This book explores a facet of British propaganda during the Second World War that has previously hardly been addressed or considered: the apparent anomaly that much of Britain's wartime propaganda was prepared and delivered by foreigners, not least those officially designated as 'enemy aliens'. German-speaking refugees were involved in every aspect of British propaganda: for the Ministry of Information; the BBC and for the intelligence organisations such as Electra House, the Special Operations Executive and the Political Warfare Executive. They played a significant role in propaganda designed for the Home Front, for neutral and Allied countries, and in propaganda directed at the enemy, and were engaged in both 'white' and 'black' (i.e. covert) materials. The book considers the preparedness of the British authorities to avail themselves of the talents of the 'enemy aliens' and the eagerness of many of the refugees to contribute to the British war effort. They brought with them knowledge of every aspect of their home countries as well as their obvious linguistic skills, all of which could be usefully exploited for propaganda purposes. Refugee artists, writers, journalists, broadcasters, actors and academics were all drawn into different aspects of the British propaganda mill. The relationship between the British authorities and the refugees proved a mutually beneficial one. Inevitably, however, problems arose, ranging from internment, through deportation to espionage. All in all, it examines and evaluates an intriguing aspect of British wartime propaganda, the hitherto largely unacknowledged contribution made by German-speaking refugees to the British war effort.
The Austrian Centre was established in London in 1939 by Austrians seeking refuge from Nazi Germany, of whom 30,000 had reached Britain by the outbreak of World War II. It soon developed into a comprehensive social, cultural and political organisation with a theatre and a weekly newspaper of its own. A Communist-influenced organisation, it also followed a distinct political agenda. In the first book on the cultural and political life of Austrian refugees in Britain, "Out of Austria" assesses and evaluates the Austrian Centre's activities and achievements, while also examining the Austrians' often fraught relations with their British hosts. It gives a fascinating insight into such figures as Sigmund Freud, who became the Centre's Honorary President during his final months and the poet Erich Fried, then an unknown seventeen-year-old, k and sheds light on the interaction of politics and culture against the background of exile in wartime Britain.
This is an unusual book, telling a story which has hitherto remained hidden from history: the surveillance by the British security service MI5 of anti-Nazi refugees who came to Britain fleeing political persecution in Germany and Austria. Based on the personal and organisational files that MI5 kept on political refugees during the 1930s and 1940s – which have only recently been released into the public domain – this study also fills a considerable gap in historical research. Telling a story of absorbing interest, which at times reads more like spy fiction, it is both a study of MI5 and of the political refugees themselves. The book will interest academics in the fields of history, politics, intelligence studies, Jewish studies, German studies and migration studies; but it is also accessible to the general reader interested in Britain before, during and after the Second World War.
The exodus of men, women and children fleeing from the Nazi regime was one of the largest diasporas the world has ever seen. It sparked an international refugee crisis that changed society and continues to shape our culture and community today. The years between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi era in Germany, and the war years, 1939 to 1945, were a time of destruction, upheaval and misery throughout Europe and beyond. Displacement and death, whether in war or civilian life, became everyday experiences, for young and old alike. Families were torn apart by enforced emigration or deportation. Parents were separated from their children, husbands from wives, brothers from sisters. Interned in camps that spread across the globe from Shanghai to the United States of America to the Isle of Man, they became strangers in a foreign land and often the only link they had to their former lives were letters exchanged with friends and family. These scarce postal communications, therefore, assumed huge significance in the lives of both sender and receiver, one that is hard to imagine today in the age of instant communication. Fleeing from the Führer is an unusual collection of correspondence that shows the incredible nature of this worldwide emigration and the indomitable spirit of these refugees. Each postcard, envelope and item of ephemera tells its own unique story and is reproduced in full colour, making this a fascinating resource for anyone wanting to understand this poignant part of our international history.
When the artist Hugo Dachinger asked to paint the portrait of diarist Wilhelm Hollitscher a new friendship was born. Both men, refugees from the Nazis, were interned in the Huyton Internment Camp in 1940. However, they refused to let the experience daunt them, with Dachinger manufacturing his art materials from anything to hand and Hollitscher continuing his life-long habit of diary keeping. Hollitscher's diary provides a vivid account of daily life in the camp along with wider political comment, while Dachinger staged exhibitions of his work in the camp entitled Behind the Wire. Both men found being interned as an 'enemy alien' traumatic, but were able to draw strength from the experience. The context is set by three chapters. Professor Charmian Brinson writes about the history of internment and Churchill's shameful policy to 'collar the lot'; Rachel Dickson elucidates Dachinger's work in the camp and Ines Newman, the granddaughter of Wilhelm Hollitscher, provides a portrait of her grandfather's background and life. The book reveals the true experience of life in captivity and is as relevant to today's injustices as it is an account of unjust treatment in the past.
This is an unusual book, telling a story which has hitherto remained hidden from history: the surveillance by the British security service MI5 of anti-Nazi refugees who came to Britain fleeing political persecution in Germany and Austria. Based on the personal and organisational files that MI5 kept on political refugees during the 1930s and 1940s – which have only recently been released into the public domain – this study also fills a considerable gap in historical research. Telling a story of absorbing interest, which at times reads more like spy fiction, it is both a study of MI5 and of the political refugees themselves. The book will interest academics in the fields of history, politics, intelligence studies, Jewish studies, German studies and migration studies; but it is also accessible to the general reader interested in Britain before, during and after the Second World War.
The exodus of men, women and children fleeing from the Nazi regime was one of the largest diasporas the world has ever seen. It sparked an international refugee crisis that changed society and continues to shape our culture and community today.The years between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi era in Germany, and the war years, 1939 to 1945, were a time of destruction, upheaval and misery throughout Europe and beyond. Displacement and death, whether in war or civilian life, became everyday experiences, for young and old alike. Families were torn apart by enforced emigration or deportation. Parents were separated from their children, husbands from wives, brothers from sisters. Interned in camps that spread across the globe from Shanghai to the United States of America to the Isle of Man, they became strangers in a foreign land and often the only link they had to their former lives were letters exchanged with friends and family. These scarce postal communications, therefore, assumed huge significance in the lives of both sender and receiver, one that is hard to imagine today in the age of instant communication.Fleeing from the Führer is an unusual collection of correspondence that shows the incredible nature of this worldwide emigration and the indomitable spirit of these refugees. Each postcard, envelope and item of ephemera tells its own unique story and is reproduced in full colour, making this a fascinating resource for anyone wanting to understand this poignant part of our international history.
The Austrian Centre was established in London in 1939 by Austrians seeking refuge from Nazi Germany, of whom 30,000 had reached Britain by the outbreak of World War II. It soon developed into a comprehensive social, cultural and political organisation with a theatre and a weekly newspaper of its own. A Communist-influenced organisation, it also followed a distinct political agenda. In the first book on the cultural and political life of Austrian refugees in Britain, "Out of Austria" assesses and evaluates the Austrian Centre's activities and achievements, while also examining the Austrians' often fraught relations with their British hosts. It gives a fascinating insight into such figures as Sigmund Freud, who became the Centre's Honorary President during his final months and the poet Erich Fried, then an unknown seventeen-year-old, k and sheds light on the interaction of politics and culture against the background of exile in wartime Britain.
This is an unusual book, telling a story which has hitherto remained hidden from history: the surveillance by the British security service MI5 of anti-Nazi refugees who came to Britain fleeing political persecution in Germany and Austria. Based on the personal and organisational files that MI5 kept on political refugees during the 1930s and 1940s – which have only recently been released into the public domain – this study also fills a considerable gap in historical research. Telling a story of absorbing interest, which at times reads more like spy fiction, it is both a study of MI5 and of the political refugees themselves. The book will interest academics in the fields of history, politics, intelligence studies, Jewish studies, German studies and migration studies; but it is also accessible to the general reader interested in Britain before, during and after the Second World War.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.