Object numberM2015/018:014
DescriptionHand drawn card given to Werner Hirschfeld in Hay internment camp, NSW, Australia. The front depicts a camp building (barracks), a ball and barbed wire surrounded by a cloud and flowers. The words 'Juventus, [Hay]' are written beneath the illustration.
The inside of the card depicts a coloured drawing of a soccer player kicking a ball whilst a second player lies on the floor. Inside, the card is addressed to Werner Hirschfeld and signed with seven signatures of players including Robert Lowenstein, Albert Meyer and Werner Judenberg. It is a farewell card to Werner from the 'left behind' Juventus players. Konrad Kwiet (19/8/15) believes Werner was released and this was his team mates way of saying goodbye.
The sport imagery is significant in that sport was a popular pastime in the Australian internment camps. The internees established a soccer team, named after the famous Italian soccer team Juventus Turin. Artefacts such as this reflect the team spirit that helped the boys maintain morale.
Werner Hirschfeld was born 20 June 1922 in Küstrin, Germany. He was 18 years old when he sought refuge from persecution in Germany and went to Leeds, England. When war broke out, England responded to public panic over the so-called ‘enemy within’ by interning thousands of foreign nationals. Australia agreed to assist the ‘mother country’ in this process and in July 1940, the HMT Dunera set sail from Liverpool to Sydney, carrying 2,542 male ‘enemy aliens’, among them Werner Hirschfeld. Arriving in Sydney on 6 September 1940, the ‘Dunera Boys’ (as they came to be known) were first interned in Hay and Orange in NSW. Eventually they were brought to Tatura, Victoria. Werner Hirschfeld volunteered to join the Australian Army in April 1942. He served in the 8th Employment Company. At the time of his internment his occupation was sheet metal worker and locksmith.
In 2006, aged 84, Werner gave his collection of memorabilia related to his internment in Australia to Professor Konrad Kwiet, who at the time was Patron of the Sydney Dunera Association. Professor Kwiet subsequently entrusted the collection to the Sydney Jewish Museum. The collection contains soccer memorabilia, football club awards, drawings and birthday cards. Werner turned 19 while in ‘Camp Tatura’, Victoria.
The inside of the card depicts a coloured drawing of a soccer player kicking a ball whilst a second player lies on the floor. Inside, the card is addressed to Werner Hirschfeld and signed with seven signatures of players including Robert Lowenstein, Albert Meyer and Werner Judenberg. It is a farewell card to Werner from the 'left behind' Juventus players. Konrad Kwiet (19/8/15) believes Werner was released and this was his team mates way of saying goodbye.
The sport imagery is significant in that sport was a popular pastime in the Australian internment camps. The internees established a soccer team, named after the famous Italian soccer team Juventus Turin. Artefacts such as this reflect the team spirit that helped the boys maintain morale.
Werner Hirschfeld was born 20 June 1922 in Küstrin, Germany. He was 18 years old when he sought refuge from persecution in Germany and went to Leeds, England. When war broke out, England responded to public panic over the so-called ‘enemy within’ by interning thousands of foreign nationals. Australia agreed to assist the ‘mother country’ in this process and in July 1940, the HMT Dunera set sail from Liverpool to Sydney, carrying 2,542 male ‘enemy aliens’, among them Werner Hirschfeld. Arriving in Sydney on 6 September 1940, the ‘Dunera Boys’ (as they came to be known) were first interned in Hay and Orange in NSW. Eventually they were brought to Tatura, Victoria. Werner Hirschfeld volunteered to join the Australian Army in April 1942. He served in the 8th Employment Company. At the time of his internment his occupation was sheet metal worker and locksmith.
In 2006, aged 84, Werner gave his collection of memorabilia related to his internment in Australia to Professor Konrad Kwiet, who at the time was Patron of the Sydney Dunera Association. Professor Kwiet subsequently entrusted the collection to the Sydney Jewish Museum. The collection contains soccer memorabilia, football club awards, drawings and birthday cards. Werner turned 19 while in ‘Camp Tatura’, Victoria.
Production date 1941-05-05 - 1941-05-05
Subjectenemy aliens, Dunera, refugees, internment camps, soccer, sports
Object namecards
Materialpaper
Techniquedrawn, handwritten
Dimensions
- width: 175.00 mm
height: 94.00 mm
Language
- German Front.
'Juventus, [HAY]'
Inside.
'Our friend and team member, Werner Hirschfeld. For constant memory, the left behind Juventus Players
Seven signatures.
Internment-Camp Hay'
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Professor Konrad Kwiet