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The Island of Extraordinary Captives

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Simon Parkin does a riveting job of showing how panic pushed up and through governmental channels comes out as inconsistent, mismanaged and political bumbling - basically resulting in waste product of ill-used resources.

This was a topic I thought I was well-read on. . .but no. I soon saw that there were large, land-mass related gaps in my understanding about WWII. I thought: Interment camps? US. Death camps? Germany. No! It was happening in other countries as they one by one responded to the response to WWI as troubles that would become WWII were ripening. While this book is not a broad stroke vision of what was happening globally, it becomes apparent as a reader digests Mr. Parkin's well-researched book, that the US was not the only country responding to "refugees" (however they were defined) by quick, gather-them-up-and-sort-later methods that had no consideration for family units, individual liberties, or above-board fairness. Other countries were engaged in their own meticulous head-counting to see who was Dangerous and who wasn't.

Focusing on one of the many British Internment camps settled on the Isle of Man, Hutchison Camp, the book explores what the catch was. The author worked diligently, giving clear and accessible references to those who desire further information. This camp would eventually hold people who had escaped with the help of British citizens in the Kindertransport rescue efforts (get that? they were being rescued by the British to keep them from the terrors of war!!), bundled together with political prisoners of every stripe, including Nazis. Whether an accusation was true or not was not considered at the start and if it was later done, the process was very late in the game.

Yet, and it is a thoughtfully considered "Yet," Hutchison Camp would become a place of positive changes for many of its internees - and Mr. Parkin satisfies readers by considering the life stories of a number of persons. Centered in this collection of life stories is that of an artist, Peter Fleischmann, who used a number of aliases through his long, helpful life, ending with the name he is now known by, Peter Midgley.

This read is fascinating and thought-provoking. Highly recommended for those interested in WWII, or social situations wherein people are moved involuntarily from homelands of centuries prior. Or, for that matter, homelands all, regardless of time on the ground.

*A sincere thank you to Simon Parkin, Scribner, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*

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Being from the U.S., I was moderately aware of POW and Internment camps here in the States. I honestly hadn't given much thought to such camps in England during WWII, but of course there were. This book examines one such camp, meant to detain Germans and German sympathizers during the war. Unfortunately, camps such as this - which are often quickly assembled - suffer from some political turmoil and lack of proper oversight and in too many cases Jews who fled Germany (for obvious reasons) were detained in British internment camps because, on paper, they were German Nationals and therefore potentially sympathizers. In worst case scenarios, they could potentially be sent back to Germany.

Just as the United States held those of Japanese descent (and Germans) in camps without regard to their actual leanings, the British over-compensated here, rounding up everyone and then addressed specific cases. The Island of Extraordinary Captives by Simon Parkin examines a few specific internees.

Even the artists (I use the term broadly) interned were numerous enough that it might be nearly impossible to really examine each of them and Parkin focuses on just a few, with Peter Fleischmann being the prime focus. Fleishmann was an orphaned teenager when he escaped Germany and was perhaps one of the most un-lucky young men on the planet as was threatened by the Germans and imprisoned by the British, Yet despite everything that befell him, he had he survivor's instinct and the determination to follow through on his artistic desires despite everything.

The book is definitely informative, but it does suffer from being a bit wandering in the narrative. I was never quite sure if this was intended to be a history book of the event, or more of a look at some of the individuals. It could be a combination of these, of course, but frankly, because it doesn't really seem to know the narrative tends to fall a bit flat.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. I find that non-fiction tends to be of more interest to me as I get older, and anything that discusses art and artists will always appeal to me, but this failed to find a way to really capture and hold my interest.

Looking for a good book? From an historical point of view, The Island of Extraordinary Captives by Simon Parkin offers some good insight, but the narrative is disjointed and rambling and not a particularly engaging read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Extremely well researched. However, a lot of information to try to take in and side tangents that made it hard to follow at times.

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An incredible story substantiated with extensive research which is provided not only in the back matter, but by footnotes within the chapters. I didn't realize how much I missed and appreciate footnotes!! Anyone who studies history, or just likes the personal stories from the past, will find this book provides ample thought for discussion. This creative intelligent group of people were deprived of their families, homes and jobs, but their intelligence and creativity would not be subdued. Racism, antisemitism, and discrimination are central themes, which unfortunately persist today. Do not miss this one.
Thank you to the publisher, Scribner, and Netgalley for the ARC.

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Wow – what you say when you read a book that is well-written and reveals a history that you didn’t know existed. In great detail, Simon Parkin relates the story of a Jewish orphan, who was one of the first on a Kindertransport form Nazi Germany. But when Peter arrives in England, his journey takes an unexpected and most unfortunate turn.

In spite of his youthful age, just out of his teens, Peter is interned with many other Germans and Austrian Jews in a prison camp on the Isle of Man. Hutchinson is no ordinary prison camp….it houses intellectuals, musicians, writers and artists. A cultural community is formed where art exhibits, theater, lectures and performances flourish. Peter, an artist, is mentored by the best. Yet alongside this group, British authorities believe some of the escapees may be Nazi spies. Better to imprison them all than determine who is at risk to the war effort.

Parkin chronicles the plight of many of these “inmates” but never loses sight of the impact of the experience on young Peter. Parkin also shows who tried to assist these refugees and who tried to keep them incarcerated. Drama is built upon what will happen to Peter, the parallel stories which ask if there were collaborators among these men and the impact upon these creative geniuses.

At the end of the book, Parkin traces what became of some of these men, including Peter. He also explains how he came to research and write this book. Eye-opening and a great addition to a little chronicled part of WWII. Highly recommended. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

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“Viewed kindly, Hutchinson had been a world of unparalleled opportunity, a time when historic forces had momentarily aligned to gather a unique cross-section of men. In no other circumstances before or since have the university don, the local butcher, the celebrated Dadaist, the lawmaker, the baker, and the couture dressmaker been forced to cohabitate and, in doing so, enrich one another’s lives.”

I had no idea that England had internment camps during WWII. Unlike the United States that forced US citizens into internment camps, England placed German refugees into camps. There were multiple camps, but this book focuses on Hutchinson Camp on the Isle of Man. Understandably, the English were afraid of Nazi spies, however through fear, antisemitism and/or incompetence they did a poor job of vetting the refugees and determining which (if any) were actually threats.

Although the subject matter was interesting, I’m afraid I found the book a little dull, and there were a lot of people to keep track of. When you have people forming clubs, attending classes, creating art, putting on theatrical performances and using the library, the story is not quite as riveting as the story of the Jews who remained in Germany and faced death in concentration camps. 3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

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This was a beautifully written account of the internment of Germans on the Isle of Man during World War II. In the account of this, which most Britons would prefer to forget, we learn the stories of men of all kinds, from accomplished artists to con men. It's a fascinating history that reads like a novel.

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Just when I thought the US had the market on atrocities committed [and don't get me wrong, we are 100% in the lead for stupid, horrible things done to other human beings, in the name of protection, when it was really done in the name of hate and superiority and SUPREME IGNORANCE], along comes a book about one of the biggest stains on Britain's history that few know about [and to be a fly on the wall of some people's houses when this book comes out and they are presented with it] and when people read it, it will be done in horror that people, some of them CHILDREN, were treated in such a way when all they wanted was safety and comfort from the horrors of Nazi Germany.

Imagine, being a child and being a part of the Kinder Transport and getting to England, the land that is to save you, and you find yourself, not in someone's home, getting love and comfort, but in a camp - the very thing that you were fleeing [often at the expense of the parent's that sent you to keep you safe] wondering just why you were there. This is what happens to Peter [one of the main characters of the book] along with others who were just fleeing for their lives and had the misfortune to be German [though there is a TWIST at the end, though it doesn't have to do with Peter and I will admit breathing a sigh of relief at that] and this book is about their time on the Isle of Man and what happened to them there and afterwards.

What I found interesting is, after the war was over and the horrors of what happened in Poland and Czechoslovakia and Russia and Germany came out, according to interviews with the detainees at the camp, they were grateful it wasn't them at those camps [like it was for many of their family members and friends] as they had 3 meals a day, access to music and art supplies and companionship, warm clothing, common comforts and even though they absolutely should NOT have been there [and the fact that they were not mistreated will never change my mind on this], they certainly had it better than most people in camps [and that includes the Japanese interment here in the states]. Another thing that was said that surprised me, but makes sense given how well they all were treated [even the ones they thought or KNEW were Nazis], is that none of this was done in hate, it was done in fear [unlike the Nazi concentration camps and the Japanese interment camps; those were both done in hate. Pure hate and evil], and again, even though I believe it is totally wrong, I can, in a way, understand that, given that Britain was fighting Germany and these were mostly German citizens and there had to be great fear that they were there to bring the country down [even the children, as it was shown later, many teens worked hard for the Nazi party, all for the glory of the Fuhrer and the Aryan Nation] and war makes people stupid, as history has shown over and over and over again.

Brilliantly written [and narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick <--I highly recommend listening to this amazing narrator read this book] and sectioned out, this was an amazing read from beginning to end and really, left me wanting just a little bit more.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon Parkin, and Scribner for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I’ve read so many stories about World War II and each one seems to teach something new about that time in history. In this case, I knew that in the United States there were internment camps for Japanese citizens. The camps seem so unfair and are like a punishment. One wonders how much good they do for the country that places people in them.

In this case, Peter Fleischmann, an orphan from Berlin, managed to get to England on a Kindertransport train. Once in England the British police sent him to an internment camp on the assumption he was a spy. The camp was located on the Isle of Man and many other German and Austrian Jews were sent there as well.

What was unusual about the camp was the unique traits of the people who who sent there. Peter was joined by professors, artists, composers and authors. This was certainly not the makeup of your ordinary prison camp. Peter, being one of the youngest in the camp, was taken under their wing and given an education unlike any he would have gotten anywhere else.

I found the story to be a bit dry at times and I also found it difficult to keep up with the many names mentioned throughout the book. The ending was impactful because the author told what happened to Peter and whether or not he ever found any of his family.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to offer my honest review and recommend this to other readers who enjoy history and nonfiction.

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As one can see from the full title of this work, The Island of Extraordinary Captives, narrates the lives of several individuals caught up in the event preceding and during world war II. The ostensible main focus is Peter Fleischmann, a German born Jewish orphan who was among the children rescued from Germany by the Kinder transport. After some time free in the United Kingdom, he was interned by the British government as they gave into fears about the threat of aliens. Fleischmann would eventually arrive, and serve most of his time, at the Hutchinson camp located on the Isle of Man. If it can be described as fortunate, here Fleischmann would receive an art education beyond what other opportunities might have been possible, as he was interned with notable German and Austrian artists, lawyers, composers and journalists.

Fleischmann, was not the only individual caught up in these machinations of the state. He, along with thousands of others, were twice interned or other-ed. They had escaped the Nazi system only to have their haven turn against them. In a Britain ruled by fear, these escapees were robbed, ostracized, and in a portion of cases killed by neglect or mismanagement. Simon Parkin details many different experiences and the governments implementations, management of the camps, and how the government reported or presented details about the camps. As Parkin states in the postscript "There was no unified experience of internment."

Parkin, making the comparison of this being the British version of the American internment of those of Japanese descent, came across the topic by happenstance. Parkin has since written this work and created the webpage www.hutchinsoncamp.com. Here one can go beyond the book and learn about more internees.

A well written account of a shameful period of British history where the savior victimized their liberated in the name of fear.

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The Island of Extraordinary Captives: A Painter, a Poet, an Heiress, and a Spy in a World War II British Internment Camp by Simon Parkin tells of the English internment of perceived fifth columnists during World War II. Mr. Parkin is an award winning writer and journalist.

As much reading as I did about WWII, I somehow missed hearing about English internment camps. While the internment of Japanese Americans in the US gets more attention, England’s role in this xenophobic measure is left mainly untold. This, the author tells us, is because it negates the historical narrative the British want, or wanted, to be told.
To be fair, there were spies among the 73,000 prisoners, but the blanket policy was controversial even then.

Many of the 73,000 Germans and Austrians living in England, found themselves tagged as “enemy aliens” overnight. The government’s answer: a mass internment policy. One would think, that putting persecuted Jews, along with known fascists behind a fence would not be such a good idea, but at the time Churchill authorized the policy.

The Island of Extraordinary Captives Simon Parkin tells of the camps by following Peter Fleischmann, a Jewish aspiring artist, and orphan who got to England through the kindertransport. Through his eyes, we see the Hutchinson camp’s life on the Isle of Man for more than a year. The camp held more than a thousand captives, many of whom were luminaries in their respective fields, and many others were rising stars. Lawyers, writers, musicians, academics, and artists. Luckily for them, Captain Hubert Daniel, the camp’s commandant, was a humane person trying to make the best of a policy which he didn’t agree with.

Putting all those accomplished people in one place, it seemed, sparked their artistic brains and turned their prison into a cultural place of learning. Peter, later known as renowned artist Peter Midgley, learned much of his craft during those months from the famed Dadaist Kurt Schwitters, and made lifelong contacts in the art and academic fields.

The camp worked out for Peter, but many others were terrified of falling into Nazi hands when the invasion, which seemed imminent at the time, happened. Being trolled by Nazi sympathizers and fascists daily. There were even “suicide classes” held in secret – just in case.

This is an inspirational read, and does a fine job exposing Churchill’s government’s knee-jerk actions. Somewhere though, the book loses its narrative, when Peter’s journey is sidelined, and the account takes us in different directions.

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An amazingly detailed look at something I suspect some would have liked to have kept under wraps even today- the internment by the UK government of German men, women, and children on the Isle of Man, Hutchinson Camp was remarkable for its population and its organization- the men, some of whom were artists, created a community, Parkin traces several of them but most. notable is Peter, who arrived in the UK as a teen on the Kindertransport,, was interned at Hutchinson,, and then served as a translator at Nuremberg before going on to achieve even more. If there's a fault with this it's that it doesn't bring enough of the men to life, which would have made it a. more engrossing read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A cautionary tale.

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Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of The Island of Extraordinary Captives by Simon Parkin. As an avid read of WW2 historical fiction, I was so surprised to learn of refugees being interned on the Isle of Man. The author lays out how the hundreds if not thousands of German refugees ends up in camps. These were not soldiers but artists, professors, inventors, politicians, writers, etc. many who would go on the have amazing contributions to the world. There were also ordinary citizens in these camps but the author focused on the extraordinary people from Hutchinson camp on the Isle of Man. These internment camps housed tens of thousands in World War 1 and this same type of thing happened in WW2 as well. The author’s well researched book explains the myriad of poor decisions by the British government and misconceptions that abounded about the people they originally let into the country as refugees from the Nazis but eventually sent to a camp. It will take some time to digest all I learned from this book but I am so glad I read it. If you are looking for a new angle, a new perspective to broaden your knowledge of WW2, I recommend this book.

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A very thoroughly researched book and an interesting topic. What to do with immigrants when their Mother country is about to invade you? Are they spies or victims? However, I would have enjoyed the book more if the author concentrated on each person individually. It got confusing remembering who was who. I did like the spattering of Peter in the story. So good book but it got tedious for me.

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The Island of Extraordinary Captives, A Painter, A Poet, an Heiress and a Spy in a World War II British Internment Camp by Simon Parkin
I enjoyed this book immensely as it is well written, well-paced, informative and tells an interesting story of Germans (mostly Jews) who had escaped Germany but do to fears by the British Government were now interned in a camp on The Isle of Man. They were no considered prisoners nor did they act as such. In Camp Hutchinson that Mr. Parkin focuses on the 1,200 captives established all sorts of creative activities to keep themselves busy and teach the other captives. But they were still captives. There are extremely talented men. There was a camp for women nearby and at times they were even able to co-mingle and go to the movies. The book focuses on a few of the men including a young 18 year-old orphan, first name Peter who remains in the camp for over three years until he is called up into the British Service. Due to his fluent German, he eventually becomes a translator at the Nuremburg trials where he comes face to face with the evilest Nazis. The book moves quickly after the war to tell brief stories of some of the captives as they lived out their lives after the war. As an American, this book makes me want to read about how the Japanese interned in the US were treated and acted during their time behind wire as well. If I have one fault with the book, I wish there were some photographs.

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A well-researched story about the individuals impacted by Nazi Germany in WWII who fled to Great Britain for refuge. I haven’t read many WWII history related to this topic and was fascinated with the events and people.

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Just imagine fleeing to Britain from Nazi Germany and then being locked up as an enemy alien, along with actual Nazis and fascists. At the beginning of World War II, that’s what happened in the UK. Despite classifying foreign nationals according to security risk, ultimately the decision was made to intern them all, with little effort made to keep refugees and anti-fascists away from Nazis and Nazi sympathizers. Internees had their belongings stolen in broad daylight by British soldiers, police officers and prison guards, and were at first forced into crumbling transit camps with poor food, virtually no sanitary facilities, and little shelter from the weather.

The focus of this book is on a particular camp, called Hutchinson, on the Isle of Man, where many refugees were ultimately interned. Conditions there were much better than the transit camp hellhole, and those running the camp made a practice of treating the internees with respect and allowing them a good deal of self-governance.

Many of those who fled the Nazis were artists, musicians, composers, university professors, and other professionals any rational country would want to keep. Hutchinson became a particular standout for its organization of cultural activities.

Author Simon Parkin calls this book a work of historical narrative nonfiction, based on many different kinds of primary source materials. There are scads of characters, and it can be a challenge at times to keep up. But Parkin wisely emphasizes throughout the story of Peter Fleischmann, a Berlin orphan and one of the first German Jews to reach Britain via the famed Kindertransport rescues—and just in time, too, since Peter, at 16, was almost at the cutoff age, and he found after the war that there were apparently no survivors from the orphanage. It’s astonishing to read of Peter’s travails, but also of the way, as an aspiring artist, that he took advantage of his time at Hutchinson to learn all he could from his mature and accomplished fellow internees.

There are other less-emphasized people who are still striking, like the self-promoter who was suspected by MI-5 of being a Nazi spy, despite his Jewish background.

As an American, I was familiar with the shame of the US internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. I knew very little about Britain’s internment policies and practices, and I’m happy to have this readable history fill a gap in my knowledge of WW2 history.

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When I first started reading and realized that this was yet another book covering World War II, I lowered my expectations. I have read a lot of books that cover events from this time period. However, Parkin surprised me.
This book chronicles the story of people who found themselves interned on the Isle of Man, primarily during the first two years of the war. Even with all that I have studied on this topic, I did not know that Great Britain had also interned people they called "enemy aliens."
I found myself utterly transfixed by Parkin's narrative as he used the style of narrative nonfiction to tell this story. As Parkin wove in various facts and quotes from primary sources, the reader cannot escape the terrible reality of what happened to these people, many of whom had fled to Great Britain for refuge.
I highly recommend this book.

*I received an eARC from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

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The description of the book “The Island of Extraordinary Captives” by Simon Parkin seemed to be an in-depth description of human inhumanity toward other humans. It was that but there was a lot of tedium exploring what had been painstaking research. There was surprising little information about the person the book was supposed to focus on --Peter Fleischmann. This was a major disappointment although there was lots of name-dropping for other captives and how they survived. The interment camp called Hutchinson on the Isle of Man was a hotbed for artists, philosophers, and scholars and their various exploits are described sometimes to excess. The “prisoners” were able to overcome many obstacles to produce works of enduring significance.

Peter had an extraordinarily difficult time, to be sure; but the first half of the book had minimal mention of him and his tribulations. I would have preferred to read more about Peter and his problems. The second half does focus more on him but still it seems like a bit of false advertising.

All in all, it was not bad but did not, at least for this reader, live up to the hype. I’d recommend it but don’t expect to see Peter Fleischmann as a real focus.

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An incredibly interesting and detailed account of people who fled to welcoming England escaping Hitler but were then interred by the British government once war broke out. The prison camp held many influential and learned people including professors, artists, composers and the like. While in the camp they banded together with their creativity. A Fascinating read.

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