boer men who were still fighting were given smaller rations than others thus causing mass starvation.[citation needed] The poor diet and inadequate hygiene led to contagious diseases such as measles, typhoid and dysentery. Coupled with a shortage of medical facilities, this led to large numbers of deaths—a report after the war concluded that 27,927 Boer (of whom 22,074 were children under 16) and 14,154 black Africans had died of starvation, disease and exposure in the camps.[140] In all, about 25% of the Boer inmates and 12% of the black African ones died (although recent research suggests that the black African deaths were underestimated and may have actually been around 20,000.In contrast to these figures, during the war the British, Colonial and South African forces' casualties included 5,774 killed in action and 13,250 deaths from disease, while the Boers' casualties in the Transvaal and Orange Free State up to December 1901, included 2640 killed in action and 945 deaths from disease.

A delegate of the South African Women and Children's Distress Fund, Emily Hobhouse, did much to publicise the distress of the inmates on her return to Britain after visiting some of the camps in the Orange Free State. Her fifteen-page report caused uproar, and led to a government commission, the Fawcett Commission, visiting camps from August to December 1901 which confirmed her report. They were highly critical of the running of the camps and made numerous recommendations, for example improvements in diet and provision of proper medical facilities. By February 1902 the annual death-rate dropped to 6.9% and eventually to 2%. Improvements made to the white camps were not as swiftly extended to the black camps. Hobhouse's pleas went mostly unheeded in the latter case. During World War I, South African troops invaded neighboring German South-West Africa. German settlers were rounded up and sent to concentration camps in Pretoria and later in Pietermaritzburg.

Finland
Finnish Civil War
In the Finnish Civil War, the victorious White Army and German troops captured about 80,000 Red prisoners by the end of the war on 5 May 1918. Once the White terror subsided, a few thousand including mainly small children and women, were set free, leaving 74,000–76,000 prisoners. The largest prison camps were Suomenlinna, an island facing Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Lahti, Viipuri, Ekenäs, Riihimäki and Tampere. The Senate made the decision to keep these prisoners detained until each person's guilt could be examined. A law for a Tribunal of Treason was enacted on 29 May after a long dispute between the White army and the Senate of the proper trial method to adopt. The start of the heavy and slow process of trials was delayed further until 18 June 1918. The Tribunal did not meet all the standards of neutral justice, due to the mental atmosphere of White Finland after the war. Approximately 70,000 Reds were convicted, mainly for complicity to treason. Most of the sentences were lenient, however, and many got out on parole. 555 persons were sentenced to death, of which 113 were executed. The trials revealed also that some innocent persons had been imprisoned. Combined with the severe food shortage, the mass imprisonment led to high mortality rates in the camps, and the catastrophe was compounded by a mentality of punishment, anger and indifference on the part of the victors. Many prisoners felt that they were abandoned also by their own leaders, who had fled to Russia. The condition of the prisoners had weakened rapidly during May, after food supplies had been disrupted during the Red Guards' retreat in April, and a high number of prisoners had been captured already during the first half of April in Tampere and Helsinki. As a consequence, 2,900 starved to death or died in June as a result of diseases caused by malnutrition and Spanish flu, 5,000 in July, 2,200 in August, and 1,000 in September. The mortality rate was highest in the Ekenäs camp at 34%, while in the others the rate varied between 5% and 20%. In total, between 11,000 and 13,500 Finns perished. The dead were buried in mass graves near the camps. The majority of the prisoners were paroled or pardoned by the end of 1918 after the victory of the Western powers in World War I also caused a major change in the Finnish domestic political situation. There were 6,100 Red prisoners left at the end of the year, 100 in 1921 (at the same time civil rights were given back to 40,000 prisoners) and in 1927 the last 50 prisoners were pardoned by the social democratic government led by Väinö Tanner. In 1973, the Finnish government paid reparations to 11,600 persons imprisoned in the camps after the civil war.

British-India
During World War One, the British interned enemy nationals (mostly Germans).
World War I
Ahmednagar, also for internees from German East Africa, Sections A abysmally overcrowded with more than 1000 inmates in "medically condemned" old barracks and B for privileged (read: monied) prisoners and officers. Later in 1915 a Parole Camp was set up.
Diyatalawa (Ceylon)
Belgaum for women. Set up late 1915. March 1917: 214 inmates
Kataphar for families

New Zealand
In World War I German civilians living in New Zealand were interned in camps on Motuihe and Somes Islands.

Ottoman Empire
Concentration camps known as Deir ez-Zor Camps operated in the heart of the Syrian Desert during 1915-1916, where many thousands of Armenian refugees were forced into death marches during the Armenian Genocide.

Follow Up Reading:
Beaumont. [1983] ‘Rank, privilege and prisoners of war’, War and Society, 1, 67

Feltman, B. [2010] ‘Tolerance as a crime? The British treatment of German prisoners of war on the Western Front, 1914–1918’, War in History, 17

Panayi, Panikos. [1996] “The Destruction of the German Communities in Britain during the First World War”, in: Germans in Britain since 1500.  London Hambledon Press

Panayi, P. [2012] Prisoners of Britain: German Civilian and Combatant Internees during the First World War. Manchester. Manchester University Press.

Internment in Britain during the Great War.

Introduction
In 1914, Britain stood at the forefront of organizing one of the first civilian mass internment operations of the 20th century. 30,000 civilian German, Austrian and Turkish men who had been living or travelling in Britain in the summer of that year found themselves behind barbed wire, in many cases for the whole duration of World War I.
Numbers
An examination of the makeup and numbers of prisoners of war in Britain demonstrates the importance of developments on French and Belgian battlefields. The only constants in the period 1914-1919 were the facts that Germans made up the overwhelming majority, joined by a small numbers of Austrians at the end of the conflict, and that captured officers faced automatic removal to Britain.
Only 3,100 of the 13,600 internees held in Britain on 22 September 1914 originated on the battlefields. Most of the remaining 10,500 came from the German civilian community in Britain. The total figure of 13,600 included people captured by the British on the seas, both civilians and naval personnel.
The number of captured naval and military personnel remained low throughout the early stages of the war. By 1 February 1915 prisoners consisted of 400 officers (including a small number of Austrians), 6,500 soldiers and naval sailors, together with 19,000-20,000 merchant sailors and civilians (German and Austrian). By November 1915, following the decision in May to intern all enemy aliens of military age, the number of civilian internees had reached 32,440.
The number of military prisoners transported to Britain did not begin to increase until 1917 when there was a marked increase in the number of German soldiers captured on the Western Front, even though a significant number had already been interned in France, especially following the Battle of the Somme where they worked as forced labourers. In 1917, 73,131 combatants fell into British hands, followed by another 201,633 in 1918 as the German armies faced defeat. These figures translated into an increase in the numbers of military personnel held in Britain. Thus in December 1916 the figure stood at 876 officers and 24,251 men. Naval figures totalled 120 officers and 1,286 men, all but one of them German. By 20 November 1917, 79,329 people were interned in British camps, including 29,511 civilians. By November 1918 the British held a total of 207,357 prisoners of war throughout the world. The figure within Britain had reached 115,950, of whom 89,937 had been serving in the German Army (including 5,005 officers), together with 1,491 naval personnel. By 5 July 1919 the British held responsibility for no less than 458,392 internees globally. On home soil the figures had declined to 90,276 including 3,373 civilians, 2,899 naval personnel and 84,004 soldiers. While the number continued to fall during the summer, "general repatriation" began on 24 September and lasted until 20 November. During this time, 4,161 officers and 73,118 German men were repatriated. A further 3,624 prisoners, including 704 Austrians and Hungarians returned home between 26 November and 29 January. Finally, on 9 April 1920, three officers and nine other ranks (specially retained prisoners) completed the repatriation of Germans interned on British soil during the Great War.

Date	Civilian	Military (including naval)	Total
22 September 1914	10,500	3,100	13,600
1 May 1915	20,000	6,900	26,900
20 November 1917	29,511	49,815	79,326
1 November 1918	24,522	91,428	115,930
5 July 1919	3,373	86,903	90,276

Table 1: Number of Internees in Britain, 1914-19 [19]
During the early stages of the war military and civilian prisoners in the UK were housed in the same camps, although usually separated from each other within them. As the conflict progressed, different camps evolved for the two groups. The fairly stable civilian population became overwhelmingly concentrated on the Isle of Man, together with a small number of other locations on the mainland, notably Alexandra Palace, Stratford and Loft house Park near Wakefield.

Name	Location	Type of Camp	Duration	Approximate Numbers Held at any one time
Alexandra Palace	London	Civilian	1915-19	3,000
Brocton	Staffordshire	Military	1917-19	5,000
Colsterdale	Yorkshire	Officer	1917-18	400
Dartford	Kent	Hospital	1916-18	Up to 3,726
Donington Hall	Leicestershire	Officer	1915-19	500
Dorchester	Dorset	Military	1914-19	3,000
Douglas	Isle of Man	Civilian	1914-19	2,500
Dyfryn Aled	North Wales	Officer	1915-18	100
Frimley	Hampshire	Civilian then Military	1914-15, 1916-18	Up to 6,000
Gosport (Ships)	Hampshire	Civilian	1914-15	3,600
Hackney Wick	London	Civilian	1916-17	100
Handforth	Cheshire	Civilian then military	1914-18	2,000-2,500
Holyport	Berkshire	Officer	1915-19	150-600
Islington	London	Civilian	1915-1919	600-700
Jersey	Jersey	Military	1915-19	1,100
Kegworth	Derbyshire	Officer	1916-19	600
Knockaloe	Isle of Man	Civilian	1914-19	20,000
Leigh	Lancashire	Military	1914-19	1,500
Lofthouse Park (Wakefield)	Yorkshire	Civilian	1914-19
Nell Lane	Manchester	Hospital	1917-19	Up to 1,665
Newbury	Berkshire	Early Civilian	1914-15	c3,000
Olympia	London	Early Civilian	August-September 1914	300-1,500
Pattishall (Eastcote)	Northamptonshire	Civilian then Military	1914-19	Up to 4,500
Ripon	Yorkshire	Officer	1919	900
Ryde (Ships)	Isle of Wight	Civilian	1914-15	2,500
Southend (Ships)	Essex	Civilian	1914-15	5,000
Stobs	Scotland	Civilian then military	1914-18	4,500
Stratford	London	Civilian	1914-17	Up to 740

Table 2: Major Internment Camps in Britain, 1914-19

Photo 1: Internees did farming and gardening work.

Photo 2: Knockaloe Internment Camp .Isle of Man
In 1914, Britain stood at the forefront of organizing one of the first civilian mass internment operations of the 20th century. 30,000 civilian German, Austrian and Turkish men who had been living or traveling in Britain in the summer of that year found themselves behind barbed wire, in many cases for the whole duration of World War I. Knockaloe was the biggest of at least 16 civilian camps across the UK. Its 20,000 internees lived in primitive, open-plan timber huts, each holding around 30 people. The vast majority were German subjects, but smaller numbers also came from the multi-ethnic Austrian and Ottoman Empires.

Photo 3: Knockaloe Internment Camp, on the Isle of Man, by George Kenner, 1918

Photo 4: Frith Hill Detention Camp. Tony Allen, http://www.worldwar1postcards.com

Follow Up: Go to British National Archives
Alternatively you can browse the digitised collections of enemy aliens and internees by year and by record series.
The records include:

• First World War internment lists in HO 144/11720 (1915 and 1918)
• Central Register of Aliens in United Kingdom; policy of internment and repatriation of alien enemies in HO 45/11522 Parts 1 and 2 (1914-1924)
• reception and internment of aliens: list of internees in PCOM 9/661-662 (1938-1946)
• nominal rolls for various internment camps at Isle of Man: HO 215/469 (Hutchinson), HO 215/471 (Metropole), HO 215/473 (Mooragh), HO 215/475 (Onchan), HO 215/478 (Port Erin) and HO 215/502 (married camp)
• people interned or considered for internment by the British in the Second World War in HO 396 (1939-1947)

Bibliography
The above material comes from an article written by:
Stibbe, M. Enemy Aliens and Internment. http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/enemy_aliens_and_internment.

Prisoners of War interned in Switzerland.

At the suggestion of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss government, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and Belgium signed an agreement in 1914 regarding prisoners of war (POWs). The agreement stated that captured military and naval personnel who were too seriously wounded or sick to be able to continue in military service could be repatriated through Switzerland, with the assistance of the Swiss Red Cross. The first repatriations were made in March 1915, and by November 1916 some 8,700 French and 2,300 German soldiers had been repatriated. 

The next step was the internment in Switzerland of PoWs who, though sick or badly wounded, might still be capable of military work away from the front line, and could therefore make fit soldiers available for serving at the frontline if they were repatriated. Internment in Switzerland would aid their recovery without furthering the enemy’s war effort. At the suggestion of the ICRC, a reciprocal agreement was signed between Germany and France. The UK and Belgium signed agreements with Germany slightly later. Travelling commissions of Swiss doctors visited POW camps to select potential internees. Once a POW had been selected, he would be brought before a board comprising two Swiss Army doctors, two doctors from the country holding him captive, and a representative of the prisoner’s own nation.


The first of these internees, 100 German and 100 French PoWs suffering from tuberculosis arrived in Switzerland in January 1916. By the end of 1916, nearly 27,000 former POWs were interned there, about half of whom were French, one third German and the remainder mostly British or Belgian. As the internees entered Switzerland, and at stages along their journeys, they were often surprised to be greeted by thousands of Swiss who had turned out to welcome them

A hotel decked out in flags to welcome British prisoners of war arriving in Switzerland from prisoner of war camps in Germany. By the end of the war, nearly 68,000 men had been brought to Switzerland for internment. Selection for internment was done on the basis of individual needs, rather than on a quota or exchange basis by nationality. Some civilians were also interned, presumably men who were of military age who had been detained in enemy countries. 

British and French prisoners of war with Swiss people at a meal to welcome them to Switzerland. 

Internees were held or worked at a number of locations. For the British, the main camps were in south-western Switzerland, east of Lake Geneva. One of the main centres for interned British was in the vicinity of Chateaux d’OEx. The first interned British ex-PoWs to reach Switzerland, about 300 officers and other ranks, arrived there on 31 May 1916. Some 700 British internees were eventually held in the vicinity. Leysin was used for British tuberculosis sufferers.   

Image: Indian and Ghurkha troops amongst the British Imperial soldiers interned at Chateaux d'OEx. They are at an event to celebrate their arrival in Switzerland.

Another camp for British internees was at Mürren, which held 600 men and 30-40 officers. This village was built on a ledge high up a mountain, and for seven months each year was virtually cut off due to snow. Although the view was beautiful, many of the internees were so badly ill or wounded that they were confined to their billets when it snowed. This postcard shows the difficult terrain around the tourist resort at Mürren.

Image:  German troops interned in Switzerland, who have formed an orchestra to pass the time. Life for the internees was not necessarily easy. They were still under military discipline, enforced by the Swiss commandant of their camp. Regular roll calls were held, and if a man was found to be missing without permission, for example, he might be briefly imprisoned on his return. Some German internees were said to have preferred the English PoW camps to the Swiss internment camps!  

Image:  German troops interned in Switzerland, doing woodwork in their workshop. Items made by internees were sometimes sold to raise money to contribute towards their care.

A small number of Austro-Hungarians were also interned, but apparently no Russians. No Americans were interned, because the US and Germany only signed an agreement on this issue on 11 November 1918.
 
Image: British POWs interned in Switzerland. A British report compiled in late 1917 found that some camps were not in places suitable for wounded men to recover, that there were insufficient medical staff, and that artificial limbs were not available for men who needed them. This photograph perhaps conveys another problem: the risk of serious boredom, often added to existing psychological effects of having been a prisoner of war for several years.

If their wounds or illness permitted, interned other ranks were expected to work. These are French internees doing farm work. Depending on the long-term effects of wounds or illness, this work could range from working for a private Swiss firm in the internee’s pre-war profession, to learning a new trade which would be useful after the war, if the internee could no longer follow his old one.

According to 'The Times History of the War' this photo was taken at Brienz.

The terms under which internment occurred changed over the course of the war, as individual countries made bilateral agreements. Under a May 1917 agreement between France and Germany, internees were automatically repatriated to their home country after being in captivity for more than eighteen months, if over a specified age. An Anglo-German agreement in mid-1917 broadened the terms of eligibility for internment to men who had spent at least 18 months in captivity and who were recognised as suffering from so-called “barbed wire disease”, meaning the mental strain of being held prisoner. It was also agreed at this time that internees whose recovery was likely to be prolonged would be repatriated. One internee who was repatriated in 1917 due to wounds suffered was Arthur Whitten Brown, who made the first trans-Atlantic crossing by air in 1919. Although in theory repatriated ex-PoWs were meant to be no longer fit for military service, on his return to the UK he seems to have worked as a flying instructor!
 
Not all internees left Switzerland at the end of the war. By 1923, a British war cemetery had been constructed at Vevey, on the north-east shore of Lake Geneva. This holds 88 British graves; mostly those of internees who had succumbed to their wounds or had died in the influenza epidemic .

The agreements mentioned above were the most frequent way that troops of the belligerent states came to be interned in Switzerland. However there was another way. Any soldiers, who crossed the frontier into Switzerland, whether deliberately or accidentally, would be disarmed and interned. One example was the crews of a number of aircraft that landed (or crash-landed) in Switzerland.
Article taken from: http://www.switzerland1914-1918.net/prisoners-of-war-interned-in-switzerland.html