Seidler's internment | State Library of New South Wales

Seidler's internment

Born in Vienna in 1923, Harry Seidler left Austria at the age of 15 following Hitler's annexation of Austria at the beginning of World War Two. Seidler's family fled to England where Harry Seidler was interned by English authorities in 1940 and sent to Canada as an 'enemy alien' in 1941. It was a traumatic experience that contributed in no small part to Seidler's tenacity and world-view.

Camp Shirt

Harry Seidler - Internment camp shirt from Canada, ca. 1940-1941

 

While interned in England and Canada, Harry Seidler kept a diary chronicling his experiences in words and pictures. 

Diary iconRead translated extracts from Harry Seidler's detailed diary of camp life

Diary iconView sketches of the prison camps drawn by Harry Seidler

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Seidler collection
Made possible through a partnership with Harry Seidler AC OBE & Penelope Seidler