ASSETS AND LIABILITIES: REFUGEES FROM HUNGARY AND EGYPT IN FRANCE AND IN BRITAIN, 1956-1960 ALEXANDRE DE ARANJO Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy JULY 2013 Abstract This thesis investigates the reception and treatment of the refugees from Hungary and Egypt who arrived in France and in Britain after the Hungarian revolution and the Suez crisis. The thesis argues that the reception of the refugees from Hungary and from Egypt was primarily linked to the French and British immigration policies and influenced by the Cold War context. The first part deals with the creation of the Hungarian refugees and their reception in France and Britain. Chapter two gives a brief account on the Hungarian revolution and what led 200,000 Hungarians to leave their country. Chapter three deals with the reception and treatment of the Hungarian refugees in France, and sets out to demonstrate how the revolution and the refugee situation were first exploited for propagandistic purposes and national political interests. It also examines immigration policy in France and how the Hungarians were to serve France's economic and demographic interests as candidates for immigration. French-Jewish responses to the refugee situation are also explored. Finally, it discusses the effects of the Cold War in the resettlement process. Chapter four explores similar questions about the Hungarians with respect to Britain. The second part of the thesis studies the expulsion of the French, British and stateless Jews from Egypt and their resettlement in France and Britain. Chapter five deals with who the refugees from Egypt were, and the unusual nature of their nationality and cultural background. Chapter six deals with the reception 2 and treatment of refugees from Egypt in France, and focuses on how the French government and administration oscillated between obligation and desire to provide relief to the French Jews of Egypt, as they were not considered to be suitable candidates for resettlement in France according to immigration policies and practices. As most of the refugees from Egypt were Jewish, the chapter also looks at the Jewish specificity of the resettlement policy and how their resettlement made the refugees question their French identity. Chapter seven discusses the reception of the refugees from Egypt in Britain. It analyses the different domestic context regarding the Suez crisis and its impact on the refugees. The question of identity and cultural background is also explored. 3 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Karen Adler. Her comments on my work and her guidance have been greatly appreciated. I am very grateful for her patience and support, and for always being available to discuss the thesis. I would also like to thank Chris Wrigley for his comments and suggestions. I am thankful to the School of History for granting me a scholarship, without which it would have been impossible to do research in Paris and in London. A very special thanks to Jean-Jacques, Martine and Justine De Aranjo. They have believed in me since the beginning, and were incredibly patient and supportive. I wish to thank my wife, Niloofar Bostani, for her love and support, and helping me going through the last stages of the thesis. She gave me more than she knows, and was always there when I needed her the most. I am greatly indebted to Alain Micheneau, Julien and Stéphanie Marquet, Nicolas Cogis and Alexandre Boudazin, who provided accommodation in Paris. I would like to thank all the interviewees who kindly agreed to share their experiences with me, and especially Joe Chalom at the ASPCJE, David Harari at the AJOE, Maurice Maleh, David Hazan and Alec Nacamuli at the Association of Jews from Egypt. I will always remember their help and great hospitality. 4 I wish to acknowledge the help of Bernard Wallon at the SSAE, Laure Politis at the CASIP-COJASOR, Emilie Charrier at the CARAN, Diane Afoumado at the CDJC, Aline Angoustures at the OFPRA, Esther Rinkoff at the Association of Jewish Refugees, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and Jean-Pierre Frommer at the Mardis Hongrois. Many thanks to the following for their support and for making my time in Nottingham so special: François Naud, Yves Gilonne and Kate Crommelin, Peter Janowski, Jara Imbers, Lydie Augé-Smith, Rui Goncalves Miranda, Shilpa Venkatachalam, Pierre-Alexis Mevel, and all at Lincoln Hall. 5 Abbreviations AEAS: Anglo-Egyptian Aid Society AERB: Anglo-Egyptian Resettlement Board AIU: Alliance Israélite Universelle AVH: Államvédelmi Hatóság AVO: Államvédelmi Osztály BCAR: British Council for Aid to Refugees CAB: Citizens' Advice Bureau CBF: Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief CFTC: Confédération Française des Travailleurs Chrétiens CGT-FO: Confédération Générale du Travail - Force Ouvrière CIMADE: Comité Inter-Mouvements Auprès des Evacués CNARH: Comité National d'Accueil des Réfugiés Hongrois CNPF: Conseil National du Patronat Français COJASOR: Comité Juif d'Action Sociale et de Reconstruction CPGB: Communist Party of Great Britain CRF: Croix Rouge Française EVW: European Voluntary Workers FLN: Front de Libération Nationale FSJU: Fonds Social Juif Unifié HIAS: Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society HLM: Habitation à Loyer Modéré ICEM: Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration IFR: International Federation of Resistance Fighters JTS: Jews' Temporary Shelter MEFESZ: League of Hungarian University Students NAB: National Assistance Board NCB: National Coal Board NUM: National Union of Mineworkers OFPRA: Office Français de Protection des Réfugiés et Apatrides ONI: Office National de l'Immigration PCF: Parti Communiste Français PEP: Political and Economic Planning RFE: Radio Free Europe RG: Renseignements Généraux SFIO: Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière SSAE: Service Social d'Aide aux Emigrants TUC: Trades Union Congress UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees WJC: World Jewish Congress WRAC: Women's Royal Army Corps WVS: Women's Voluntary Service 6 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 4 Abbreviations 6 1. Introduction 9 Analysis 15 The Comparative Approach 19 Methodology 23 Historiography 28 Immigration in France and Britain and the Cold War, 1945-1956 54 Part I. 2. Two per cent of the Hungarian population 66 3. Hungarian refugees in France 76 The French government's reaction 78 Popular reactions to the Hungarian revolution 82 Refugees as labour immigrants 100 A land unprepared for asylum 108 Granting asylum or recruiting workers: Hungarian refugees in Yugoslavia 129 Refugee policy - success or failure? The Camp des Cinq Tranchées 133 Attitudes towards naturalisation 136 Conclusion 138 4. Britain and the Refugees from Hungary 140 Responses to the Hungarian crisis 142 The British government's reaction 145 British policy on Hungarian refugees 150 Life in British camps 158 The National Coal Board and useful refugees 167 Anglo-Jewish responses 173 A Communist 'fifth column'? 181 Conclusion 187 Part II. 5. The French and British presence in Egypt and the Jewish Community 190 6. From French Jews in Egypt to Jews from Egypt in France 207 The expulsion of French nationals and stateless Jews 209 The reception of refugees from Egypt in France 218 Arrival in France 229 Effects of resettlement policies on refugees 245 Limitations of French identity 250 Conclusion 264 7 7. Anglo-Egyptian refugees in Britain 269 Responses to the Suez Crisis 272 The expulsion of Anglo-Egyptians 276 The reception of Anglo-Egyptians: first phase 292 The Anglo-Egyptian Resettlement Board: second phase 298 Hostel life 308 Questioning differences of treatment 322 Anglo-Jewry and the Egyptians 328 Leaving the hostels 332 Conclusion 337 8. Conclusion 342 Bibliography 352 8 1. Introduction The Hungarian revolution on 23 October 1956, and its repression by the Soviet army on 4 November, created 200,000 Hungarian refugees. At the same time in Egypt, the Israeli military intervened on 29 October, joined by France and Britain on 31 October to claim back the Suez canal, precipitated the expulsion of approximately 40,000 Jews, mainly French and British nationals by the Egyptian government. Out of this total of 240,000 refugees, 52,000 sought refuge in Britain and France. Almost 22,000 refugees from Hungary and 6,000 from Egypt went to Britain, while 13,000 Hungarians and 11,000 refugees from Egypt went to France. 1 This thesis deals with the creation of these two groups of refugees and their reception by France and Britain, and the refugees' responses. This study of two groups of refugees, which arrived in France and in Britain within a few weeks of each other, interrogates the links between immigration policies and two major Cold War events. Moreover, it uncovers the similarities and differences in the treatment of two different groups of refugees in two different countries, and the reasons for that. The reception and treatment of these two waves of refugees have been left almost unexplored, and aside from the politics of Hungarian refugees and the disappearance of the Jewish community in Egypt, 1 Michael M. Laskier, The Jews of Egypt, 1920-1970: In the Midst of Zionism, Anti-Semitism and the Middle East Conflict (New York, 1992), p.264; Centre des Archives Contemporaines (CAC), 20050590, art. 120, Situation of Hungarian refugees on 15 December 1957, 28 December 1957; The National Archives (TNA), AST 7/1623, R.A. Butler statement at the House of Commons on Hungarian refugees in Britain, 20 February 1958; COJASOR (COJ).R.Egy.A1, Dix ans d'action sociale en faveur des Réfugiés d'Égypte (1956-1966), n.d.; TNA, HO 240/5, Anglo-Egyptian Resettlement Board (AERB), final report, March 1960. These numbers do not include diplomatic and Suez company staffs. 9 the historiography is sparse.2 This thesis draws on unutilised archives as well as original interviews of former refugees to add to our knowledge of the Hungarian and Egyptian refugee immigrations in France and Britain.