Nouville and Purana Qila Internment Camps and Collective Memory

Abstract

Nouville in New Caledonia and Purana Qila in India both housed interned Japanese civilians during the Second World War. While both camps involved the ‘reuse’ of existing sites, Purana Qila’s use is largely forgotten while Nouville’s is officially acknowledged. This article contrasts the ‘forgetting’ of Purana Qila and the ‘remembering’ of Nouville and argues that the presence of a local group advocating for Nouville has served to ensure that its use as an internment camp is part of the collective memory. The lack of a similar group in India has seen Purana Qila’s use as an internment camp largely forgotten.