IOR/L/PS/12/3532

Secret correspondence concerning the internment or repatriation of enemy nationals in Persia [Iran] during the Second World War. The correspondence covers: the estimated numbers of enemy nationals in Persia, including Germans, Austrians, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Italians, Romanians, Estonians and Lithuanians; the Government of India’s initial reluctance to take enemy nationals from Persia for internment in India, and eventual agreement to accept a limited number; the discussion of other possible places for internment, including East Africa and the Union of South Africa [Republic of South Africa]; arrangements for repatriation and internment. The file’s principal correspondents are: HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the British Legation in Tehran, Reader William Bullard; the External Affairs Department of the Government of India; the Foreign Office; and the Minister of State Resident in the Middle East in Cairo.

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.