Browsing by Author "Horn, Karen"

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    Changing attitudes among South African prisoners of war towards their Italian captors during World War II, 1942-1943
    (Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2012) Horn, Karen
    The Battle of Sidi Rezegh in November 1941 and the fall of Tobruk in June 1942 were disastrous for South Africa. At Sidi Rezegh, the entire 5th South African Infantry Brigade was lost and at Tobruk the following year more than 10 000 South Africans were captured by German forces. As if the shock of becoming prisoners of war (POWs) was not bad enough, most South Africans were horrified when the Germans promptly handed them over to the Italians, who were to deal with the logistics for the thousands of POWs, first housing them in temporary camps in North Africa, and then transporting them to Italy. Once on the European continent, the South African POWs found themselves in better-organised prison camps, although most POW accommodation was a far cry from what the Geneva Convention required. Some were fortunate to be assigned to labour detachments, where they were in a better position to take control of their circumstances with regard to living conditions and food and even gaining a degree of freedom of movement. During each of the stages of their captivity under the Italians, the South African POWs displayed changing attitudes towards their captors. For the most part, the Italian forces in North Africa were viewed with disrespect and sometimes with cynical amusement. The antagonism towards Italians quickly changed to intense hatred when POWs suffered severe deprivations in the cargo holds of the boats that transported them to Italy. Once in Italy, however, the POWs came into contact with Italian camp guards who, in many cases, displayed a remarkable lack of interest in the prisoners and in the war. The changing attitudes of South African POWs towards their Italian captors reflect to an extent their changing circumstances as captives; however, their behaviour towards their captors also reveal how the POWs adapted to and accepted their POW identity. Ultimately, the POWs contact with the enemy captors changed the way they viewed their part in the war, and this article looks at examples of the shifting mind-sets until the Armistice in 1943 once again changed the state of affairs for the POWs.
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    Mobile concepts in a mobile environment : historical terms in LSP lexicography
    (South African Society for History Teaching, 2018-07) Van der Merwe, Michele F.; Horn, Karen
    Historical terms have a tendency to be "mobile" in terms of geographical space and historical time. The presentation of historical terms by means of a mobile dictionary enabling university students to access such terms by means of a smartphone, tablet or laptop adds to the dimension of mobility. The article describes the continuous change in meaning of historical concepts over time and space with reference to democracy and nationalism, which are known as substantive concepts. An analysis of the emergence and development of these concepts within different historical contexts indicates the extent to which static definitions are inadequate with regard to fostering historical understanding. A tendency to continuous change in the meaning of the above-mentioned terms has important implications for the compilation of a Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) dictionary of historical terms at university level, and for the consequences thereof for mobile LSP lexicography. The LSP dictionary called MobiLex has a pedagogical purpose and changes in the design and features of the dictionary to enhance teaching and learning of historical terms have pedagogical consequences regarding the learning of such terms. In an ever-changing environment, adaptions to mobile lexicography would be possible with the advancement of technology. Trends and development in technology offer the possibility of changing the face of lexicographical support in a mobile environment, motivated from a pedagogical theoretical point of view.
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    Narratives from North Africa : South African prisoner-of-war experience following the fall of Tobruk, June 1942
    (Historical Association of South Africa, 2011-11) Horn, Karen
    South African prisoners of war (POWs) captured at Tobruk in June 1942 experienced similar events and conditions. All shared a feeling of shock at becoming POWs and all of them had to deal with extremely difficult living conditions in prison camps. Attitudes towards their enemies, German or Italian, were for the most part very similar among POWs, although differences can to an extent be ascribed to the home language or family ancestry of the specific POW in question. On the other hand, attitudes towards fellow POWs, especially between black and white, cannot be generalised, and each case needs to be assessed individually. Characteristics unique to South African POWs are even more difficult to identify because the South Africa forces were a very diverse group, with the only distinguishing factor being that of language. When discerning between the general experience and the individual experiences, it is important to separate the circumstances from the POWs reactions to those circumstances, because the circumstances represent the general experience and the reaction to such situations represents the individual experience.
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    South African Prisoner-Of-War experience during and after World War II : 1939-c.1950
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012-12) Horn, Karen; Nasson, W. R.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis narrates and analyses the experiences of a sample of South Africans who were captured during the Second World War. The research is based on oral testimony, memoirs, archival evidence and to a lesser degree on secondary sources. The former prisoners-of-war (POW) who participated in the research and those whose memoirs were studied were all captured at the Battle of Sidi Rezegh in November 1941 or during the fall of Tobruk in June 1942. The aim of the research is to present oral and written POW testimony in order to augment the dearth of knowledge regarding South African POW historical experience. The scope of the research includes the decision to volunteer for the Union Defence Force, the experiences in North Africa, capture and initial experiences in the so-called ‘hell camps of North Africa’, the transportation to Italy and life in the Italian prison camps, events surrounding the Italian Armistice and the consequent escape attempts thereafter. For those POWs who did not escape, the experience of captivity continued with transport to Germany, experiences in German camps, including working in labour camps and the Allied bombing campaign. Lastly, the end of the war and the experience of liberation, which in most cases included forced marches, are dealt with before the focus turns once again towards South Africa and the experience of homecoming and demobilisation. The affective and intellectual experiences of the POWs are also investigated as their personal experience and emotions are presented and examined. These include the experience of guilt and shame during capture, the acceptance or non-acceptance of captivity, blame, attitudes towards the enemy and towards each other, as well as the experience of fear and hope, which was especially relevant during the bombing campaign and during periods when they were being transported between countries and camps. The thesis concludes with an analysis of the POW experience which looks at aspects relating to identity among South African POWs. The final conclusion is drawn that the POW identity took precedence over national identity. As a result of the strong POW identity and their desire for complete freedom and desire to claim individuality, the POWs did not, on the whole, display great interest in becoming involved in South African politics after the war even though many of them strongly disagreed with the Nationalist segregationist ideologies that claimed increasing support between 1945 and 1948.
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    A sudden sickening sensation : South African prisoner-of-war experience on board the San Sebastian, December 1941
    (Historical Association of South Africa, 2018) Horn, Karen
    During the Battle of Sidi Rezegh on 23 November 1941, a large number of volunteers from the Union Defence Force (UDF) was taken prisoner by Axis forces. Between 2 000 and 2 500 of these men were transported to Italy on board the San Sebastian, an Italian cargo ship, which was torpedoed by HMS Porpoise on 12 December 1941. Following the attack, the San Sebastian ran aground on the Greek shore where Italian forces awaited the captives. The article places the San Sebastian incident in context by looking at the experience of battle and capture, as well as initial perceptions among prisoners-of-war (POWs) of their Italian captors. The behaviour of the Italian captain and many crew members led to a general sense of antagonism towards the Italians. The torpedoing of the ship and the increasing abhorrence towards their captors greatly influenced the way these POWs approached the remaining time in captivity, yet the individual responses from POWs prohibits simplified interpretations of the event. Relying on first-hand accounts provided by former POWs, memoirs and archival documents, this article presents an analysis of the different responses to the incident. Examples of conflict and cooperation between captives and captors are highlighted, as are cases of self-preservation, reprisal and aid to fellow POWs.