The forgotten lot : ‘internati Anglo-Maltesi sgombrati dalla Libia’ : internment of ‘enemy aliens’ from an Italian colony during the Second World War

Abstract

This dissertation explores the circumstances that led to the deportation and internment of the Maltese Tripolini during the Second World War, between 1940 and 1943. The Maltese Tripolini historically identified as British subjects and sought British protection. Although contemporaries held the 1911 Italian takeover of Tripoli as a watershed moment, the rise of fascism in the 1920s ensured their progressive marginalisation. As Italy sought to Italianise Libya, the Maltese Tripolini maintained their strong ties to Britain, resisted attempts at assimilation and protested at the introduction of new legislation regulating employment and civil marriage. This led to their gradual alienation from the economic and social life of Italian Libya. During the Second World War, as British subjects, the Maltese Tripolini were branded as enemy aliens. They became the only community to be deported in its entirety on the pretext of military necessity and concerns over espionage. All Maltese Tripolini known to have been deported and interned have been identified and indexed accordingly. This dissertation traces the broader context of these events, examining the social, political, and economic challenges faced by the community over two decades. This is done against the backdrop of deteriorating Anglo-Italian relations and political squabbling in British Malta. It investigates whether the Maltese Tripolini's internment in Italy was a strategic act of discrimination by the Italians due to their refusal to renounce British subject status. It will analyse their treatment in fascist concentration camps and detention points. It will also examine whether the Maltese Tripolini have been intentionally neglected by successive British and Maltese governments since the war, due to political, economic, or post-colonial factors. Although primary sources in Maltese, British, and Italian archives have preserved records of these events, they have largely been overlooked in Maltese historiography. Survivors were often reluctant to publicly share their memories, with only one notable account by Romeo Cini. This study fills this gap in the historical narrative of the Maltese diaspora, particularly focusing on how the Maltese Tripolini were relegated from ‘a long-contented community’ to ‘an alien minority’.