Conducting preliminary research on the general topic of Sikh soldiers fighting for the British in WW1.
Hello Angela,
interesting topic and, it seems to me, quite untouched so far. I'm not aware of any major publications on this topic, but there are a number of German newspaper articles mentioning that Sikh POWs were normally thrown together with other "exotic" prisoners captured from Entente colonial forces. There's also a bachelor's or master's thesis that touches on the issue. Do you read German? If you are interested, I can send you a few references.
Regards, Michael
As an addendum, there was a major POW camp near Berlin called the Halbmondlager - "Camp Half Moon" - as the name implies it was primarily for Muslim POWs but also housed others such as Hindus and Sikhs. See Gerhard Höpp: Muslime in der Mark. Als Kriegsgefangene und Internierte in Wünsdorf und Zossen, 1914–1924. Verlag Das Arabische Buch, Berlin 1997.
Thank you for this response Michael. Unfortunately, I do not read German, but thank you for your offer of sending more references. I found the Hopp article you suggested though, and I may be able to find someone to translate. I have read about the Half-Moon camp and looked at some of the paintings and sketches of the POWs housed there. German artists painted some really striking oil portraits of captured Sikhs.
I think perhaps the next step is to look at German ethnology studies, if I can find anything in English that is. I am curious about the motivations for painting and documenting the Sikh soldiers. These were not the grotesque caricatures that were done around the same time as propaganda art. Was it Orientalism? Exotification of the Other? Documentation of racial types? Why the choice of the medium of painting as opposed to photography if documentation was the goal?
I think all of what you mentioned played a role in documenting the Sikh POWs. Around 1900, a famous German writer, Karl May, was writing numerous fictional books about a sort of German "hero's" adventures in what were deemed exotic places such as North Africa, the Sudan, the Middle East, the Balkans, North America etc. Even when I was a kid those novels were still rather popular.
This is a very interesting subject you are researching. I'll see if I can dig up some more material that might be of use to you.
Cheers, Michael
Angela, have you seen this?
http://halfmoonfiles.de/sites/default/files/text-uploads/Lange-Hindostan-2011.pdf
Michael,
the Britta Lange article you sent will be an invaluable resource for this project. It's a rich source that addresses, in detail, many of the questions I've been asking. I actually came across one of the voice recordings in my research, so I'm thrilled to find out more about the context in which these recordings occurred. Pieces of this puzzle are coming together.
Many thanks!
Angela,
glad the Lange article helps - skimming over it, I thought it looked like a good starting point. Like I said (and although my own research is a bit removed from WW I in both time and place), yours is a very interesting subject, and I'll keep my eyes out for additional information. Let me know if you think you can use the German newspaper references after all.
Later, Michael
Angela,
here is a link to a rather detailed study by Gerhard Hoepp on the "foreign religion" POWs in Germany.
http://www.zmo.de/publikationen/studien_6.pdf
It is in German, but maybe someone can assist you with the text?
If not, and if it's not super urgent, may be I can help a bit once I get a grip on my annual research chaos.
Michael
Wonderful, thank you for sending these references. I have read some of Ahuja's work, but have not yet seen this article. I hope I can locate it, it is quite difficult to find research in English on this topic. Again, many thanks!
Dear Angela,
It is worth having a look at the German propaganda newspaper named La Gazette des Ardennes: édition illustrée. It is a psychological warfare periodical aimed at the occupied territories of France. The Germans published quite a few pictures of POW from the colonies to demonstrate the 'uncivilised' nature of the British army. You can find the Gazette des Ardennes for free at the following url: http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/feldztggazardenill1915bis1917
Best wishes
In the documents of the British administration of Iraq, which is kept in the archives of the British National Library there is a file on British soldiers from the Indians who participated in the occupation of Iraq 1914-1920 there is important information for the soldiers
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