BOOK REVIEW: The legacy of Italian POWs in SA
Karen Horn tells a compelling story of the lives of five soldiers
In December 1940, as part of the North Africa campaign, Britain’s Western Desert Force began its advance against the Italians. The offensive ended at the Libyan coastal city of El Agheila on February 7 1941 with the destruction of nine Italian divisions and the capture of 130,000 men. The first of these Italian prisoners of war (POWs) arrived in the Union of SA in early 1941.
For Jan Smuts, prime minister of SA at the time, it was an opportunity to demonstrate the country’s commitment to the Allied effort and solve its labour shortages at the same time by putting the POWs to work on farms and construction projects...
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