General John Monash

An official proclamation of August 10, 1914 required all German citizens to register their domiciles (место жительства) at the nearest police station and to notify authorities of any change of address.

During World War I the Australian Government established internment camps (лагеря для интернированных) across the country. These camps accommodated men, women and children classed as 'enemy aliens' and considered a threat to Australia's security during wartime.

Some German Australians were interned (интернировать – ограничивать свободу гражданским лицам в период войны) whose families had lived in Australia for three generations. Employment became difficult for German-Australians, and as a result some went into internment camps voluntarily.

During the First World War 6, 890 Germans were interned, of whom 4, 500 were Australian residents before 1914; the rest were sailors from German navy ships or merchant ships who were arrested while in Australian ports when the war broke out, or German citizens living in British territories in South-East Asia and transported to Australia at the request of the British Government.

Some British Australians no longer wanted to work together with " Germans". The mayor of Rainbow in Victoria's Mallee region had to resign (уйти в отставку) because he was German Australian. This happened to mayors elsewhere also.

German schools had to close. The German language was forbidden in government schools. The Premier of South Australia said that the Education Department must not employ anyone of German background or who had a German name. Most people had a negative attitude towards the German language. The Education Minister in New South Wales, Arthur Griffith, said on the 29th June 1915 in the NSW parliament:

" I might remark that we are at war with the German nation; we are not at war with German literature."

In South Australia all 49 Lutheran schools were closed in 1917. After the winter break many of these were re-opened as state schools in the same buildings with new teachers. This sudden change was traumatic for the youngest children particularly, as they couldn't understand why the Government would want to do it. From then on, the students had no more German and Religion lessons.

Many Australians believed all propaganda lies about German Australia. Some German Australians were put into internment camps simply because an Australian (perhaps even a business rival - конкурент) had said that the German Australian had said something negative about England, even if he hadn't said it.

The nationalist fervour (пыл, страсть) of the time helped to increase the sales of Australian lager beer, as fewer imported German beers were sold, which had enjoyed a good reputation up until then. The Australian Brewer’s Journal wrote:

“The Teutonic brands which have been exported here by the enemy are taboo. Our lagers are equal if not better than their fancy brands.”

In 1916 the Upwey Progress Association (Melbourne) asked for a street lamp to be removed because it had the words " Made in Germany" on it.

St Kilda Football Club changed its colours in 1915 from red-white-black (same colours as the German imperial flag) to the black-gold-red of Belgium's flag. St. Kilda reverted to the original colours later.

Many German Australians changed their name. Paul Schubert, teacher at Sturt Primary School in Adelaide, had to change his name in order to keep his job. He became Paul Stuart in 1916.

Even the British royal family needed to change its name. No longer Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; the new family name was Windsor. [ Саксен-Кобург-Гота: династическое имя правящего королевского дома с 1902 по 1917 гг.; его носили Edward VII (правил с 1901 по 1910) и George V – правил с 1910 по 1936; последний во время 1-й мировой войны сменил его на династическое имя Windsor ]

Governments in Australia changed very many German place names, despite the fact that these German names derived from " pioneers". In South Australia the government changed 69 names of places and geographic features.

These prejudices did not exist only in Australia. In the USA 'sauerkraut' (кислая капуста) received the new name 'liberty cabbage' and ' hamburgers' received the new name 'salisbury steaks' (named after the doctor Dr. J.H. Salisbury: he recommended eating a burger three times daily).

During the war the Australian Government tried to introduce conscription (призыв в армию). Australians rejected conscription in the first Conscription Referendum in October 1916. The referendum of 28 October 1916 asked Australians: Are you in favour of the Government having, in this grave emergency, the same compulsory powers over citizens in regard to requiring their military service, for the term of this War, outside the Commonwealth, as it now has in regard to military service within the Commonwealth?

" Patriots" blamed the failure of this referendum on Roman Catholics and German Australians. These " patriots" were sure that German-Australians had voted against conscription and that the large numbers of German-Australians must have affected the vote.

In 1917 Prime Minister Billy Hughes took away from German Australians the right to vote, however, the second Conscription Referendum held in December 1917 was also defeated.