[H.
Reactions
abroad to the Reichskristallnacht / crystal night and
to the split of CSSR]
[6.26. England's policy: 63-65,000 Jewish
refugees by the end of 1939]
Great Britain was a special case as far as the refugees
were concerned. In the wake of the November pogrom
[Crystal Night Nov 1938], Britain's refugee population
grew to 13,500 by January 1939. However, both government
and public opinion were under a special kind of moral
pressure. To a certain degree the government felt
responsible for the Munich settlement and for the events
that followed. Then there was Palestine, where since
October 1938 it had been clear that a pro-Arab compromise
that would put an end to Jewish immigration was planned.
In early December the government turned a deaf ear to the
demand of the Jewish Agency to allow the immigration of
10,000 children from Germany and Austria to Palestine.
(End note 125:
Hansard
Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords, vol. 111,
no. 13, col. 463, 12/8/38, speech by Lord Dufferin)
But it felt that an alternative should be offered. The
alternative was to create a sanctuary for children in the
United Kingdom itself. In addition, an arrangement was
offered whereby Jewish women could come to Britain to work
as domestic servants. Other visas for adults with good
recommendations could also be obtained. (p.270)
[21 Nov 1938: Britain:
11,000 Jewish refugees bring work for 15,000 Britons]
In the debate on refugees in the British House of Commons
on November 21, 1938, the home secretary pointedly
referred to the fact that the 11,000 refugees from Hitler
who had been admitted to Britain had already provided
employment for 15,000 Britons. (p.274)
[End 1939: 63-65,000
Jewish refugees in Britain]
By the end of 1939 there were between 63,000 and 65,000
refugees in Britain. Of these, 9,354 were children and
15,000 were domestic servants.
(End note 126:
-- R21, 1939 draft report;
-- 12-22, report, 1933-43
This large-scale acceptance of Jewish refugees, while
welcomed by a large part of the British public, did not go
completely unchallenged.
(End note 127: See, for example: Sunday Pictorial, 1/20/39
[20 Jan 1939]: Refugees Get Jobs; Britons Get Dole.
But the climate in Britain in early 1939, and especially
later, as it became clear that Hitler would not keep the
promise he gave at Munich, was no longer unfavorable to
the refugees. Many - 7-8,000 - were liberated from
concentration camps on the strength of British entry
permits.
[Since Nov 1938: Fund
raising by the Council for German Jewry - aid to
refugees]
The Council for German Jewry started its collection after
the (p.270)
November pogrom [1938]. It collected 850,000 pounds up to
the outbreak of war. Of this very large sum, 286,000
pounds were allocated for the care of refugees in England;
145,270 pounds were not allocated at the time but were
used later, during the war, to support refugees in
Britain. The rest went to support work in Palestine,
Shanghai and other places.
[Dec 1938 approx.:
Baldwin Fund for Refugees set up]
Others were also making financial efforts. Under Earl
Baldwin's leadership, the Baldwin Fund for Refugees was
founded; it collected 400,000 pounds. It was estimated
that 90 % of the contributors to this fund were Jews; 50 %
of the money collected went to support the work of the
Council for German Jewry.
(End note 128: Joseph L. Cohen: Salvaging German Jewry;
London 1939)
A number of smaller Christian committees were coordinated
under the leadership of Lord Hailey in the Christian
Council for Refugees.
[Change within the
Council for German Jewry: Samuel goes - Reading comes]
The Council for German Jewry itself was transformed; in
February, Lord Samuel resigned and Lord Reading became
chairman. With this change all pretence that the council
represented the American organizations, and especially
JDC, came to an end. It became officially what it had long
been in fact: a purely British institution, which
cooperated with JDC but in no sense represented it.
[Camps for Jewish
refugees and emigration expectations]
One of the more fruitful ideas advanced at that hectic
time by those favoring the entry of Jewish refugees into
Britain was to create large camps for adults and children
where the refugees could remain until more permanent homes
were found for them. Kahn cabled that the idea was in the
"meantime (to) erect camps (and) training centers wherever
possible for (the) young generation."
(End note 129: 14-60, Kahn cable, 11/14/38 [14 November
1938])
The largest such camp was opened at Richborough (Kitchener
Camp). Of course, the acceptance of refugees into Britain
was considered largely a temporary measure, and most, if
not all, refugees were expected ultimately to emigrate to
other countries.
(End note 130: Hyman at Executive Committee, 1/26/39 [26
January 1939])
[Jewish illegal
immigration to England by boat - protection of boat
people]
During the last months before the outbreak of war, illegal
immigration was attempted even into Britain on a small
scale. It is symptomatic that British sailors were
reported to have facilitated such immigration and that
British judges were inclined to recommend that such
immigrants not be deported. (p.271)
(End note 131: 31-Germany, refugees, 1939-42, 2/21/39 [21
February 1939], Adler to Borchardt)
