“The More Horrible the Thing was, the More They Laughed”: Laughter, Solidarity and Refugees’ Negotiation of Trauma during Resettlement in Postwar Queensland

ABSTRACT

The role of laughter and its relevance within refugee studies and trauma recovery in European diasporas in Australia is understudied. The post–Second World War refugee crisis led to the largest mass refugee movement at the time. Officially classified as “displaced persons”, many of these refugees had experienced horrific violence and loss. Significant numbers of these families were resettled in Queensland, Australia, in locations of low cultural diversity and without pre-existing refugee support networks. This article provides a case study of Latvian, Ukrainian and Polish refugees in Queensland, and explores the vital role of laughter in their long-term recovery from trauma. The project on which this article is based included over 50 oral history interviews, files from over 10 archives, and more than 300 case studies of displaced families resettled in Queensland, an approach that has never been undertaken in an extensive study of refugee resettlement in Queensland. It establishes the importance of laughter during resettlement and shows how it intersects with shared community experiences that resonate for decades. Finally, it highlights the practical role of laughter for refugees’ trauma recovery, particularly for those without access to pre-existing support structures and migrant networks upon arrival.

KEYWORDS:

• Oral history
• refugees
• trauma
• humour
• migration

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge Professor John Flood, Griffith University, who recommended I present this paper at the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research 2019 “Laughter Symposium” and at the subsequent Australasian Humour Studies Network Conference in 2020. These opportunities allowed me to gain valuable feedback on the initial version of this article and its relevance for refugee studies.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Jean Martin, Refugee Settlers: A Study of Displaced Persons in Australia (Kingsgrove: Halstead Press, 1965); Glenda Sluga, Bonegilla: “A Place of No Hope” (Parkville: University of Melbourne, 1988); Catherine Panich, Sanctuary? Remembering Postwar Immigration (North Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1988); Nonja Peters, Milk and Honey – But No Gold: Postwar Migration to Western Australia, 1945–1964 (Crawley: University of Western Australia Press, 2001); Ann Synan, We Came with Nothing: Story of the West Sale Migrant Holding Centre (Sale: Lookups Research, 2002); Bruce Pennay, “‘But No One Can Say He Was Hungry’: Memories and Representations of Bonegilla Reception and Training Centre,” History Australia 9, no. 1 (2011): 43–63; Lesa Melnyczuk, Silent Memories, Traumatic Lives: Ukrainian Migrant Refugees in Western Australia (Welshpool: Western Australian Museum, 2012); Karen Agutter, “Fated to Be Orphans: The Consequences of Australia’s Post-War Resettlement Policy on Refugee Children,” Children Australia 41, no. 3 (2016): 224–31; Jayne Persian, Beautiful Balts: From Displaced Persons to New Australians (Sydney: NewSouth Books, 2017); Jayne Persian, “Displaced Persons in Queensland: Stuart Migrant Camp,” Queensland Review 25, no. 2 (2018): 239–51.

2 Geoffrey Sherington, Australia’s Immigrants: 1788­­–1988 (North Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1990), 142.

3 Walter Clemens, “Comparative Repression and Comparative Resistance: What Explains Survival?,” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 9, no. 3 (2003): 74; Julia Eichenberg, “Consent, Coercion and Endurance in Eastern Europe: Poland and the Fluidity of Experiences,” in Legacies of Violence: Eastern Europe’s First World War, ed. Joachim Böhler, Włodzimierz Borodziej, and Joachim von Puttkamer (München: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2014), 244; Paul Kubicek, The History of Ukraine (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2008), 31, 65.

4 Aivars Stranga, “The Holocaust in Occupied Latvia: 1941–1945,” in The Hidden and Forbidden History of Latvia under Soviet and Nazi Occupations 1940–1991: Selected Research of the Commission of the Historians of Latvia, ed. A. Caune et al. (Riga: Institute of the History of Latvia, 2005), 161; Jerzy Lukowski and Hubert Zawadzki, A Concise History of Poland, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 257; Kubicek, The History of Ukraine, 109.

5 Egon Kunz, Displaced Persons: Calwell’s New Australians (Sydney: Australian National University Press, 1988), 43.

6 George A. Bonanno, “Loss, Trauma and Human Resilience: Have We Underestimated the Human Capacity to Thrive after Extremely Aversive Events?,” American Psychologist 59, no. 1 (2004): 26–27; Laurel Kiser, Strengthening Family Coping Resources: Intervention for Families Impacted by Trauma (New York: Routledge, 2015), 99–100; Albert Zandvoort, “Living and Laughing in the Shadow of Death: Complicated Grief, Trauma and Resilience,” The British Journal of Psychotherapy Integration 9, no. 2 (2012): 37–38; Sylvia Alston, “Where Meaning Collapses: A Creative Exploring of the Role of Humour and Laughter in Trauma” (PhD thesis, University of Canberra, 2009).

7 Hans J. Ladegaard, “Coping with Trauma in Domestic Migrant Worker Narratives: Linguistic, Emotional and Psychological Perspectives,” Journal of Sociolinguistics 19, no. 2 (2015): 189–221.

8 Emily Nash, “Attunement Vignettes,” in Healing Trauma in Group Settings: The Art of Co-leader Attunement, ed. Stephanie Wise and Emily Nash (New York: Routledge, 2020), 179–80.

9 Julian M. Simpson and Stephanie J. Snow, “Why We Should Try to Get the Joke: Humor, Laughter, and the History of Healthcare,” The Oral History Review 44, no. 1 (2017): 78.

10 Ned R. Norrick, “Humour in Oral History Interviews,” Oral History 34, no. 2 (2006): 89–90, 92.

11 Lynn Abrams, Oral History Theory (Oxon: Routledge, 2010), 18, 23; Tamara West, “Remembering Displacement: Photography and the Interactive Spaces of Memory,” Memory Studies 7, no. 2 (2014): 177, 184.

12 Joy Damousi, “Legacies of War and Migration: Memories of War Trauma, Dislocation and Second-Generation Greek-Australians,” in Migration and Insecurity: Citizenship and Social Inclusion in a Transnational Era, ed. Niklaus Steiner, Robert Mason, and Anna Hayes (Oxon: Routledge, 2013), 32.

13 Stephen Sloan, “Oral History and Hurricane Katrina: Reflections on Shouts and Silences,” The Oral History Review 35, no. 2 (2008): 178–79.

14 Peter Gatrell, “Population Displacement in the Baltic Region in the Twentieth Century: From ‘Refugee Studies’ to Refugee History,” Journal of Baltic Studies 38, no. 1 (2007): 52; Alistair Thomson, “Life Stories and Historical Analysis,” in Research Methods for History, ed. Simon Gunn and Lucy Faire (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2012), 102–3.

15 Erika Boas, “‘Leading Dual Lives’: Lithuanian Displaced Persons in Tasmania” (Honours thesis, University of Tasmania, 1999), 27.

16 Kerry Evans, “Transformations in Cultural Identity: Displaced Persons in Southern WA – Post World War II,” Early Days 11 (1995): 113.

17 Panich, Sanctuary?, 12; Kunz, Displaced Persons, 253.

18 Klaus Neumann, Refuge Australia: Australia’s Humanitarian Record (Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2004), 32; James Walsh, “Mass Migration and the Mass Society: Fordism, Immigration Policy and the Post-War Long Boom in Canada and Australia, 1947–1970,” Journal of Historical Sociology 25, no. 3 (2012): 358.

19 Roland Wilson, Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 30th June, 1947: Part XII. – Birthplace (Canberra: Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, 1948), 652–53; Raymond Evans, A History of Queensland (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 207.

20 Queensland Government Statistician’s Office, Queensland Past and Present: 100 Years of Statistics, 1896–1996 (Brisbane: Queensland Government, 1998), 66.

21 See, for example, Office of the Director of Employment, Sydney, “Memorandum to Officers of the Commonwealth Employment Service,” 6 January 1947, A445, 179/9/3, Canberra, National Archives of Australia (NAA); Hon. Arthur A. Calwell, “Statement by the Minister for Immigration the Hon. Arthur A. Calwell,” 3 January 1948, J25, 1949/1493, Brisbane, NAA; “Discussions with Officers of the Commonwealth Employment Service on Placement of Displaced Persons in Employment,” 14 January 1948, A445, 179/9/3, Canberra, NAA.

22 Michael Quinlan, “Australian Trade Unions and Postwar Immigration: Attitudes and Responses,” Journal of Industrial Relations 21, no. 3 (1979): 267; Jock Collins, Migrant Hands in a Distant Land: Australia’s Post-War Immigration, 2nd ed. (Marrickville: Southwood Press, 1992), 47, 50–51.

23 Margaret Cribb, “State in Emergency,” in Strikes: Studies in 20th Century Australian Social History, ed. John Iremonger, John Merritt, and Graeme Osborne (Cremorne, NSW: Angus & Robertson, 1973), 228–29; Quinlan, “Australian Trade Unions and Postwar Immigration,” 267; Collins, Migrant Hands in a Distant Land, 47, 50–51.

24 T. H. E. Heyes, “Allocation of Dependents [sic] of Displaced Persons Breadwinners to Holding Centre Accommodation,” 11 May 1949, A434, 1950/3/13, Canberra, NAA; Office of the Director of Employment, Sydney, “Addendum No. 15 to Instructions to Employment Officers at R. & T. Centres,” 27 January 1950, MT157/8, ZV2010D, Melbourne, NAA.

25 “Christine Rzepczyk,” in Wacol Remembered: 1949–1987, ed. Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Branch (CMAB), DIMIA, Queensland (Canberra: Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, 2003), 20.

26 “Emilia Campbell nee Jantschewsky,” in Wacol Remembered, 29; “Christine Rzepczyk,” 20.

27 Bruno Mutzelfeldt, “Carbon Copies of Letters Sent by Bruno Mutzelfeldt, Executive Officer,” 1957–1959, 312–320, Box 3, Bowden, Lutheran Archives of Australia; “Appendix to C. E. S. 24: Notes for the Guidance of Regional Directors in Relation to Decisions to be Given on Interstate Transfer of D.P.,” 1949, A434, 1950/3/13, Canberra, NAA.

28 See, for example, “On the Home Front – Slavs – Ukrainians – Now Spaniards: Launching into Work among Migrants,” Queensland Baptist XLVII, no. 3 (1970): 12, Gaythorne, Queensland Baptist Archives; Theo Reimers, “News from the Churches: Brisbane,” The Australian Lutheran, 13 February 1952; Marian Kałuski, “Polish Religious Life in Australia,” Studia Polonijne 12 (1989): 186; “New Schools for Poles,” Courier-Mail, 16 July 1952, 3; I. Sheville, ed., Orthodox and Other Eastern Churches in Australia (Sydney: Anglican Information Office, 1976), 6, Brisbane, Anglican Diocese of Brisbane Records and Archives Centre.

29 Lauma Lieldiena, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 6 May 2015, Michigan, United States of America; “Polish National Day Service,” Brisbane Telegraph (Last Race Edition), 1 May 1954, 2; “Migrants Were ‘Home’,” Courier-Mail, 26 December 1950, 5.

30 Arta Ankrava, “From Displaced Persons to Exiles: Nationalism, Anti-Communism, and the Shaping of Latvian American Diaspora” (PhD thesis, University of Minnesota, 2016), 18.

31 Krystyna Gruba, “My Journey to the Promised Land,” in Polish Migrants’ Stories/Życiorysy Poliskich Emigrantów, ed. Monika Wiench and Elizabeth Drozd, trans. Dominika Skutil (Footscray: Australian-Polish Community Services Inc., 2006), 14; Oleksandr Timko, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 19 July 2015, Queensland, Australia.

32 Heyes, “Allocation of Dependents [sic]”; T. H. E. Heyes, “Circular: Procedure to be Adopted in Connection with the Initial Accommodation and Placement in Employment of Family Units Arriving under the Displaced Persons Scheme,” PP6/1, 1948/H/2935, Perth, NAA.

33 State of Queensland, Commonwealth of Australia, “Film QAP650, Frame 59,” 1 July 1956; “Plan of Camp 2, Wacol Holding Centre,” 1952, J1018, LS2953, Brisbane, NAA; Inese Asaris, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 14 May 2015, Queensland, Australia; “Christine Rzepczyk,” 21; Oksana Pelepchuk, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 3 November 2015, Queensland, Australia.

34 Wanda Jankowski, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 28 August 2015, Queensland, Australia.

35 CMAB, DIMIA, “Introduction,” in Wacol Remembered, xi; Feditr Yakimchuk and Palahna Yakimchuk, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 9 September 2015, Queensland, Australia; “Irene Szogi,” in Refugee Destination Queensland, ed. Maximilian Brändle (Kangaroo Point, QLD: Multicultural Writers and Arts Friendship Society Queensland, 1999), 77; Marek Paszek, Personal Memoirs (New South Wales, self-pub., 2015); “‘Little Europe’ That Waits, Hopes,” Sunday Mail, 13 May 1951, 12.

36 Roman Pawlszyn, “Correction,” Cross-Section 188 (1962): 3; “Dr Sarma Gertners,” in Brändle, Refugee Destination Queensland, 25; Zbigniew Paszek, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 29 October 2015, Queensland, Australia.

37 The issue of collaboration in these regions during the Second World War has been addressed in a number of discussions. Examples of these discussions include Anna Holian, Between National Socialism and Soviet Communism: Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011), 104–5; Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A History, 4th ed. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009), 471; Linda McDowell, “Cultural Memory, Gender and Age: Young Latvian Women’s Narrative Memories of War-Time Europe, 1944–1947,” Journal of Historical Geography 30, no. 4 (2004): 708–9; Ieva Zake, “‘The Secret Nazi Network’ and Post-World War II Latvian Émigrés in the United States,” Journal of Baltic Studies 41, no. 1 (2010): 91.

38 Andriy Gorban, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 27 May 2015, Queensland, Australia.

39 Andriy Gorban interview.

40 Gerard Cohen, In War’s Wake: Europe’s Displaced Persons in the Postwar Order (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 40–1; Peters, Milk and Honey, 42.

41 Halina Netzil, interviewed by Donna Kleiss, 11 November 11 and 26 June, 1991–1992, OH24, Box 9682, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. In the audio recording of the 1991–1992 interview, Halina spells her name as “Netzel”. All available archival documents reflect this spelling, and reflect the details provided by Halina during the interview. The “Netzil” spelling appears to be an error in transcription and paperwork for the Migrant Women Oral History project. This article uses the correct spelling as recorded in available archival materials and by Halina herself. The only exception occurs in footnote references, to allow readers to find this item in archive catalogues themselves.

42 Halina Netzil interview.

43 Halina Netzil interview.

44 Halina Netzil interview.

45 Marta Dyczok, The Grand Alliance and Ukrainian Refugees (London: Macmillan Press, 2000), 7, 11, 91; Oksana Pelepchuk, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 3 November 2015, Queensland, Australia.

46 Oksana Pelepchuk interview.

47 Oksana Pelepchuk interview.

48 Oksana Pelepchuk interview.

49 Urszula Sitko, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 16 September 2015, Queensland, Australia.

50 Urszula Sitko interview.

51 Lynne McCormack and James Strezov, “Irreconcilable Loss, Avoidance, and Hypervigilance: Facilitators of Refugee-Specific Posttraumatic Growth,” Journal of Refugee Studies 34, no. 2 (2021): 2220–37; Elonora Gambara et al., “Resilience, Trauma, and Hopelessness: Protective or Triggering Factor for the Development of Psychopathology among Migrants?,” BMC Psychiatry 20, no. 358 (2020): 1–15; Jennifer McCleary and Elizabeth Wieling, “Forced Displacement and Alcohol Use in two Karen Refugee Communities: A Comparative Qualitative Study,” British Journal of Social Work 47 (2017): 1186–204; Patricia L. East, Sheila Gahagan, and Wael K. Al-Delaimy, “The Impact of Refugee Mothers’ Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress, and Depression on their Children’s Adjustment,” Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 20 (2018): 271–82.

52 Jessica Stroja, “Displaced Persons’ Experiences of Trauma and Responses to Contemporary Crisis in Europe: An Oral History of Engagement with Refugees,” Refugee Survey Quarterly 41, no. 2 (2022): 218–37.

53 Dace Baltais, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 11 November 2015, Tasmania, Australia.

54 Dace Baltais interview.

55 Dace Baltais interview.

56 Dace Baltais interview.

57 Dace Baltais interview; Halina Netzil interview.

58 Wanda Jankowski, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 28 August 2015, Queensland, Australia.

59 Wanda Jankowski interview.

60 Wanda Jankowski interview.

61 Vamik Volkan, “Transgenerational Transmissions and Chosen Traumas: An Aspect of Large-Group Identity,” Group Analysis 34, no. 1 (2001): 87, 89; Kai Erikson, “Notes on Trauma and Community,” in Trauma: Explorations in Memory, ed. Cathy Caruth (Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, 1995), 186–87, 190.

62 Roy Schwartzman, “Sutured Identities in Jewish Holocaust Survivor Testimonies,” Journal of Social Issues 71, no. 2 (2015): 284; Hatsantour Karenian et al., “Collective Trauma Transmission and Traumatic Reactions among Descendants of Armenian Refugees,” International Journal of Social Psychiatry 57, no. 4 (2011): 328; Aaron Denham, “Rethinking Historical Trauma: Narratives of Resilience,” Transcultural Psychiatry 45, no. 3 (2008): 396.

63 Nancy Lin, Karen Suyemoto, and Peter Kiang, “Education as Catalyst for Intergenerational Refugee Family Communication about War and Trauma,” Communication Disorders Quarterly 30, no. 4 (2009): 201.

64 Wanda Jankowski interview.

65 Wanda Jankowski interview.

66 Wanda Jankowski interview.

67 Wanda Jankowski interview.

68 Wanda Jankowski interview.

69 Cohen, In War’s Wake, 155; Peter Gatrell, The Making of the Modern Refugee (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 104–5.

70 Alexei Melnyk, interviewed by Jessica Stroja, 2 November 2015, Queensland, Australia.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Historical Association (AHA) and Copyright Agency [AHA-Copyright Agency Early Career Researcher Mentorship Scheme] and the National Archives of Australia (NAA) and Australian Historical Agency [NAA-AHA Postgraduate Scholarship].