DOLLS MADE by German internees in the Curragh Camp during the second World War have come to light after almost 70 years and will be auctioned in Dublin next week.
The seven handcrafted dolls provide rare, tangible evidence of an astonishing chapter in the history of relations between Ireland and Germany.
They were made by sailors from the Kriegsmarine (Nazi Germany navy), who were rescued in the Bay of Biscay in late 1943 as their warships sank following a ferocious battle with the British royal navy.
The men were saved by an Irish merchant ship, the MV Kerlogue, which was returning from Lisbon to Ireland with a cargo of oranges. Despite being only 142ft long, the Kerlogue managed to rescue more than 160 survivors who were brought to Ireland and subsequently interned in Co Kildare until the end of “the Emergency” – as the second World War was known here.
Most returned to Germany after the war in August 1945.
The dolls to be auctioned were made for, and presented to, a Mrs Peg Harrington, an Irish Army nurse based in the Curragh Camp who looked after the German internees. They are being sold as one lot by her grandson.
Despite being described as “unusual and scarce” by joint auctioneers Adam’s and Mealy’s, the set has a modest pre-sale estimate of €250 to €350.
The dolls stand about 10 to 12 inches high, have painted faces, and were made using wood and scraps of fabric. Some are dressed in traditional German folk costume.
The attention to detail is remarkable – even the embroidery and drop-front flap are evident on the lederhosen worn by the Bavarian boy doll. The female costumes are variations on the “dirndl” style – common throughout southern Germany and Austria.
The dolls provide rare proof of a little-known commercial enterprise established by the prisoners. Files discovered in the military archives of the Defence Forces at Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin have revealed they were produced in an illicit “toy workshop” established by German internees in the Curragh Camp.
Because Ireland was not at war with Germany, the men were not technically “prisoners of war” and enjoyed a relatively lax regime.
Memos marked “secret” contain details of meetings held by government and military officials during the Emergency to discuss the activities of the Germans. A memo noted that “an effort has been made by the internees to engage in self-employment by the making of toys and sandals” but noted they had trouble sourcing “timber, paint, leather and other materials”.
Despite the difficulties, the enterprising Germans apparently succeeded. Col McNally, officer commanding, Curragh Command, told the minister for defence that “the German internees had earned £400 in the manufacture of toys which they sold at Christmas” and, intriguingly, “that a refund of £700 approximately had been made to them by the Revenue Commissioners in respect of duty on cigarettes”.
However, the Army top brass was appalled to discover the “difficulties that have arisen between the camp authorities and the internees due to the latter’s inclination to utilise the camp furniture and fittings for toymaking”. The Germans “were damaging furniture by using mahogany parts, such as mirror frames and curtain poles” and “timber from partitions and from barrack boxes was also used surreptitiously by them”.
But local people seemed to be willing to help the Germans. “In regard to leather for sandal making”, a memo noted, “the source of supply to the internees could not be discovered and the internees were not prepared to give the information”.
However, the State appeared to turn a blind eye and provided “two sets of carpenters’ tools” for the internees’ use.
The German toymakers did occasionally overstep the mark. In April 1945, Josef Reiser, Alfred Jackel, Heinz Meidel and Gerhard Dreschel were arrested by gardaí and charged with “larceny of timber” at Martinstown, Co Kildare.
The men appeared at Newbridge District Court, where Judge Maloney gave them the benefit of the Probation Act but ordered them to pay compensation of four shillings to timber merchants Messrs William O’Dea Co. Five oak boards were recovered by gardaí but two others had already been sawn up to make dolls.
