Oskar Bernhardt - Religious figure interned on Isle of Man

[lightseeker19]

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone knows exactly why Oskar Bernhardt was interned on the Isle of Man in the 1910s. He later returned to Germany and became a self-proclaimed messiah. His main work is the Grail Message. Yet, all the accounts of his imprisonment gloss over the details. How can I find out what his crime was?
Thanks.

[CaroleW]

Welcome to Rootschat

A Google search says he was interned in 1914.  WW1 started in 1914 and he was a German

[Gibel]

From www.grailmovement.net


After having lived in Switzerland and also America for a time, Oskar Ernst Bernhardt made his way to London in 1913. There he was caught up in the outbreak of the First World War and in 1915 was interned on the Isle of Man. In the spring of 1919 Oskar Ernst Bernhardt was able to return to his homeland where he then became aware of his actual life’s task. This he recognised in the course of mediating to others from the comprehensive Creation-Knowledge that he bore within himself.

[KGarrad]

As he was German he was almost certainly interned at Knockaloe Camp (rhymes with halo!). Situated on the West Coast, near Patrick Village, itself near Peel.

See: https://www.knockaloe.im/

Also interned were Joseph Pilates (no prizes for guessing the reason for his fame) and Archibald Knox.

Also worth a look is http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/famhist/genealgy/intern.htm.

Please note that no records were held on the Isle of Man - they were all held in London.

[philipsearching]

Greetings, and a warm welcome to Rootschat.

Just to clarify, internees were not criminals (these would most likely have been imprisoned).  In wartime people were interned because they were citizens of a nation which was at war with Britain.  This was to prevent the risk of spying, sedition, or sabotage.  Innocence or guilt were irrelevant - the only criterion was nationality.

As a sidenote - "enemy aliens" could be safer (if less comfortable) when interned due to the risk of hostility and violence from an angry public.

Philip

[majm]

Welcome from me, too 

In Australia, during First World War, over 7000 people were interned.  Of those, over 4500 were actually born here, but with one or both parents who were Germans by birth.  Australia was automatically at war with Germany  as Australia was part of the British Empire.

JM