Tag: session 11

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.     

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.