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GCSE History · key term
A wartime classification for someone whose nationality connected them to a country at war with Britain; it did not necessarily indicate their political loyalties.
Used by OCR
Paper 2
Revise: Early 20th Century Migration and Wartime RefugeesPeople who had escaped Nazi persecution could nevertheless be investigated as ‘enemy aliens’ because of their nationality. Many were interned, particularly during the security fears of 1940, including on the Isle of Man.
Paper 1
A person living in a country whose nationality was that of a state at war with their country of residence. The classification did not prove that the person supported the enemy.
Distinguish nationality from political loyalty: a German refugee fleeing Nazism could still be classified as an ‘enemy alien’.
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When Britain went to war, residents with the nationality of an opposing state could become ‘enemy aliens’. This described their legal position, not necessarily their beliefs or behaviour. Someone might have lived in Britain for decades, or have fled persecution by the very government Britain was fighting.