When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, it quickly moved to put its programme into effect throughout the German state. This included Germany’s foreign relations, both official and unofficial.
In New Zealand this impacted the German consulate and the two German clubs in Auckland and Wellington.
The clubs were established prior to 1933 and were concerned with promoting the German language and culture. Given the small size of the German community, it was often the case that the majority of the members were not German.
From 1933 the nature of the clubs began to change in response to pressure from the German consul and a small number of members who were either members of the Nazi Party or sympathetic to it.
The anti-Semitic policies promoted by the Nazis split the clubs and non-German members resigned in large numbers. Jewish members of the clubs also left at this time.
As international tensions rose and war seemed increasingly likely, the German community became of increasing interest to Police, who were responsible for security.
The NZSIS received a significant number of files when responsibility for security passed from Police to the Service in 1957. This included approximately 50 files, some of which are only a couple of pages, containing reports relating to the German clubs in Auckland and Wellington, the German Consulate and pro-Nazi propaganda and activity in New Zealand. The files predominately contain news clippings, booklets/journals, Police reports and correspondence. The records mainly date from the mid-1930s up to World War 2.
There are small number of files included in the documents titled "German Jews acting as espionage agents for Nazis." Special Branch undertook inquiries about this as a direct result of a letter received in 1938 by the Commissioner of Police from MI5 Director-General Colonel Sir Vernon Kell (the letter is included in the released documents).
MI5 advised that parents of German Jewish students studying abroad were initially being obstructed from providing funding to their children. An offer was then said to be made by the SS to allow the transfer of money in exchange for the students providing services to the Nazis. Special Branch found no evidence of such activity in New Zealand.
Records
Please note file sizes before downloading, as some are quite large.