Blatant injustice

After escaping from Nazi Germany with his family, Igersheimer was completing his medical studies when he was caught in the panic that led to the interment of 30,000 German and Italian citizens living in Britain. They were placed behind barbed wire and treated as enemies. Many of the Jewish refugees were then sent to prisons in Canada, but the internees did not let the authorities crush their creativity or desire for an education: they started a free university, mounted plays, and wrote musicals. Laced with black humour, Blatant Injustice is a story of resilience and determination. Grossly unsanitary living conditions, cruel and abusive treatment by camp officials, the withholding of medical treatment - these were common experiences for refugees imprisoned at internment camps in Britain and Canada. Walter Igersheimer's memoir exposes this bleak period in the British and Canadian war record.