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Britain and Rescue: Government Policy and the Jewish Refugees 1942-1943

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Britain and Rescue: Government Policy and the Jewish Refugees 1942-1943 Northumbria Research Link Citation: Packer, Diana (2017) Britain and rescue: Government policy and the Jewish refugees 1942-1943. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University. This version was downloaded from Northumbria Research Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/36287/ Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. Single copies of full items can be reproduced, displayed or performed, and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided the authors, title and full bibliographic details are given, as well as a hyperlink and/or URL to the original metadata page. The content must not be changed in any way. Full items must not be sold commercially in any format or medium without formal permission of the copyright holder. The full policy is available online: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/policies.html BRITAIN AND RESCUE: GOVERNMENT POLICY AND THE JEWISH REFUGEES 1942-1943 DIANA JOAN PACKER PHD 2017 BRITAIN AND RESCUE: GOVERNMENT POLICY AND THE JEWISH REFUGEES 1942-1943 DIANA JOAN PACKER A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Northumbria at Newcastle for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Research undertaken in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Social Sciences OCTOBER 2017 Abstract. This thesis is an analysis of the initial responses of the British government to the Holocaust focusing on refugee policy. In particular, it seeks to re-examine the role of anti- Semitism as an influencing factor on government decision-making and argues that current historiography underplays that influence. It will argue that the government’s fear of anti- Semitism itself betrayed some anti-Jewish assumptions. These fears were used as a means to counter demands for rescue, as the government wanted to ensure that its immigration policies were unchanged and continued to be exclusionary. The thesis also examines how the leaders of the Anglo-Jewish community responded to, and engaged with, these policies.. This study is based on extensive archival research and makes a detailed analysis of both government and private papers including correspondence from Eleanor Rathbone, William Temple, The Board of Deputies of British Jews and Rabbi Schonfeld. Other resources have included newspapers – The Times, The Jewish Chronicle and the Guardian – contemporary accounts in books and magazines, parliamentary speeches as well as material fron the Parliamentary Committee on Refugees. The thesis is arranged into a series of case studies that exemplify the complexity of responses to Nazi anti-Jewish policy but also draw attention to significant continuities in exclusionary thinking. The first chapter considers the Evian Conference and argues that the government only ever intended that the conference should end with no change to its immigration policies. Chapters Two and Three consider the government response to schemes for the rescue of children in France in 1942 and Bulgaria in 1943 and argue that such rescue schemes were little more than a charitable façade. The thesis ends by looking critically at the Bermuda Conference and its aftermath in 1943 and ultimately concludes that the government remit at Bermuda was similar to the Evian Conference: public expression of noble sentiments with no intention of easing the immigration laws or providing assistance to Jewish refugees trapped in Nazi Europe, the approach which defined British government attitudes throughout. i ii Contents List of Abbreviations v Acknowledgements vi Author’s Declaration viii Introduction. 1 Differing historical perspectives 5 The government reaction to the Jewish refugees from 1933-1945 5 The divisions within the Jewish Community 8 The Campaigners 10 The public perception of Jewish refugees 12 The rise of Anti-Semitism in Western Europe during the Nineteenth Century 13 The historiography of British Anti-Semitism 16 The historical background to the reception of Jewish refugees in Britain 26 Methodology and sources 34 Chapter One. The British Government and the plight of European Jews 38 from the Austrian Anschluss. March 1938 to June 1942 Government strategy and the Evian Conference July 1938 38 Refugees and Colonial attitudes 51 Kristallnacht and its aftermath 56 Britain declares war September 1939 63 Anti-Semitism 67 The Public and Anti-Semitism 73 The Response of the Anglo–Jewish Leaders 76 Chapter Two. The acknowledgement of the Holocaust. July 1942 – December 1942 82 Censorship and Propaganda 83 iii The first publication of the extermination reports 86 Germans versus Nazis 95 The initial response of the Campaigners 98 The initial response of the Jewish leaders 99 The government proposal to rescue Jewish children in Vichy France 103 Confronting proof of the Nazi extermination policy 114 The United Nations Declaration – December 17th 1942 116 Chapter Three. The Government response to the campaigners. January - March 1943 121 The influence of Victor Gollancz 122 The unity of the religious leaders 126 The proposed rescue of the Bulgarian Jewish children 136 The aims and goals of the Bermuda Conference in April 1943 147 Government response to the growing Jewish refugee problem 151 The American response 160 The British response to the American proposals – diplomacy and planning 164 Working towards a common goal 169 Campaigning unity 173 Chapter Four. The Bermuda Conference: Success or failure? April – June 1943 The Government objectives at the Bermuda Conference April 1943 183 The Bermuda Conference April 19th – 29th April 1943 189 The public reaction to the Conference communique 196 The debate on The Refugee Problem 19th May 1943 199 Was the debate a success or failure for the Government? 209 Conclusion 218 Bibliography 223 iv List of Abbreviations CAB Cabinet Papers CO Colonial Office CMD Command Papers FO Foreign Office FRUS Foreign Relations of the United States HO Home Office HC House of Commons HL House of Lords INF Ministry of Information JML Jewish Museum London LMA London Metropolitan Archive LPL Lambeth Palace Library PCR Parliamentary Committee on Refugees PREM Prime Minister Files ULL University of Liverpool v Acknowledgements I grew up in Swiss Cottage or as it was commonly called then, German Cottage in North- West London. It was an area which at that time, was still home to the many German and Austrian Jews who had been fortunate enough to reach the safety of Britain prior to World War Two. As a child I did not realise the significance of the mainly continental population in the area but I still remember the bus conductors calling out ‘Finchley Strasse’ rather than Finchley Road, the aroma of coffee wafting from the Cosmo and the Dorice Restaurants with their uniquely continental atmosphere and the amazing display of handmade chocolates in the window of Lessiters Chocolate Shop, which in the early post war era, was a child’s dream come true. The research for this thesis has invoked the memories of my childhood, but in many ways the catalyst for it came from a seminar conducted by Avram Taylor , which triggered my interest in the immigration laws of this country with a particular focus on the arrival of Jewish refugees over a considerable period of time. I wish to extend my thanks to all the staff in the Northumbria History Department who have actively provided the encouragement, assistance and, where, necessary the constructive criticism that has provided the support I have needed to return to studying after my retirement. In thanking all the staff, I would like to single out the late Dr.Alex Cowan who offered me the initial opportunity to study on a part-time degree course. Without his encouragement and support I would have probably quit the course at the end of the first year. I have been fortunate to have had two dedicated supervisors throughout this project and although we have had our differences, their advice, assistance, criticism, feedback and patience has been of immeasurable support for me. Thank you to Tom Lawson and Avram Taylor. Since my research has been concentrated on various archives across the country, my thanks go to the staff in the National Archives, the Wiener Library, the British Library, the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Palace Library and the London Metropolitan Archives for their assistance in providing access to the numerous files and micro-fiches required. These thanks are also extended to the staff at the Hartley Library Southampton, University Library Liverpool and the Modern Records Centre, Warwick University. Finally my thanks to the two people who have provided the support, patience and willingness to listen to my ideas, read my numerous drafts and patiently correct my punctuation and general use of the English language, Ian my husband has lived with the history of the refugees for many years and Dave Williams has not only taken an active interest in my research but has offered relevant pieces of obscure information for my consideration. Thank you both, your support, assistance and patience is deeply appreciated. vi Declaration I declare that the work contained in this thesis has not been submitted for any other award and that it is all my own work. I also confirm that this work fully acknowledges opinions, ideas and contributions from the work of others. Any ethical clearance for the research presented in this thesis has been approved. Approval has been sought and granted by the Research Ethics Committee on 22/5/15. I declare that the Word Count of this Thesis is 81342 Name: Diana Joan Packer Signature: Date 2nd May 2018 vii Introduction When the news of the Nazi policy of Jewish extermination in occupied Europe was publicly acknowledged by the government in 1942, it was faced with a growing demand for aid and rescue to be provided for the European Jews.
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