English: September 1919 - Release of Austro-Hungarian PoWs from Malta commences

The Treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye was signed on 10 September 1919 and this dissolved the former Austro-Hungarian empire. Signature of this Treaty appears to have prompted the release of Malta internees from countries formed by the dissolution of that empire. The first batches to be released were mainly Czecho-Slovaks, who accounted for about 20% of the Austro-Hungarian PoWs and Civilian Internees held in the Malta Camps. Travel arrangements, including the provision of transit visas, were usually made by the local consul in Malta. Departures of these released Czecho-Slovaks used regular weekly sailings between Tripoli and Sicily via Malta, operated by the Italian shipping line Sicilia. This exodus started a pattern of repatriations by commercial services that were to continue for the remainder of 1919. The first batch of 30 Czecho-Slovaks departed Malta on passenger ship Etruria on 10 September 1919 and their names are recorded on the ship’s manifest. A copy of one page of the manifest is attached. A further 28 Czecho-Slovaks departed 17 September on Citta di Tripoli, along with 5 others who had become Italian with the annexation of Trieste and some islands in the northern Adriatic.

During September, there were some new arrivals, as the balance of Turks arrested earlier in 1919 were transferred to the Malta Camps. Mostly, this latest batch of twelve political deportees were high-ranking officials, including two princes, who held been held temporarily at Mudros since May. 

At the end of September, there were 1909 internees in the Malta Camps, comprising 1231 Germans (846 civilian + 385 military), 235 Austro-Hungarians (228 civilian + 7 military), 355 Turks (240 civilian + 115 military), 22 Bulgarians (15 civilian + 7 military) and 66 of other nationalities (all civilian).

Photo and description by courtesy of Alan Green