New Zealand and the Holocaust Timeline
This timeline covers events that took place in New Zealand from 1933 to 1945.
1933 – 1945
1933
A report if submitted to the National Government by MajorGeneral William Sinclair-Burgess, calling for a six year
programme to strengthen the country’s land and air forces.
1935
elected.
Labour government, under Prime Minister Michael Savage, is
1935-1939
Trade between New Zealand and the Third Reich increases over
this time period. Between 1935 and 1938 exports
of wool from New Zealand to Germany grow fivefold.
1936-38
Refugees seeking to flee Europe apply for entry into New Zealand.
Approximately 727 refugee entry permits are
granted.
1936
In response to the German re-militarisation of the Rhineland, the
president of the Labour Party describes Hitler’s
action as ‘a protest.’
1937
New Zealand signs a most-favoured-nation trade agreement with
Germany. It does this despite British opposition to
the agreement.
Walter Nash visits Berlin. In Parliament Mark Fagan, the leader of
the Legislative Council, praises the welcome Nash
was given in Germany.
1938
New Zealand attends the Evian Conference.
Prime Minister Savage telegrams Neville
congratulating him on the outcome of the Munich Conference.
Chamberlain
After the events of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass)
Viscount Galway, Governor-General, states at a reception:
‘The events in Germany, particularly in the last few days, almost
cause one to despair of peace.’
In October it is reported by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives that New Zealand is willing to open its doors
to Czechoslovakian refugees, after Prime Minister Joseph
Savage states that aid will be give to the refugees.
1939
New Zealand newspapers denounce the German seizure of
Czechoslovakia, one calling it ‘a great and terrible
wrong.’
Germany invades Poland in September. New Zealand declares
war on Germany.
In November Deputy Prime Minister Peter Fraser travels to
London as New Zealand’s representative at a meeting of
the dominions, to attempt to persuade Britain to open
negotiations with Hitler in a ‘peace offensive.’ The move was
one of futility given that a month earlier Chamberlain had firmly
rejected the idea of negotiations with Hitler.
1943
Prime Minister Peter Fraser publicly expresses sympathy over the
plight of Jews in Nazi Europe and his interest in
the development of Palestine as a Jewish state.
A Pro-Palestine Committee is formed in New Zealand, made up of
various public figures and others, including
clergymen.
1944
First Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Commemorations
are held throughout New Zealand’s Jewish
Community.
1945
Paddy Costello, a New Zealander stationed in Moscow, is the first
Western reporter allowed in to the camps. He tours
Auschwitz and Majdanek and published his report in March.
Returning New Zealand war veterans publicly launch a campaign
demanding the expulsion of all enemy aliens,
including Jewish refugees, who arrived in this country after 1939.
The campaign causes alarm in the Jewish
community.
1946 – 2010
1946
The Constitution of UNESCO, signed on 16 November 1945, came
into force on 4 November 1946. New Zealand is
the second country to sign.
New Zealand is given representation on the UNO Social and
Economic Council’s Special Committee on Refugees and Displaced Persons.
1947
New Zealand is the twelfth nation to join the International Refugee
Organisation. Deputy Prime Minister Walter Nash signs the I.R.O.
Constitution.
1948
Nation of Israel is founded. New Zealand official stance towards its
foundation is supportive.
1949
New Zealand signs, but does not ratify, the UN Genocide
Convention. The Convention was introduced in 1948 as a response to the
Holocaust.
1950
An incident is reported in which a young Polish woman jumped
overboard on a refugee ship bound for New Zealand. This was because of ill
treatment, possible antisemitism, by other passengers.
Representatives from New Zealand’s Jewish community travel to
London in July to participate in a ten-day conference to consider proposals
on closer liaison between the Jewish communities in Britain and
the Dominions. The conference discussions include unified action against
antisemitism, post-war rehabilitation, and the care of Jewish war
orphans
1951
Yom HaShoah commemoration is inaugurated. New Zealand’s
Jewish community recognises the commemoration and Yom HaShoah is
commemorated every year thereafter.
1956
Hungarian Uprising brings about an increase in antisemitism in the
country. Refugees from Hungary arrive in New Zealand.
1958
F.L. Wood’s volume of Official History of New Zealand in the
Second World War is published. In it Wood notes that New Zealand was more in
favour of appeasement of Germany over warfare than many had
initially believed.
1961
The Trial of Adolf Eichmann takes place in Israel. The New
Zealand Jewish Chronicle publishes reports from an exclusive source at the trial.
1969
New Zealand Nazi Party founded. The Party lasted for a number of
decades but no longer exists.
1976
First prosecution in New Zealand for distributing antisemitic, neoNazi material takes place.
1977
It is reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Jewish
refugees from the Soviet Union are to begin resettlement in other nations. A
small number are to settle in New Zealand. Many refugees fled the
USSR because of an increase in antisemitism.
1978
New Zealand ratifies the UN Genocide Convention.
1981
International gathering of Holocaust survivors takes place in Israel.
Some New Zealand Holocaust survivors contribute to or participate in the
gathering.
1983
Two former New Zealand soldiers and POWs at Theresienstadt,
Gerald Fleming mills and Thomas Mottram, petition the government for
recognition of their illegal incarceration and suffering, and
requesting compensation for the injuries they still suffered due to their treatment.
Their petition includes a list of 25 known New Zealand soldiers
who were incarcerated in concentration camps during the war and who as of
the 1980s received some form of disability pension for injuries
suffered due to their treatment.
1985
Fortieth Anniversary Commemoration takes place in Wellington.
The Prime Minister, other key figures, and members of the Jewish and
wider communities take part. Holocaust exhibition takes place at
Wellington City Library.
1987
Raoul Wallenberg Memorial plaque is established in Auckland near
the Symonds Street Cemetery. The plaque is unveiled in a ceremony
covered by the New Zealand Jewish Chronicle.
The documentary Shoah Screens at
the New Zealand
International Film Festival.
Late 1980s Auckland Second Generation Group (for children of Holocaust
survivors/refugees) is established. The group is the only of its kind in New
Zealand.
1990
Wellington Synagogue 1990; Display Opens. It is located at the
Wellington Jewish Community Centre on Webb Street.
New Zealand 1990 celebrations take place nationwide. As part of
the celebrations Thomas Kenneally speaks at the Wellington Jewish
Community Centre about his book Schindler’s Ark.
1991
The controversy over Nazi collaborators and war criminals
potentially residing in New Zealand hits its peak. Television news programme
Frontline screens an item entitled Nazi Criminals in NZ?
1993
Holocaust Memorial is established at the Greys Avenue
Synagogue in Auckland. An addition to the memorial is unveiled the next year.
1993-1995 Women Holocaust Survivors Oral History Project takes place.
Funding comes to the project because of 1993 being the Centenary of
Women’s Suffrage.
1994
Holocaust memorial is unveiled at Waikumete Cemetery, Auckland.
In 1997 ashes from Auschwitz are interned at the memorial.
1995
Holocaust Memorial is unveiled in the Jewish section of Makara
Cemetery, Wellington. The unveiling ceremony is attended by members of
the Jewish community.
Fiftieth Anniversary commemoration is held at the Israeli Embassy
in Wellington.
1996
The Waitangi Tribunal publishes the Taranaki Report. The Report
used the term ‘holocaust’ when describing the treatment of Taranaki
Maori during the colonial period.
1996-1999 The Children of Theresienstadt travelling exhibition visits New
Zealand. The exhibition comes with an educational booklet and travels
around the country until 1999.
1997
The Holocaust Gallery at Auckland War Memorial Museum opens.
The Museum provides school groups with an educational booklet
regarding the Holocaust and the Gallery’s contents.
The first travelling Anne Frank exhibition comes to New Zealand
and tours nationwide.
1998
The exhibition Precious Legacy: the Nazi Confiscation of Jewish
Treasures is exhibited at Auckland Museum. The exhibit contained
treasures from the Jewish Museum in Prague, which was saved
from destruction in 1942 when the Nazis invaded the city and seized the
items.
2000
Tariana Turia remarks to a Psychologists Conference regarding a
Maori ‘holocaust.’ The resulting media and public argument revolves
around the issue of freedom of speech in academia.
Joel Hayward’s Master of Arts thesis the Fate of the Jews in
German Hands becomes available after being embargoed since 1993. The
resulting scandal regarding the nature of the thesis and whether it
is tantamount to Holocaust denial lasts until 2003.
A scandal erupts at Waikato University when it emerges that a
mature student, Hans Joachim Kupka, planning a PhD about the German
language in New Zealand, was discovered to be a frequent poster
on far-right websites of antisemitic Holocaust denying comments.
2003
The book Mixed Blessings: New Zealand Children of Holocaust
Survivors Remember wis published. It is a compilation of reminiscences
from people whose parents were either refugees from Europe or
survived the Holocaust, and also includes family recipes from each
contributor.
2004
Desecration of Jewish Graves in Wellington. The desecration is
seemingly brought about by the arrest of alleged Mossad agents for trying to
obtain New Zealand passports.
David Irving, the well-known British Holocaust denier, is banned
from entering New Zealand.
2005
John Tamihere, then-Labour MP, is recorded in an interview
making comments regarding how he was ‘sick’ of hearing about the Holocaust.
2007
The Wellington Holocaust Education and Research Centre opens.
It is an outgrowth of the original Holocaust gallery and the opening
ceremony is attended by many, including Governor General Anand
Santayanand.
2008
Roel van Leuween’s Masters thesis regarding an obscure far right
group removed from Waikato University’s shelves because the main
person of focus in the thesis, well known far right figure Kerry
Bolton, laid an official complaint with the University.
Concert commemorating the seventieth anniversary
Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) takes place in Wellington.
of
2010
The exhibition Anne Frank: a History for Today opens. It travels
throughout the country until 2012.
2011
The Wellington Holocaust Research and Education Centre
becomes the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand.