In early August 1914—within a fortnight of the outbreak of World War I—Auckland police arrested twenty-four German nationals and sent them for internment in Wellington. Strikingly, twelve of these so-called ‘enemy aliens’ comprised a German band led by Rudolf Mersy (1867–1949), a composer renowned in his homeland as the ‘Aschbacher Mozart’. Drawing upon previously restricted files held at Archives New Zealand (Wellington), this article uncovers the origins of these musicians, their activity in New Zealand prior to the advent of war, and the circumstances surrounding their internment. Somewhat surprisingly, given the cramped (and at times brutal) conditions on Somes Island, Mersy and his fellow bandsmen continued to be active as musicians throughout their captivity. The extant documents, which include official reports and confiscated letters written by the Prisoners of War (POWs) to family members, also reveal poignant details concerning their daily lives. Yet despite their earlier successes as touring musicians, in the immediate aftermath of the war lingering anti-German sentiment and the advent of recorded sound combined to ensure the disappearance of the once perennially popular German Band from the global musical scene.

中文翻译：

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“上述外星人”：鲁道夫·梅西（Rudolf Mersy）在新西兰的德国乐队，1913年至1919年

在1914年8月上旬-第一次世界大战爆发的两周内-奥克兰警察逮捕了二十四名德国国民，并将他们送往惠灵顿拘留。令人惊讶的是，其中十二个所谓的“敌人外星人”由鲁道夫·梅西（Rudolf Mersy，1867–1949年）领导的德国乐队，鲁道夫·梅西（Rudolf Mersy）是作曲家，在他的家乡以“阿施巴赫·莫扎特（Aschbacher Mozart）”闻名。本文利用以前保存在新西兰档案馆（惠灵顿）的受限制文件，揭示了这些音乐家的出身，战争爆发前他们在新西兰的活动以及有关其拘留的情况。出乎意料的是，鉴于萨默斯岛上拥挤的（有时是残酷的）情况，梅西和他的乐队成员在整个被囚禁期间都继续活跃为音乐家。现有文件，其中包括正式报告和战俘（POW）给家人的没收信，还透露了有关其日常生活的严峻细节。然而，尽管他们较早取得了巡回演出的音乐家的成功，但战争结束后，反德情绪依然存留，录制的声音的出现结合在一起，确保了曾经长期流行的德国乐队从全球音乐界消失。