‘Stalag happy’: South African prisoners of war during World War Two (1939-1945) and their experience and use of humour

South African prisoner-of-war (POW) experience, a much neglected subject in World War Two texts, is analysed in this article in terms of the experience and use of humour. Experience of humour as a means of coping during captivity reflected captives’ humour identity at the time of the war; however, when interviewed, this coping mechanism is adapted to facilitate dual perspective, one of the many strategies interviewees use to smooth the progress of the interview and help with recall of often painful memories. A search for aspects unique to South African POWs concludes that humour was a universal coping and morale-boosting mechanism in the war as well as during interviews. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]