Holocaust and Rescue
This page intentionally left blank
Holocaust and Rescue Impotent or Indiferent? Anglo-Jewry 1938-1945 Pamela Shatzkes Department of International History London School of Economics and Political Science
Pamela Shatzkes 2002 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2002 978-0-333-96039-4 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identifed as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2002 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin's Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). ISBN 978-1-349-42711-6 ISBN 978-0-230-59841-6 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230598416 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shatzkes, Pamela, 1949- Holocaust and rescue: impotent or indifferent? : Anglo-Jewry 1938-1945 / Pamela Shatzkes. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-1-349-42711-6 1. Jews-Great Britain-Attitudes. 2. Jews-Great Britain- Politics and government-20th century. 3. World War, 1939-1945-Jews-Rescue-Great Britain. 4. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)-Public opinion. 5. Public opinion-great Britain. I. Title. DS135.E5 S5 2002 940.53'18-dc21 2001056116 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02
For my father Harry David Greenman (1904-1984)
This page intentionally left blank
Contents List of Figures Abbreviations Preface Introduction viii x xi 1 1 'Englishmen of the Jewish Persuasion' 9 2 'The Jewish Lions are no longer roaring' 25 3 Escalating Crises: Austria and Czechoslovakia 1938-1939 45 4 The Watershed: Kristallnacht and After 65 5 Internment and Deportation 83 6 Anglo-Jewry Mobilises (Summer 1942-Spring 1943) 100 7 Pawns in the Game of War (Summer 1943-Autumn 1944) 134 8 Rescue Eforts: A Chronicle of Failure? 163 9 Relief Eforts: A Chronicle of Success? 188 Conclusion: Lack of Will or Lack of Skill? Notes Bibliography Index 216 240 289 305 vii
List of Figures 1 Neville Laski, President of the Board of Deputies, 1933-39 (courtesy of the Board of Deputies) 29 2 Otto Schif, Chairman of the Jewish Refugees Committee, 1933-49 (courtesy of the Jewish Chronicle) 50 3 Viscount Herbert Samuel (courtesy of World Jewish Relief) 68 4 Refugee children from Vienna, 1938 (courtesy of the Wiener Library) 70 5 Kindertransport. Refugee children arriving in England, 1938/9 (courtesy of World Jewish Relief) 72 6 Women aliens and a child with police escorts departing for the Isle of Man internment camp, May 1940 (courtesy of the Imperial War Museum) 86 7 Internment camp for aliens, 1940 (courtesy of Hulton Archives) 88 8 Members of the War Cabinet and Ministers (courtesy of Hulton Archives) 108 9 Selig Brodestsky, President of the Board of Deputies, 1939-49 (courtesy of the Board of Deputies) 111 10 Adolf Brotman, General Secretary of the Board of Deputies, 1934-66 (courtesy of the Board of Deputies) 113 11 Eleanor Rathbone, 1872-1946 (courtesy of the University of Liverpool) 121 12 Bermuda Conference delegates, April 1943 (courtesy of Associated Press) 128 13 The Chief Rabbi, Dr. Joseph Hertz, 8 January 1944 (courtesy of Hulton Archives) 142 14 Delegates to the War Emergency Conference of the World Jewish Congress, Atlantic City, 1944 (courtesy of Beth Hatefutsoth) 148 15 Harry Goodman, date unknown (courtesy of Celia Goodman) 182 16 Chief Rabbi's Food Packets Appeal Campaign, 1943 (courtesy of Jonathan Schonfeld) 206 17 Mobile synagogue/ambulance with volunteers, c. 1944 (courtesy of Jonathan Schonfeld) 208 viii
List of Figures ix 18 Solomon Schonfeld, 1944 (courtesy of Jonathan Schonfeld) 210 19 The frst team of the Jewish Relief Units, 1944 (courtesy of the Wiener Library) 213
Abbreviations AIWO Agudat Israel World Organisation AJA Anglo-Jewish Association AJAC American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati Board Board of Deputies of British Jews CBF Central British Fund for German Jewry CBFRR Central British Fund for Relief and Rehabilitation CCJR Central Committee for Jewish Refugees CGJ Council for German Jewry COBSRA Council of British Societies for Relief Abroad CRREC Chief Rabbi's Religious Emergency Council FAC Foreign Afairs Committee GJAC German Jewish Aid Committee ICA Jewish Colonisation Association ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IGCR Inter-Governmental Committee on Refugees JC Jewish Chronicle JCRA Jewish Committee for Relief Abroad JDC American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee JFC Joint Foreign Committee JRC Jewish Refugees Committee JTA Jewish Telegraphic Agency JUS Juedische Unterstuetzungsstelle fir das Gouvernement General RJCC Refugee Joint Consultative Committee UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation WJC World Jewish Congress WRB War Refugee Board x
Preface The idea for this book originated some years ago in a conversation with David Bankier of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, who made me aware that very little scholarly work had been done on the response of Jews in the free world to the plight of European Jewry in Nazi-occupied Europe and in particular on the role of refugee organisations during the Second World War. When I began to research this subject, I discovered that the work of Anglo-Jewish refugee organisations in facilitating the arrival of over 50,000 refugees in Britain between 1933 and 1939 had been variously chronicled as a model of charitable endeavour and a halfhearted efort cramped by insecurity and self-interest. More consistently, scholars have argued that Anglo-Jewry failed to respond to the catastrophe of the war years with the resolution and vigour that might have saved more lives. There was hardly any comprehensive study of the Anglo-Jewish organisations; most of the research was focused on government policy towards refugees and its dealings with the organisations. The picture was sweepingly negative. From the start, I have endeavoured to approach this subject with no preconceived opinion regarding the response of Anglo- Jewry to the Holocaust. Unlike much of the literature on Anglo-Jewry during this period, this book tries to eschew both the didactic and speculative approaches to historical interpretation. Instead of attempting to apportion blame or to answer hypothetical questions of responsibility, my intention has been to ofer an evaluation based on the evidence available. I have examined the quality and scope of rescue and relief work, both of the organisations and individuals. What was done, rather than what should have been done, has been the main focus of attention. As a result, I have come to a radically diferent conclusion regarding the role of the Anglo-Jewish leadership and its organisations. This book is based on my PhD thesis, which was funded by the British Academy, to which I wish to express my sincere gratitude for both a three-year studentship and additional funding for research trips to America and Israel. In addition, the British Academy has recently granted me additional funding for the project of writing this book. Thanks are also due to the Central Research Fund, xi
xii Preface London, and to the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, New York, for their generosity, which enabled me to carry out my original research. I am grateful to the staf of the various libraries and institutions which allowed me to examine their collections and ofered me their assistance. In particular, the Central Zionist Archives ( Jerusalem), the Wiener Library (Tel Aviv), Yad Vashem ( Jerusalem), the Public Record Ofce (Kew, London), the Board of Deputies of British Jews archives held at the London Metropolitan Archives (London), the Anglo-Jewish Archives held at the Parkes library (Southampton), the Rothschild Archives (London), the Institute of Contemporary History and Wiener Library (London), the Agudat Israel World Organisation (New York), the American Joint Distribution Committee (New York) and the American Jewish Archives (Cincinnati). A number of private collections were made available to me. Victor, Simon and Joe Goodman generously allowed me to consult material in their private possession, as did Jonathan Schonfeld; they also shared with me recollections of their respective fathers, Harry and Solomon, and of their work for European Jewry. Joseph Munk made some of the Schonfeld paper available to me when they were still housed in the basement of University College London before being transferred to the Parkes Library. David Massell, the Board of Deputies' archivist, granted me access to the papers when they were still at Woburn House. Amy Gottlieb made the Central British Fund fles available to me as well as giving of her time and sharing some valuable memories of the period, including her time working with the Jewish Relief Units. I would also like to thank all those whom I was able to interview, for their time and helpfulness. Their names appear in my bibliography at the end of the book. I wish to express my appreciation for the interest, support and continuous encouragement, as well as the wealth of insight, of my frst PhD supervisor, Donald Cameron Watt; of Michael Burleigh, who guided and inspired me through the next stage of my research; of John Kent, who encouraged me to complete it; and of Anita Prazmowska for her valued help in the fnal stages prior to completion of my PhD and her encouragement to have this work published. My examiners, Bernard Wasserstein and Richard Overy, gave valuable comments and suggestions, for which I am most grateful. I was also privileged to share my interest in the subject with various scholars, including, among others, Geofrey Alderman, Richard Bolchover, David Cesarani, John Fox, David Kranzler, Tony Kushner,
Preface xiii Louise London, Bill Rubenstein and Meir Sompolinsky. Although my views often difer from theirs, they all expressed generous interest in my work. Finally, a personal thanks to my many friends both at the London School of Economics and Political Science and to those abroad and at home, for their constant encouragement and willingness to share my interest. A special thanks goes to Sharon Footerman, who patiently read through the typescript and ofered constructive criticism and advice. I am grateful to my family who have provided continuing support for my endeavours over the years. My greatest debt of gratitude is due to my husband Jerry, always enthusiastic and encouraging, who never doubted that one day I would fnish.