Oliwia's posts

‘The British Communist Party’s National Jewish Committee and the fight against Anti-Semitism during the Second World War’ by Henry Srebrnik

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This blog post is concentrated around an article by Henry Srebrnik titled ‘The British Communist Party’s National Jewish Committee and the fight against Anti-Semitism during the Second World War’.

The structure of the article is simple. Following an introduction, the author divides the article into three sections: political campaign against domestic fascists, the National Jewish Committee and the Communist approach to Anti-Semitism and finally, the 1945 General Election. The article details the fight against anti-Semitism very well and is greatly informative.

Within the introduction, the author states that one should not be fooled by thinking that being at war with Germany meant that British society was free from anti-Semitism, as that is contrary to the truth as anti-Semitic groups experienced a rise during the war years.

 

The first section of the main body of the article speaks of a several things. The author makes clear the frustration of the Jewish community following the internment of ‘enemy aliens’ which meant that in some cases Jewish refugees were confined alongside Nazi followers. The anti-Semitic feeling was evident especially through the accusation of Jewish people being at heart of the black market, not only as individuals but also as a community due to the apparent involvement of synagogues. Srebrnik points out that there was attempts made to counter-argue that, for example by Willie Gallacher who was the Communist MP for West Fife (1943). The National Council for Civil Liberties was actively fighting against anti-Semitism in 1943 as they firstly, proposed legislation which would make anti-Semitism and fascist a criminal offence, and later held a conference in London to plan a nationwide campaign against anti-Semitism. The article also points out that the Board of Deputies opposed the possible new legislation on the grounds that it would not be successful. Srebrnik highlights the effectiveness of the Communist campaign through stating that it results in more than 300 organisations calling the Home Secretary to ban the British National Party.

 

In the second section of the article, Srebrnik provides an overview of the general anti-Semitic and anti-Fascist stance of the Communist Party and states that especially in the year up to 1935 approach was a reductionist one. However, post-1935 their approach changed as they began to seek the support of the Jewish community. Srebrnik also goes to define anti-semitism as a tactic of fascist politics, not a conflict between cultures or religions and was to be combatted by appealing to the self-interest of workers. Overall, the article states that the Communist Party – especially after 1941 was rather sympathetic towards the Jewish Community and dedicated their politics to fight for their freedom from discrimination.

 

In the final section of the article, the author highlights the National Jewish Committee’s (NJC) stance in favouring a Labour or progressive government as they were the only ones who could combat anti-Semitism. The NJC also argued that the Tories ‘co-existed with Mosley and the Nazism in Europe’ which makes them unsuitable for eliminating anti-Semitism in Britain. Srebrnik finishes the article by presenting an analysis of the Communist Party’s manifesto, which overall mirrored that of the Labour Party with the exception of a couple of policies.

Justin's posts

Neil Wynn, ‘Race War’: Black American GIs and West Indians in Britain During The Second World War’

jum00077 |

The article, ‘Race War’: Black American GIs and West Indians in Britain During The Second World War by Neil Wynn, shows how the racial prejudices portrayed by the British and American troops were more closely aligned than the British cared to admit. This article draws an interesting comparison between how African Americans soldiers were highly perceived by the broader British public, compared to the hostility which was usually shown towards the black ethno-groups from the British colonies.

The irony of the situation was not lost on Wynn either. He makes the point that America was often considered the epitome of freedom, which was their main motivation for joining the war – to squash the ideals of Nazism and their beliefs of racial purity – despite the openly racial prejudices and laws imposed by the United States on their own citizens such as the Jim Crow Laws, heavily enforced throughout the southern states. The segregationist attitudes were also prevalent within the army which the British vocally opposed. This led to the British government to allow for the Americans to police their own troops, whether in the barracks or out in the cities and impose segregationist laws where they saw fit.

Interestingly, the Jim Crow Laws began to be low key instilled throughout wider British society, particularly areas with high US military presence. This was noted in Bristol for example, where pubs would begin to only serve whites and poorer areas only serving blacks. Even when white American soldiers entered a pub, they demanded any blacks to vacate. This illustrates how rife racism was throughout Britain that they were able to conform with American laws within a matter of months, pushing black British citizens further down the social hierarchy, allowing for the white Americans to be treated equal to the white Brits purely because of skin colour.

The author notes that the racism was not all one-sided, however. He uses anecdotes from West Indians who recount frequently being called derogatory terms with someone saying, ‘Show me a black serviceman who claimed not to have encountered any prejudice in the UK during the War and I’ll show you a liar!’. A common hatred both American and British army shared was their disdain for blacks mixing with white women, which was often met with confrontation of sorts.

Wynn mentions that the experience of travelling to other countries benefited African Americans during the post-war. For example, the beginning of desegregation of the US armed forces and civil services from 1948 onwards. He even goes to mention that with the rising expectations of black Americans, helped lay the foundations of the civil rights revolts which happened soon after.

This article was interesting as it highlights how easily assimilated the white Americans became when integrating within British society and culture. It also highlights how easily influenced some parts of the UK were to establish local policies, like that of the Jim Crow Laws. However, it discusses already known facts such as how racist both the US and Britain were and how similar they were regarding culture. The article makes good use of anecdotes from ordinary British citizens as well as from those in the military to show how casually accepted racism had become.

 

Gemma's posts

Aliens in Wartime: A Case Study of Tyneside 1939–45 by Craig Armstrong

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This article focuses on regional areas of Britain rather than Britain as a whole, which is stated to have had a strengthened national identity as a result of the Second World War at the expense of racial and ethnic minority groups. With particular attention given to attitudes towards immigrants in Tyneside, Armstrong demonstrates that although this area had refused the British Fascists, racial prejudice was still widespread.

Within the article Armstrong provides detail surrounding refugees and their experiences in Tyneside as well as the reaction from residents and local authorities. An example he gives is at the start of the war when internment was up for discussion. With refugees flooding into Britain, the majority being Jewish, the conservative press such as The Daily Mail became concerned that many of them were enemy Nazi agents and in 1940 ran various articles which backed the internment of all aliens. Armstrong highlights how such campaigns by the press were favoured by the Tyneside community and had influenced large numbers of people in supporting internment and the restrictions placed on enemy aliens. When they were interned, this had a huge impact on companies. Armstrong gives the example of the Austrian engineer Heinrich Ernst Beck who had left Austria in 1936 to work for Angus George and Company in London and was relocated to Newcastle in 1938. At the start of the war, Beck was given permission to remain in Britain, however had significant restrictions imposed on him. He was eventually arrested and interned with his colleague, Ferdinand Hebelka in 1940. Both men were sent to a camp in South Devon prior to being sent to Canada aboard the Arandora Star where they were both killed.

Armstrong also demonstrates the hostility towards black ethnic minorities which is shown in a Colonial Office Report that found a great deal of prejudice towards coloured seamen in Tyneside where, “coloured men on land remained in a perpetual state of un-employment, as the white man considered them only fit to perform the most menial task in a segregated atmosphere of a cargo ship at sea”. Armstrong goes onto identify the work of the Colonial Office, Mr Bullied, Mr Minto and Mr Larbi who all assisted in the welfare of the black community and served to improve the attitudes of the white population of Tyneside.

The Irish were also a group looked on with suspicion as a result of the IRA campaign prior to the war. However, Armstrong notes that in Tyneside the Irish were an assimilated part of the local community and did little to cause any anxiety.

The article concludes that overall, there were significant tensions between the Tyneside local community and immigrant groups. Despite a willingness to show toleration of minority groups, there still remained a prejudice and negative attitudes. The liberal attitude remained to an extent; however this was tarnished in 1940 due to fear and doubts over the contribution of certain minority groups.     

Siobhan's posts

T Colpi ‘The Impact of the Second World War on the British Italian Community’

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The following article ‘The Impact of the Second World War on the British Italian Community’ by Terri Colpi explores the Italian communities experiences throughout The Second World War within Britain. Colpi begins by examining the pre- War period by referring to the 1920s and 30s as the ‘Golden era’ for the Italians within Britain as she explains that this particular time was essential towards the growing success of Italian run businesses. Colpi also establishes throughout the pre-war period that although Italian communities had integrated within British society there was little association with Britishness within their culture as they continued to speak their Italian dialect and live a traditional Italian family centred way with ceremonies such as births, deaths and marriages conducted through the association with the church. Colpi also highlights the rise of fascism within Italy throughout the pre-war period as she established that one of the aims of fascism was to reunite into a brotherhood, Colpi establishes that the Italian community in Britain embraced fascism in a wholehearted manner, as British Italians who lived through this period explain that fascism to them was a form of patriotism. Colpi emphasises that many British Italians were not political however felt the need to embrace fascism throughout this time due to their attachment to their county and their involvement with the Italian community.  The importance of the fascist clubs was highlighted by Colpi as she emphasised that many were drawn to these clubs as they often only focused on the benefits of becoming members of the club as they would provide Italian teaching schools and free holidays to Italy for children.

The author then focused on the outbreak of War in 1939 by referring to this as a ‘stressful time’ for the Italian community by highlighting that many entire families mostly recently arrived families to Britain would often return back to Italy within this period. Colpi established that Italy’s involvement within the War was extremely stressful to the Italian community within Britain as she emphasises the chaos that is caused upon the announcement that Italy would no longer stay neutral within the War announcing that it had now become an allay of Britain. Colpi highlights that the Italian community dreaded the War as Italy was now a threat towards Britain which lead up to the hostility and targetted attacks on the Italians within Britain. Colpi then analyses the various different attacks upon the Italians by explaining that there were ransacking mobs attacking Italians from Soho in London. It was mentioned that many of the violent attacks were focused more upon properties and businesses rather than on individuals themselves, Colpi then emphasised that Edinburgh was the most affected city within the country however Glasgow was also badly targetted particularly within areas such as Govan, Tradeston and Maryhill. The author also mentions how taunting was commonly present within schools particularly for the Italian boys as they would be regularly beaten and picked upon. Colpi then establishes that it was this particular time when British Italians ‘learned’ it was not good to be Italian and that it was better for them to assimilate themselves particularly for those that had set up their own businesses as disguising themselves from their Italian roots would often better their chances at surviving.

Throughout the source, the importance of The Arandora Ship is often recognised with the targeting of Italians as this ship set sail from Liverpool for Canada on the 1st of July 1940 however the ship sank within 30 minutes with a loss of 700 lives, it was therefore emphasised that two-thirds of the deaths upon this ship were in fact Italian. Colpi highlights how the British Press tried to pinpoint the high death toll on other circumstances such as fighting and panic amongst internees. The figures of the men who died are presented by the author throughout this section of the source, it was highlighted that roughly out of 1564 men onboard that 712-754 were in fact Italians and the rest were either German, Austrian or British servicemen. Overall the author illustrates the hostility that was present towards the Italians during the outbreak of the Second World War.

Lastly, the author represents the major challenges and affects that the Italian community were faced with after the War as Colpi explains that many small Italian businesses majorly struggled to maintain a foothold in their local economy which remained in order several years after the War which clearly emphasised that the resentment and hostility towards the Italian community was indeed still present all those years after the Second World War.  Again Colpi emphasises how discrimination was still targetted towards the Italians which again resulted towards many Italians covering up their true Italian origins by using different names and refusing to speak to learn Italian and usually marrying local within the British community which gave them a better opportunity to merge into British society and not be discriminated against. Overall Terri Colpi does well to recognise and analyse the everyday challenges that the Italian Community in Britain had to endure during the outbreak of the Second World War.

Christy's posts

W. Webster, “Enemies, Allies, and transnational histories” (2014).

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W. Webster, Enemies, Allies, and transnational histories (2014)

Austrians, Germans, neutral Irish, and Italians during the mid-1940s within Britain, were facing mass internment, after being labelled “enemies” by the British government. There was a shift, however, in the views of said “enemies” after Winston Churchill, recruited many into the British forces, who became loyal allies. This article focuses on the formed transnational allegiances, focusing on those who helped contribute to the war effort, even after facing comments of treachery from their own, fellow nationals. Webster tries to bring attention, and commemoration to the international allies, who Webster describes, as being often neglected through historical literature, even after giving their lives.

Webster gives an example of just how fast the opinions of the foreign “enemies” shifted. An example of two German Jewish brothers is given, describing their arrest in 1940 after the new mass internment policy’s, this, however, was a completely different story by 1942, when both brothers emerged as members of his majesty’s forces, as opposed to the previous dangerous enemies that they were labelled s mere two years earlier.  The outbreak of the war was forcing people to question nationally, within both private, and public life, as to who should be deemed allies, and enemies became more and more blurred between countries. 

Many neutral Irish, at the time, had also been targeted, and attracted hostile views, due to suspicion placed on them being spies, and fifth columnists. A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group from within, usually in favour of an enemy group or nation. Mass observation evidence from the time (M-O) often showed that individuals would lump all foreigners together, whether they were German, Italian, or Irish, showing why the internment of all aliens was a popular choice. There were some exceptions that could be seen, however, for example, Belgium, and dutch refugees living within Leeds, were offered various shelters, and forms of care from the population, who viewed them as allies.

All those who enlisted to the British forces swore an oath of allegiance, but many kept a range of ties to their own families, countries, and communities overseas. Many Irish individuals were motivated through the pay, the chance of a new adventure away from home, and they’re hatred for the nazi regime. Irish women, unlike other women who could enlist, were not allowed, as it conflicted with their family loyalties. Many Irish supported Britains, and Eire’s policy of neutrality, upon arrival home however after the war, Many Irish faced hostility for their involvement. The majority of both German, and Austrian refugees decided to remain within Britain, after the war.

However, support for mass internment started to fade quickly after many of scandals, and horrible treatments of the internees came to light, including the sinking of the Arandora star- that was carrying people to Canada, many of which were refugees, and anti-fascists when it was sunk by a German torpedo, that made people finally start to become aware of the discriminative and dangerous roundups of both Germany and Italians. Deportation was shortly after abandoned by the government, and the white paper was published, stating 18 different ways internees could be released, and by 1941 more than 10,000 had. Webster showed the degree in which the British public had changed their views on the internment of ‘enemy” aliens, by stating that a further M-O, one month after the white papers publishing, detailed that now “less than a quarter now think that all aliens should be interned”.

Other examples of anti-alien riots and pro internment movements were given, such as the anti-Italian riots of June 1940, where many Italian owned businesses were targeted, as well as items that they possessed such as their bicycles, which had been given to them by farmers, or ministries of agriculture for their journeys to work, this was deemed “soft treatment. Anger also grew after photographs of starving British prisoners in Germany where released, which caused many to believe that German prisoners of war were being treated too kindly, there was a call for the German prisoners to have their rations reduced by the Manchester Grocers so that they received less than the Britons. 

However, by the late 1940’s many of the previously labelled “aliens” were starting to be recognised for a variety of the skills that they possessed, such as German speakers, who were useful in prisoner camps, often highly secret missions, special radio operators, and other tasks where their language skills could be used. Italians also seemed jobs were speaking Italian could be beneficial in roles such as scriptwriters, translators, and actors.

Overall the recruitment of “aliens” into the British forces, as well as war work, helped to reduce internment, as well as breaking down the idea that all Germans, and Italians, as well as other foreign individuals, were all the same and should be treated as enemies to Britain, and instead, a hierarchy of allies to the country, that they would serve, and lay down their life, making the ultimate sacrifice. Webster explained this was often missed out on through historical writings, and that the life of such Germans, Italians, and Irish should be commemorated, and praised for the vital support that they gave.

Sophie's posts

“The English Mistery, the BUF, and the Dilemmas of British Fascism”, Stone

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Stone’s article “The English Mistery, the BUF, and the Dilemmas of British Fascism” analyses Fascist groups in Britain, arguing that despite their failure, “the English Mistery shows that fascism was just as much a British movement as it was a continental European one”.

Stone primarily looks at the workings of the English Mistery, which later becomes known as the English Array. He wishes to challenge the traditional view that fascism in Britain was merely an imitation of European fascism that had no impact or influence on British society and history. He begins the article by identifying fascism, using Robert Paxton’s definition of the concept: “a system of political authority and social order intended to reinforce the unity, energy, and purity of communities in which liberal democracy stands accused of producing division and decline”.

Stone then goes on to explain what the English Mistery was, explaining that it was founded in 1930 by William Sanderson. The group defined itself as a school for leadership, committed to salvaging the lost ways of governance, focusing on the concept of service of the English race. Sanderson divided the Mistery into a hierarchy, splitting the group into local kins, consisting of between ten and thirty people. Their aims were “to regenerate the English nation and to recreate a body politic with properly functioning members,” and establish “a sound ethical basis for national politics” built upon “principles derived from the instincts and traditions of English breeds.” Stone also emphasises the explicit racism and extreme nationalism within the group. Members were warned not to enter discussion with immigrants or the diseased. They were also told that the Nordic race is fundamentally different from the Latin races. Furthermore, the group “supports the elimination from public life in parliament or elsewhere of all those Jewish and other alien influences which, however worthy in themselves, cannot fail to work against English instincts and traditions”.

The English Mistery split after much antagonism that began to develop in 1933, particularly due to the clash of Sanderson and, Lymington, another member of the organisation. After the split, the English Array was formed, consisting of the more serious members of the Mistery, and as described by Stone, was more pro-Nazi. Moreover, Stone explains the struggle within this group of wishing to praise other fascist movements yet not wanting to sacrifice their own nationalism. Furthermore, the author mentions the cooperation between the English Array and the BUF, but states that a merger was not an option, due to conflict of leadership, as well as views on the monarchy and the House of Lords.

Stone concludes by arguing that the English Mistery proves that a movement that is distinctively fascist is able to develop in Britain, and demonstrates that fascism is not a completely foreign concept in the British political scene.

Overall, this article contains a coherent article and effectively explains the English Mistery and the issues surrounding the group, while depicting a convincing argument. Stone’s use of primary sources is also an effective feature of this article.

Jennifer's posts

M. Durham ‘Women and the British Union of Fascists. 1932-40 ch in K. Lunn and T. Kushner ed. The politics of marginality: race, the radical right and minorities in 20th Century Britain (1990) Pg 3-16.

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Durham starts by noting that there has been a lot written on the British union of Fascists, but there has been very little written on the role of Women that were involved in the movement. He notes that the movement was very male orientated but women also played an important role in BUF activity, especially the campaign against war.

The BUF wanted women to join and made an effort to recruit them so that they would be able to help develop the structure and policies in an attempt to make fascism appeal to women. The BUF were trying to campaign for equal pay for women, they wanted equal pay for equal work. They also wanted to remove the marriage barrier on all careers and hoped that working conditions would be improved and sex discrimination would be put to an end. The BUF were focused on equality and society viewing women as citizens and workers, as well as viewing them as mothers and wives. However, BUF writers had said that equal pay could lead to the dismissal of many workers but in the long run this would cancel out. This was because when a man married a woman there would no longer be any reason for the women to continue with her employment as the male’s wage would be enough to support them. It was the women’s birth right to be the mother and wife, not the breadwinner.

The BUF were also campaigning against war and used the women for this campaign. They believed that women, as mothers had a natural attachment to peace. Therefore, it was up to the women to teach their children that they should not fight, and that Brits only fight when their country is under attack. Women wanted to fight for their children and for a government that would not bring war, so that their husbands did not have to leave again.

However, Durham suggests that there may have been some exaggeration about the women in the BUF, as it is hard to tell if the articles about the women joining the movement were authentic, or if they were a journalistic creation to help the movement gain followers. He also notes that when asked to recall their time in the BUF many women had problems remembering.

Durham ends by stating that women joined the British union of Fascists as they wanted to be part of something important and they got a thrill from it. He also states that the BUF attitudes were not straight forward, they were complex and hard to understand.

Heather's posts

Nigel Copsey, ‘Anti-Semitism and the Jewish community of Newcastle-upon-Tyne’

Heather |

Copsey’s article, Anti-Semitism and the Jewish community of Newcastle-upon-Tyne provides a clear analysis on the extent of anti-Semitism in the North East of England, particularly with emphasise on the Tyneside area.  Copsey argues that North East did not escape anti-Semitism in the 1930s and 40s, when it was seen to be most pronounced, but anti-Semitism was not completely insignificant. Therefore, Copsey takes a twofold approach, breaking down the article into the 1930s and 40s it allows him to show the development of anti-Semitism in the North East Jewry.

Copsey shows in 1934 the British Fascist Union (BUF), had notable anti-Semitic ideas and held a high membership in Tyneside. However, after opposition from the radical left, Copsey argues they were an “organisation in retreat”, with little anti-Semitic activity. It was in the summer of 1936 that fascist activity was resurrected however Newcastle never became of any significance. In this instance, Copsey emphasises the exaggerated response of the Jewish community in that the Board of Deputies of British Jews warned the Jewish community to not get involved wit fascist activity. Even though, Copsey makes evident that fascist activity in Newcastle was largely non-existent. The leaders of Tyneside Jewry did not confront the idea of fascist anti-Semitism resulting in the younger population doing so.

Copsey puts an emphasis on the exaggeration of the Jewish leaders in their response to fascist anti-Semitism such as the Representative Council for Newcastle Jewry, which formed in 1941 as a defence body.  The council ultimately held no meetings on Tyneside.  However, in the context, there was as Copsey shows an increased anti-Jewish feeling in Newcastle. With anxiety surrounding the holocaust, economic troubles and Palestine events, Copsey argues the collective psyche was transformed amongst Newcastle Jews.

Anti-Semitism were prominent in 1946 when a Jewish business boycott was ordered. By 1947 press began to get involved, with Cosey noting the local Kemsley press adopting an anti-Jew position. However, Copsey argues that such press was not as bad as it seemed and in fact on Tyneside, the press was mild.  The local Jewish newspaper played down anti-Semitic events; this was not the case for the younger generation who formed the Newcastle Anti-Defamation Group.

Copsey compares the fascist activity to London in 1946, with the creation of the 43 Group, to emphasise the little significance of Jewish organisations in Newcastle. Although the creation of the Anti-Defamation group cannot be discounted as they distributed copies of 43’s magazine. Copsey brings in the point of exaggeration again, showing even though the group were doing little that there was pressure from communal leaders to submit so as not to draw attention to the Jewish community. This did not happen and the group transformed itself into the Newcastle branch of 43 Group. Despite this Copsey shows that this transformation was only in the name. Copsey further notes, the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen which was resurrected after the war. They proved to be more popular in quelling anti-Semitic activity resulting in the Newcastle 43 to stand down.

Therefore overall, the article is well balanced, with a clear analysis of the work of Beckman and Todd as well as reference to newspaper extracts. Copsey’s argument of Newcastle never having a serious problem with anti-Semitism with only the unfavourable comments and social discrimination begin the major forms, is well written. The fact Copsey doesn’t disregard the small-scale actions of the younger community adds to the strength of the article. Further reading could include John Brewer’s, The British Union of Fascists and Anti-Semitism in Birmingham. 

Emily's posts

The British Union of Fascists’ policy in relation to Scotland- Tony Milligan

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In the article, Milligan explains that Fascist organisation in Scotland in the 1930s was limited in both numbers and its spread across the country.Despite a similar situation in England of rising unemployment which led to a rise in support for fascist organisations, Scotland did not see such a rise. However, this article states that Scotland was not unreceptive to extremist politics.

By the 1930s there were a number of anti-Catholic organisations in Scotland, such as the Scottish Protestant League and Protestant action, in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. These organisations were large and sometimes violent in order to achieve their political ends.

Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid called for a ‘species of Scottish fascism’ after Mussolini’s seizure of power, and proclaimed the formation of Clan Alban in 1930, inspired by the Italian blackshirts (although this largely only existed on paper and in MacDiarmid’s imagination.

The New Party, formed when Oswald Mosely broke from the Labour party over a disagreement over unemployment, had 5 candidates stand in West Scottish constituencies in 1931, but did not do well in the general election. Milligan explains that The New Party left a political vacuum in Glasgow after the party’s campaign was effectively abandoned in the city, and local supporters rallied around William Weir Gilmour in its place. Weir Gilmour had his own definite ideas about how a Scottish fascist movement should be built. He had seen the success of Alexander Ratcliffe’s Scottish Protestant League, and used it as a blue print for fascist work in Scotland, and his splinter group was also anti-catholic.

The article also explains that the British Union of Fascists played on Scottish fears that the rural North of Scotland would be made a dumping ground for Jewish refugees from Germany.

Justin's posts

Aviva Ben-Ur, ‘Identity Imperative: Ottoman Jews in Wartime and Interwar Britain’

jum00077 |

‘Identity Imperative: Ottoman Jews in Wartime and Interwar Britain’ by Aviva Ben-Ur analyses Sephardic Jewish groups of immigrants that came from places from the Ottoman Empire such as Baghdad, Damascus, Istanbul, and Jerusalem. He does this by analysing their personal experiences throughout the 20th century. This is because the author believes that these groups are widely ignored due to the mass Jewish immigration from Europe. It also focuses on how local British governments moulded and assessed their complicated national status. The articles focus is on how these Jewish groups attempted to gain naturalisation in Britain despite being considered as enemy aliens when WW1 had broken out.

Some of these groups regarded as enemy aliens included Syrian, Jews and Greeks and were typically deported, interned, stripped of their freedom of movement, and barred from becoming naturalised British citizens. This was laid out further in the British Nationality and Status of Alien Act at the end of WW1 which prevented naturalisation for a 10-year period unless they met specific requirements like serving in the armed forces. This article focuses on the group of immigrants that came from the Ottoman Empire, who began arriving in Britain in the early 1900s. The author notes that these immigrants had helped repopulate dwindling Jewish communities which were already established in Britain decades before.

The immigrants were predominately male with 36% being born in Istanbul. Their occupations were mainly merchants or shippers of ‘oriental’ carpets, antiques, and fancy goods. Many of these Ottoman natives were reluctant to claim that is where they came from, however. This resulted in many to claim to be ‘Spanish Jews’. This was so the legislation after the war would not apply to them and make naturalisation easier as they were unlikely to get it if they were of Ottoman descent. However, this was not always the case as a Chief Rabbi would be expected to attest for the person claiming to be a member of the Sephardic Jews. Max Solomon Haim was the first to set the precedent to these applications during WW1 and helped dozens more Ottomans become British citizens. This was because Ottomans could legally be classified as ‘Spanish Jews’.

The article then mentions the xenophobia many of the Ottomans faced and how despite this they were still eager to remain in Britain. The author gives several examples of why attaining a British citizenship was important for reasons such as it made getting a job easier, renting easier, and traveling around Europe easier. It is stated however, that German-Jews had the highest number of enemy aliens by a 5 to 1 ratio. 10% of Ottomans were put in internment camps. The author notes that the governments anti-Jewish and anti-foreigner rhetoric may have been the main motivation in either postponing or rejecting the Ottomans naturalisation cases. Many of these Ottomans who were discriminated against claimed adoration of Britain with many showing British patriotism and as well as appreciation for its education system and laws.