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VOLUME 12 NO.11 novEMBER 2012 The Association of Jewish Refugees/ British Academy Appeal nclosed with this month’s issue, recipient institution. the classicist Maurice Bowra, the art his- readers will find a funding appeal The British Academy, which received torian Kenneth Clark, the archaeologist Eissued jointly in the names of the its Royal Charter from King Edward VII Mortimer Wheeler and the historians Association of Jewish Refugees and the in 1902, is the most prestigious British Alan Bullock, A. J. P. Taylor and Max Be- British Academy. It is now nearly 50 years institution that supports and promotes the loff, among a host of other famous names. since the two organisations were first humanities and social sciences. One of the Current fellows include George Steiner, formally associated, through the Thank- great national learned societies, it occupies the literary scholar, the historian David You Britain Fund, which the AJR set up a place in those fields comparable to that Cannadine, the classicist Mary Beard, in 1963 and which was so successful that of the august Royal Society in the sciences. the political scientist Vernon Bogdanor it raised the sum of £96,000, principally The Academy is one of the leading bodies (David Cameron’s tutor at Oxford), the from the refugees from Nazism who had that funds research in the arts and social archaeologist Barry Cunliffe, the philo- fled to Britain. sciences in Britain, across a wide range sopher Roger Scruton, the professor of A cheque for this amount, worth almost of academic disciplines from history, linguistics David Crystal, and the political £1 million in today’s money, was philosopher Quentin Skinner. formally handed to the British With the agreement of the AJR, Academy at a ceremony in the the Academy used the money raised Saddlers’ Hall in the City of London by the Thank-You Britain Fund to on 8 November 1965. (The date was establish a research fellowship, presumably chosen to fall as close the Thank-Offering to Britain as possible to the anniversary of the Fellowship. This was intended, as its Kristallnacht pogrom of November founding statutes stated, to promote 1938.) Photos of Sir Hans Krebs, research into ‘human studies widely the Nobel Prize-winning scientist, interpreted and their bearing on the who handed over the cheque well-being of the inhabitants of the on behalf of the AJR, and Lord United Kingdom’. The Fellowship is Lionel Robbins, the distinguished now awarded alongside the highly economist, who accepted it in his respected Leverhulme Trust Senior capacity as President of the British Research Fellowships, which are Academy, are on the reverse side Lord Lionel Robbins (left) and Sir Hans Krebs awarded annually to established of the leaflet. scholars in mid-career, to enable The story of the Thank-You Britain philosophy, literature and languages to them to take a year’s leave to carry out Fund as seen from the viewpoint of the law, politics, psychology and economics. a major piece of research. Competition AJR and its members was told in our issue As its website states, ‘Our purpose is to for these awards is extremely fierce, and of May 2005. This article concentrates inspire, recognise and support excellence only scholars of genuinely high distinction instead on the British Academy, while in the humanities and social sciences, (and considerable productivity) are also explaining the reasons behind the throughout the UK and internationally, considered in the awards process. So the new funding appeal. The Fund originated and to champion their role and value.’ Fellowship, originally funded by an appeal in 1963 out of a proposal that the Jewish The Academy also functions as an to the refugees from Hitler, has taken refugees from Central Europe should independent fellowship that represents its place at the highest level of British make a public gesture of thanks to their the humanities and social sciences and academic and intellectual life. adopted homeland, to be paid for by their consists of some 1,000 distinguished Recipients of the Thank-Offering to donations; accordingly, an appeal was scholars. The list of its past fellows reads Britain Fellowship have included such launched. The AJR, which was responsible like a role call of the greatest names in outstanding scholars as Hew Strachan, for the administration of the Fund, its subject areas: the economists J. M. the historian of the First World War, and resolved that the money raised should be Keynes, William Beveridge and Friedrich Stefan Collini, the authority on English devoted to scholarly research that would Hayek, the philosophers A. J. Ayer, Karl literature and intellectual history. Since benefit British society. It decided that Popper and Isaiah Berlin, the writer- 2008, when the Academy re-established the British Academy was the appropriate scholars C. S. Lewis and Henry Moore, continued overleaf AJR JOURNAL novEMBER 2012 AJR/British Academy Appeal cont. from page 1 Kristallnacht a closer relationship with the AJR, this readers to consider making a donation, 74th Anniversary journal has reported annually on the however small. One of the most impress- Memorial Service recipients of the Thank-Offering to Britain ive documents that I discovered when Belsize Square Synagogue Fellowships, Dr Patricia Clavin (Jesus researching the original Thank-You Wednesday 7 November 2012 College, Oxford), Dr Alexander Lingas Britain Fund was the list of donors from at 2 pm (City University, London) and Dr Eugene the 1960s, some 3,000 names long, most Guest Speaker: Trudy Gold, Rogan (St Antony’s College, Oxford); of them ‘ordinary’ refugees who could not Executive Director, London these are scholars of outstanding ability afford more than relatively small amounts, Jewish Cultural Centre working in subject areas broadly related but who were determined to contribute to Please join us for a service to com­ to the concerns of the Jews who fled from a project that reflected the values of their memorate the 74th anniversary Hitler to Britain. community and was of benefit to British of Kristallnacht at Belsize Square The fact that money raised by the society. The Fellowships have also created Synagogue on Wednesday 7 November 2012 at 2 pm. refugees from Hitler has funded research a lasting memorial to the Jewish refugees of such prestigious quality over nearly half from Hitler who settled in Britain. Now Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg will lead the service and light refresh­ a century should be a matter of great pride that the generation of the refugees them- ments will be served at its conclusion. to the refugee community, and especially selves is disappearing, the Fellowship’s We are arranging free transport to AJR members. The original decision function as a memorial to our community to and from the Synagogue with to dedicate the Thank-You Britain Fund takes on ever greater significance. collections in Stanmore, Golders to academic scholarship reflected the The Thank-You Britain Fund brought Green and at Finchley Road Station. high tradition of respect for education the AJR into contact with the cream Please contact Karin Pereira at and learning widespread in German and of British intellectual life. The Fund’s AJR Head Office on 020 8385 Austrian Jewry, which had a reverence patrons, including representatives of 3070 or at [email protected] if you for Bildung unusual even among Jews, the British Academy and the refugees would like to travel on the coach. the ‘People of the Book’. That tradition from Hitler, could scarcely have been remains one of the outstanding features more eminent. They were Lord Robbins, of our community today, and it is one that President of the British Academy and Lord Robbins, Sir Mortimer Wheeler, this journal strives to maintain. author of the Robbins Report of 1963 on Sir Isaiah Berlin, the historian Sir Denis However, the capital sum from which higher education; Sir Isaiah Berlin, one of Brogan, the anthropologist Sir Raymond the Thank-Offering to Britain Fellowship the great intellectual figures of his day; the Firth, H. L. A. Hart, Professor of Jurispru- is funded has been gradually eroded, scientists Sir Ernest Chain and Sir Hans dence at Oxford, the Nobel Prize-winning so that the Fellowship can no longer be Krebs, the two refugees from Nazism who economist Sir John Hicks, and Professor awarded every year. This is threatening had won Nobel Prizes by 1964; and Sir Arnaldo Momigliano, a former refugee what is arguably the greatest single Ludwig Guttmann, director of the Stoke from Mussolini’s Italy. Through the cur- contribution that the Jewish refugees Mandeville Spinal Injuries Centre (see our rent appeal, it is hoped to continue the collectively have made to British public September 2012 issue). The committee AJR’s participation in this high tradition of life. To preserve that contribution, the AJR responsible for administering the Fund scholarship. Readers will be kept informed and the British Academy are launching an included Alfred Dresel, then chairman of the progress of the appeal. appeal intended to replenish the fund on of the AJR, and Werner Rosenstock, its Anthony Grenville which the British Academy can draw. The general secretary, and its co-chairmen Academy wishes to use the money raised were AJR vice-chairman Werner Behr to overhaul and modernise the awards. and Victor Ross, who, as readers know, The Association of It intends to establish annual research still wields an active pen. Jewish Refugees grants of £10,000, which will be awarded The calibre of the members of the to younger scholars, to enable them committee appointed within the British in Great Britain to conduct the first pieces of research Academy to oversee the Fellowship re- Benevolent Society so vital to their career development; flected the importance that the Academy and to create an updated version of the attached to the refugees’ gift to Britain: The Thank-Offering to Britain Fellowship Special General Meeting to consider the proposed better suited to academic research in the AJR Chief Executive twenty-first century.

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