Captivity and Creativity
The Cultural and Material Production of Italian Prisoners in Allied Hands (1940-1947)
Will be published approx. on 14. July 2026
Book
Hardback
432 pages
978-1-5315-1359-7 (ISBN)
Description
A groundbreaking volume that represents the first examination of cultural production amongst Italian prisoners of war
Captivity and Creativity explores the artistic and material production by Italian prisoners of war (POWs) and some civilian internees who were captured by the Western Allies in 1940-43 and detained in prison camps scattered across Africa, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States during World War II. Twelve chapters discuss from different theoretical and histori-cal angles the various artistic activities (e.g., theatre, music, visual arts, architecture, chapels, and material objects), technical contributions (e.g., maps, photography, radio), writings (e.g., memoirs, diaries, letters, and fiction), as well as the documentary evidence that resulted from the diverse experiences and transnational exchanges between the prisoners and their captors as military personnel and local civilian populations in different parts of the globe between 1940 and 1947.
The book describes the prisoners' economic importance for the Western Allied powers in their war effort to fight Nazi-Fascism and the enforced diaspora through which POWs were moved across different allied countries. It analyzes the prisoners' daily camp life, work, and treatment before and after the 1943 Armistice, when POWs were asked to sign an agreement to renounce Fascism and become cooperators of war, underlining the different treatment reserved for coop-erators of war and noncooperators of war. The book also investigates the legacy of the prisoners' artistic and material production, the cultural heritage and the practices of memorialization (e.g., photography, monuments, museums, anniversary celebrations, exhibits) that have derived from the Italian presence in camps in different countries up to this date, through reference to groups and communities that preserve that heritage.
Captivity and Creativity explores the artistic and material production by Italian prisoners of war (POWs) and some civilian internees who were captured by the Western Allies in 1940-43 and detained in prison camps scattered across Africa, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States during World War II. Twelve chapters discuss from different theoretical and histori-cal angles the various artistic activities (e.g., theatre, music, visual arts, architecture, chapels, and material objects), technical contributions (e.g., maps, photography, radio), writings (e.g., memoirs, diaries, letters, and fiction), as well as the documentary evidence that resulted from the diverse experiences and transnational exchanges between the prisoners and their captors as military personnel and local civilian populations in different parts of the globe between 1940 and 1947.
The book describes the prisoners' economic importance for the Western Allied powers in their war effort to fight Nazi-Fascism and the enforced diaspora through which POWs were moved across different allied countries. It analyzes the prisoners' daily camp life, work, and treatment before and after the 1943 Armistice, when POWs were asked to sign an agreement to renounce Fascism and become cooperators of war, underlining the different treatment reserved for coop-erators of war and noncooperators of war. The book also investigates the legacy of the prisoners' artistic and material production, the cultural heritage and the practices of memorialization (e.g., photography, monuments, museums, anniversary celebrations, exhibits) that have derived from the Italian presence in camps in different countries up to this date, through reference to groups and communities that preserve that heritage.
Reviews / Votes
"This is a major piece of research. Its overall aim is to study - in a broad sense - the artistic, creative and other forms of material production linked to the hundreds of thousands of Italian prisoners of war who spent time in camps across the world during and after World War Two. This is a highly original collection of chapters and studies, crossing over disciplines around the core area of research as outlined above." - John Foot, Professor of Modern Italian History in the Department of Italian, University of Bristol and author of Blood and Power: The Rise and Fall of Italian FascismMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
60 b/w illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 178 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-5315-1359-7 (9781531513597)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Giorgia Alu (Edited By)
Giorgia Alu is Chair of Italian Studies at the University of Sydney. She is the author of Journeys Exposed: Women's Writing, Mobility, and Photography and co-editor of Enlightening Encounters: Italian Literature and Photography.
Elena Bellina (Edited By)
Elena Bellina is Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor in Italian Studies at New York University. Her research and publications focus on war and captivity studies, cultural memory, autobiographical writing, and the performing arts.
Giorgia Alu is Chair of Italian Studies at the University of Sydney. She is the author of Journeys Exposed: Women's Writing, Mobility, and Photography and co-editor of Enlightening Encounters: Italian Literature and Photography.
Elena Bellina (Edited By)
Elena Bellina is Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor in Italian Studies at New York University. Her research and publications focus on war and captivity studies, cultural memory, autobiographical writing, and the performing arts.
Content
Introduction: Capturing Creativity in Time of War
Giorgia Alu and Elena Bellina 1
1. Explaining the "Enforced Diaspora" of Italian Service Personnel in
Western Captivity during the Second World War
Bob Moore 37
Creativity at Work
2. Sacred Italian World War II POW Sites: Trench Art in Texas and Pennsylvania
Alan R. Perry 55
3. Italian Prisoners of War in Australia: Carceral Aesthetics at the Cowra POW Camp (1941-46)
Anthony White and Flavia Marcello 89
4. Fascism, Art, and Aloha: The Legacies of Italian Prisoners of War in Hawai'i
Laura E. Ruberto 116
Capturing Time and Space
5. Italian Prisoners of War in East Africa: Music Making in British Camps in Kenya
Elena Bellina 147
6. Freeing Senses at the Foot of the Himalayas: Italian POWs in India
Giorgia Alu 177
7. Captured: Captivity and Co-creation in Photographs of Creative Works in Italian Camps
Giorgia Alu 210
Creating Identities in Confinement
8. The Return of the Prisoners: Writing Not to Die Altogether
Erika Lorenzon 243
9. Voicing Objection: Vittoria Causa, Writing, Assertive Power,
and Internment as a Force of Creativity, 1940-45
Catherine Dewhirst 272
Creative Memory, Legacy, and Community
10. Pictures, Poison, and the Prisoner: The Story of Lou and Trento and the Layering of Memory
Donato Somma 307
11. Collective Creativity: Commemorating War Detainees at the
Intersection of Community Ritual and Cultural Heritage
Flavia Marcello 331
12. Italian Identity in the British Isles: Chiocchetti's Chapel and the Landscape
of World War II Remembrance in Orkney
Daniel Travers 354
Acknowledgments 375
List of Contributors 377
Index 381
Giorgia Alu and Elena Bellina 1
1. Explaining the "Enforced Diaspora" of Italian Service Personnel in
Western Captivity during the Second World War
Bob Moore 37
Creativity at Work
2. Sacred Italian World War II POW Sites: Trench Art in Texas and Pennsylvania
Alan R. Perry 55
3. Italian Prisoners of War in Australia: Carceral Aesthetics at the Cowra POW Camp (1941-46)
Anthony White and Flavia Marcello 89
4. Fascism, Art, and Aloha: The Legacies of Italian Prisoners of War in Hawai'i
Laura E. Ruberto 116
Capturing Time and Space
5. Italian Prisoners of War in East Africa: Music Making in British Camps in Kenya
Elena Bellina 147
6. Freeing Senses at the Foot of the Himalayas: Italian POWs in India
Giorgia Alu 177
7. Captured: Captivity and Co-creation in Photographs of Creative Works in Italian Camps
Giorgia Alu 210
Creating Identities in Confinement
8. The Return of the Prisoners: Writing Not to Die Altogether
Erika Lorenzon 243
9. Voicing Objection: Vittoria Causa, Writing, Assertive Power,
and Internment as a Force of Creativity, 1940-45
Catherine Dewhirst 272
Creative Memory, Legacy, and Community
10. Pictures, Poison, and the Prisoner: The Story of Lou and Trento and the Layering of Memory
Donato Somma 307
11. Collective Creativity: Commemorating War Detainees at the
Intersection of Community Ritual and Cultural Heritage
Flavia Marcello 331
12. Italian Identity in the British Isles: Chiocchetti's Chapel and the Landscape
of World War II Remembrance in Orkney
Daniel Travers 354
Acknowledgments 375
List of Contributors 377
Index 381