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URI [dataset] UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES FROM ‘UNDESIRABLE ALIEN’ TO PROUD BRITISH JEWRY: THE JEWISH IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE IN MEMORY AND HISTORY, 1881 TO PRESENT Samuel Hawkins Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2017 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES History Doctor of Philosophy FROM ‘UNDESIRABLE ALIEN’ TO PROUD BRITISH JEWRY: THE JEWISH IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE IN MEMORY AND HISTORY, 1881 TO PRESENT Samuel Hawkins This thesis examines the changing representations of the Eastern European Jewish immigrant experience in Britain from the period of mass immigration to the twenty-first century. A broadly generational approach has been adopted, enabling the study to explore the continuity and change within private and popular narratives regarding Jewish immigration and settlement. This structure permits the study to trace the development of popular myths and memory, particularly regarding the Jewish East End. It highlights the generational divisions which have seen facets of Eastern European Jewish culture remembered fondly in popular memory today, compared to their negative portrayal by society during the era of mass immigration. Moreover, this approach explores the development of identity, with ‘Eastern European’, ‘Jewish’ and ‘English’ identities being navigated, contested, and reconciled by the children and grandchildren of the first generation of immigrant Jewry. Comparisons are made with American popular representations of the Lower East Side, which has been immortalised as the definitive site of American Jewish memory. It is this comparison, alongside the thesis’ approach of examining self-representations over time which offers a fresh perspective of Jewish history in Britain. Central to this thesis accordingly, is the wide range of media analysed. Artwork, photographs, memoirs, oral history, exhibitions and museums, are all considered as sources of self-expression available to immigrant Jewry and successive generations. Such materials have been supplemented by governmental and institutional reports, along with depictions of the Jewish East End in film and television. It is by appraising how these sources have represented immigrant Jews and their children, both individually and as part of a larger phenomenon, which underscores the originality of the thesis in engaging with the history and memory of immigrant Jewry. This thesis has been organised into three, chronologically structured chapters. The first investigates contemporary representations of both immigrant Jewry and the Jewish East End during the period of mass immigration. After discussing the limited amount of written testimony, the chapter focuses on visual representations. Both the visual depictions of nouveau riche immigrants and the artistic creations of talented young artists are considered, with the defensive and ‘English’ nature of these images assessed. From this foundation, Chapter Two explores the early written testimony of the second generation, defining these as accounts created before the 1960s. Within the chapter the narratives of success and acceptance of notable public figures such as Selig Brodetsky are contrasted with the marginalised counter-narratives of individuals such as socialist author Willy Goldman. The final chapter explores the extent to which early dominant narratives of origin and success have been embraced in private and popular memory by the following generation. Here, the widest selection of materials is assessed, reflecting the increased forms of self-expression available from the 1960s onward. With the Jewish East End regarded as ‘disappearing’, and a stronger and more confident modern sense of identity, nostalgia for what were originally regarded as undesirable traits flourished within popular memory. Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 1 A Historiography of the Jewish Immigrant in Britain 2 Popular History, the ‘Memory Boom’ and the Jewish East End 16 A Point of Comparison: The Development of American Jewish Memory 20 A Study of Modern British Jewish Self-Representation and Memory 23 Chapter One: Contemporary Representations 29 The Problems of Contemporary Representations 29 Photographs of the Jewish Immigrant 40 The Jewish East End and the World of Art 67 Conclusions 104 Chapter Two: Early Engagement and the Second Generation 107 of Memory Second Generation Tensions 107 The Challenges of Memory 110 I) Tales of Origin 113 II) Family and Home 122 III) Religious Life 130 IV) Education 137 V) Employment 145 VI) Community 156 Conclusions 168 Chapter Three: The ‘Memory Boom’ and the Third Generation 171 of Memory The Rise of History from Below, or Nostalgia? 171 Tolerant Britain? 176 I) ‘Myths of Origin’ 185 II) Family and Home 196 III) Religious Life 211 IV) Education 222 V) Employment 232 VI) Community 242 Conclusions 258 Conclusion: Memory and Narrative 261 Bibliography 277 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Samuel Hawkins, declare that this thesis entitled ‘From ‘Undesirable Alien’ to Proud British Jewry: The Jewish Immigrant Experience in Memory and History, 1881 to Present’ and the work presented in the thesis are both my own, 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; • None of this work has been published before submission. Signed: ............................................................................................................................................... Date: ............................................................................................................................................... Acknowledgements I would like to thank the University of Southampton for providing the means and resources to make this thesis possible. I would also like to acknowledge the great help and support which was provided throughout my research by the staff at the Hartley and Parkes Library, the Special Collections (University of Southampton), the Tower Hamlets Library and Archive, and the London Jewish Museum. A very special thank you to Tony Kushner, whose knowledge, encouragement and patience throughout this project has been of great importance. Further special thanks to Claire Le Foll, whose guidance and suggestions have helped to develop this thesis. To you both I owe great gratitude. I would also like to thank all the staff within the Parkes Institute, who have offered advice and support throughout my study. A further thanks to my friends and family for all their love and support. Special mention to both my parents and Katie, who have had to put up with my ramblings about research and writing. Thank you for all the reassurance and self-confidence which you provided me over the years. Introduction Both the ‘East End’ and ‘Jewish East End’ are literary constructions.1 Far from fixed and categorical, the very nature of both in popular imagination has shifted markedly over the years. The experience of Eastern European immigrant Jewry, and representations of this community are often bound with the history and memory of the Jewish East End, and powerfully communicate the malleable nature of both the area (both ‘real’ and ‘imagined’), and minority history. Academic literature, however, has tended to overlook the generational transformation in both personal narratives and the history of immigrant Jewry. Whilst much research has been conducted concerning the settlement of Jewish immigrants, the responses of English society towards them, and specific facets of the Jewish East End and immigrant culture, emphasis is missing on the development of the community’s history within the spheres of private and public memory. That the East End was contentious in the public domain during the era of mass immigration has been much examined, with anti-alienists such as Arnold White proclaiming that ‘London shall be for Londoners, not for alien hordes debilitated by social and