His situation worsened when a letter to a local paper demanded to know why a family of Germans was being tolerated in their midst and why mail was blatantly being sent to Germany on a regular basis via ‘our own Post Office’. Here was a man, as free as the breeze, running a business and becoming rich while young New Zealanders were away spilling their blood on foreign soil. This was a man who had openly said that if he were in Germany right now his sons would be training up with Hitler.

A week later detectives turned up to search the house, bakery and garage. From the house they took a bundle of drawings, cuttings from German newspapers that had been sent to Harry by his mother, other cuttings belonging to his wife – which were mainly recipes and photos of rugby games – an address book, letters, and his passport, which had been renewed the previous year. Also there was a souvenir banner from when the Olympic Games had been held in Germany three years before the start of the war.

From the garage the detectives took a bundle of People’s Voice papers which they found in a box under a bench and of which Harry knew nothing. Two days later he was taken in for questioning, when he attempted to account for these items now displayed before him.

The souvenir pennant had on it all the emblems of the nations which had taken part in the Games, including the swastika. On the other hand there was the bundle of People’s Voice papers.

So, was he a Nazi or a Communist?

‘I’m a Christian,’ said Harry. ‘I’m against the Nazis. The banner was sent by my mother to my wife. I’m against the Communists.’

‘The papers?’

‘I know nothing of the papers.’

‘But you hid them in your garage all the same.’

Realising that the papers had been put there by his sons – hidden away because they knew their father would disapprove of them – there was little Harry could say. Hermie and Kurt had registered as enemy aliens along with their father, but were not under investigation. By the way the questioning went, Harry soon realised that in the eyes of the inquisitors it was far worse to be a Communist than a Nazi.

A week later the detectives came for him with an internment order. He was taken by train under escort and handed over to the military on arrival at the Wellington railway station, soon to end up as a prisoner on Somes Island in the middle of Wellington Harbour.