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University of Southampton Research Repository Eprints Soton University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES The Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile and the Jews during World War 2 (1938-1948) By Jan Láníček Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2010 1 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Doctor of Philosophy THE CZECHOSLOVAK GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE AND THE JEWS DURING WORLD WAR 2 (1938-1948) by Jan Láníček The thesis analyses Czechoslovak-Jewish relations in the twentieth century using the case study of the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile in London and its activities during the Second World War. In order to present the research in a wider perspective, it covers the period between the Munich Agreement, when the first politicians left Czechoslovakia, and the Communist Coup in February 1948. Hence the thesis evaluates the political activities and plans of the Czechoslovak exiles, as well as the implementation of the plans in liberated Czechoslovakia after 1945. In comparison with previous contributions to the theme, this thesis is based on extensive archival research. It examines how the Czechoslovak treatment of the Jews was shaped by resurgent Czech and Slovak nationalism/s caused by the war and the experience of the occupation by the German army. Simultaneously, the thesis enquires into the role played in the Czechoslovak exiles’ decision making by their efforts to maintain the image of a democratic country in the heart of Europe. An adherence to western liberal democracies was a key political asset used by Czechoslovakia since her creation in 1918. Fair treatment of minorities, in particular the Jews, became part of this ‘myth’. However, the Second World War brought to the fore Czechoslovak efforts to nationally homogenize the post-war Republic and rid it of its ‘disloyal’ minorities. Consequently, the thesis evaluates how the Jews as a minority were perceived and constructed. The thesis is divided into five chapters, following the developments in chronological, as well as thematic order. The first chapter analyses the influence of people in occupied Czechoslovakia on the exiles’ policy towards the Jews. Chapter two and three document the exiles’ policy towards the Jews during the war, including the government’s responses to the Holocaust. Chapter four enquires into the war- time origins of the post-war Czechoslovak policy towards the Jews. Finally, the last chapter analyses the influence of public opinion abroad on the Czechoslovak policy towards the Jews during and after the war. 2 Contemporary historiography acknowledges the peculiar situation of Jewish survivors in post-war Czechoslovakia. Nevertheless, this thesis argues that the post- war developments had their origins during the war and cannot be attributed purely to the malignant influence of Nazi anti-Semitism. Consequently, the thesis documents the main influences that shaped the exiles’ attitude towards the Jews and contextualizes them with other priorities on their agenda. Table of Contents List of tables and illustrations 5 Declaration of authorship 6 Acknowledgements 7 List of abbreviations 8 Introduction 10 Chapter 1 Czecho/Slovak underground movements, people in the occupied homeland, the Jews and the government-in-exile 44 Chapter 2 The Czechoslovak Exiles and the Jews between 1939 and 1941 92 Chapter 3 The Czechoslovak government-in-exile and the Nazi persecution of the Jews 144 Chapter 4 Czechoslovak Governments and the Jews in post-war Czechoslovakia 206 Chapter 5 Defending the ‘democratic myth’: The International Dimension of Czechoslovak-Jewish Relations in the 1940s 266 Conclusion Beyond condemnation and idealization 314 Bibliography 320 4 List of tables and illustrations Image no. 1: Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1925) 29 Image no. 2: Louis D. Brandeis 31 Table no. 1: Nationality of the Czechoslovak Jews according to censuses in 1921 and 1930 36 Image no. 3: Jan Masaryk 54 Image no. 4: Hubert Ripka 78 Map no. 1: The Partition of Czechoslovakia 1938-1939 84 Image no. 5: Edvard Beneš 92 Image no. 6: Arnošt Frischer 124 Table no. 2: Direct deportations from the Protectorate to the East 147 Table no. 3: Deportations from Theresienstadt (1942-1944) 151 Image no. 7: Juraj Slávik 202 Image no. 8: Nahum Goldmann with Chaim Weizmann in 1935 218 Image no. 9: Aufbau (published in New York) informed about Beneš’s upcoming negotiations with Stalin 222 Image no. 10: Klement Gottwald 237 Image no. 11: Karel Kreibich 240 Image no. 12: Václav Kopecký in 1937 242 Image no. 13: Congressman Adolph J. Sabath 272 Image no. 14: Laurence Steinhardt (R) in September 1948 with Zdeněk Fierlinger (L) and Antonín Zápotocký 303 5 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Jan Láníček declare that the thesis entitled The Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile and the Jews during World War 2 (1938-1948) and the work presented in the thesis are both my own, and have been generated by me as the result of my own original research. I confirm that: this work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; I have acknowledged all main sources of help; where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; parts of this work have been published as: Láníček, Jan, ‘The Czechoslovak Jewish Political Exile in Great Britain during World War Two’, in Brinson, Charmian – Malet, Marian (eds.), Exile in and from Czechoslovakia during the 1930s and 1940s. The Yearbook of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies , Volume 11 (2009), pp. 167-182; Láníček, Jan, ‘‘To Get a Refusal Would Result in an Unfortunate Loss of Prestige’: The Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile and the Holocaust’, in Holocaust Studies. A Journal of Culture and History , Volume 14, no. 3, Winter 2008, pp. 119-141. Signed: ……………………………………………………………………….. Date: ……………………………………………………………………………. 6 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the support of my PhD Supervisor, Professor Tony Kushner, who patiently read and commented on all my drafts during the three years of my PhD and previously during my MA. Also Professor Mark Cornwall contributed with valuable comments during my MPhil/PhD upgrade and during our subsequent meetings. The staff of the Parkes Institute provided a stimulating and supportive community that helped during these fruitful three years. Special thanks go for all their support to Frances Clarke, who commented on the last draft of my thesis, and to Dr James Jordan. In any case, all mistakes are the sole responsibility of the author. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the PhD community at the University of Southampton that provided a healthy environment for my research and writing. My extensive archival research was facilitated by friendly staff in all the archives and libraries I visited. I do not wish to list all the archivists and librarians who responded to my endless enquiries about their holdings, because I would inevitably forget to mention all of them. I would like to thank the University of Southampton and the AHRC for the studentship that allowed me to pursue my PhD research in the first place. Furthermore, research grants from the Rothschild Foundation Europe, the Jacob Marcus Rader Center of the American Jewish Archives and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library enabled me to research archival holdings in Israel and the United States that form a significant part of the primary sources used in my thesis. My enduring gratitude goes to my family, my parents and grandparents and to my fiancée Emine who offered never-ending support during the last almost two years. 7 List of Abbreviations ABS Archives of the Security Forces of the Ministry of Interior AČR Archives of the Czech Radio AfZ Das Archiv für Zeitgeschichte AJA American Jewish Archives AJJDC American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee AJHS American Jewish Historical Society AKPR Archives of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic AMZV Archives of the Czech Foreign Ministry APNP Archives of the Memorial of the National Literature AÚTGM Archives of the Institute of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk AZEC American Zionist Emergency Council BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BoD Board of Deputies BS WJC British Section of the World Jewish Congress CAC Churchill Archives
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