Anthony Grenville Boeken

Between 1933 and the outbreak of war in 1939, over 60,000 Jewish refugees fled to Britain from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Some 50,000 settled there. No previous historical study of this group of immigrants exists, though they form one of the most high-profile groups of refugees to have come to Britain in the 20th century, both as survivors of the Nazi terror and as high-achieving contributors to British society. This book - now available in paperback - focuses on the first quarter-century of these Jewish refugees' settlement in Britain. It covers new ground by drawing on a rich source of contemporary material: the previously untapped monthly journal of the Association of Jewish Refugees - AJR Information. The journal is the only contemporary source that provides material for a full-scale history of these refugees when they established themselves permanently in Britain, as well as how they adapted to British society and developed their distinctive 'Continental' identity and culture that characterized them in their adopted homeland.

Political Exile and Exile Politics in Britain after 1933 brings together a number of scholarly essays that shed light on a hitherto neglected aspect of the experience of German and Austrian refugees in Britain - their political activities in their country of refuge and how these were viewed (and used) by the British government and its Secret Service. This volume does not claim to be exhaustive. However, it offers a range of case studies on various issues concerning political exile and the possibility of the continuation of political engagement in exile, even in the internment camps. Most of the contributions in this volume are based on archival material that has never been used before possibly because, like the MI5 files on Karl Otten which have only recently been declassified, researchers have not been able to access them. Predictably, the majority of these essays show the political activities of men. The efforts of women which constitute the focus of three contributions therefore are all the more noteworthy.

The Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies was founded in 1995, basing itself at the Institute of Germanic Studies of the University of London. Professor J.M. Ritchie became Chairman of the Research Centre, whose members are Dr Charmian Brinson, Professor Richard Dove, Dr Marian Malet, Dr Jennifer Taylor and Professor Ian Wallace, with Dr Anthony Grenville as Honorary Secretary.The aim of the Research Centre is to promote research in the field of German-speaking exiles in Great Britain. To this end it organises conferences and publishes their proceedings, holds research seminars, and publishes its own Yearbook. Its members cooperate in the writing of scholarly studies, including a book about the German-speaking refugees from Hitler in Britain, Home from Home? , and a study of the Austrian Centre in London, 1939-47. Though the Research Centre has primarily concerned itself with the German-speaking refugees from Nazism in Britain, it aims to extend its scope to include German-speaking exiles of other periods and comparable groups such as the Czech refugees from Hitler or Italian anti-Fascists. Given its location near the heart of the principal centre of settlement of the refugees from Germany, the Research Centre readily provides advice and useful contacts to scholars and postgraduates working in the field.

The literature of the Weimar Republic is distinguished both by its exceptional quality and by the endless fascination of its historical period. This study is the first to analyse a representative selection of Weimar literature by setting it in the context of an in-depth presentation of the historical events, forces and developments that helped to mould it. Appealing to both literary and historical scholars, this book creates a methodological framework that enables it to demonstrate clearly the interaction between history and literature at one of the crucial junctures of the twentieth century.

Zwischen dem Anschluss und dem Ausbruch des Zweiten Weltkriegs nahm Großbritannien über 30.000 vor den Nazis geflüchtete Österreicher auf, darunter etwa 90 Prozent Juden. In nur 18 Monaten wanderte fast ein Sechstel der österreichisch-jüdischen Bevölkerung nach Großbritannien aus, was das Land zu einem wichtigen Ziel für die Emigration machte. Trotz der lebendigen wienerischen Kultur in Großbritannien fehlt eine Dokumentation über das Leben der österreichischen Flüchtlinge nach dem Krieg. Die britischen Behörden unterschieden nicht zwischen jüdischen Einwanderern aus Österreich und Deutschland, was es Historikern erschwert, Quellenmaterial zu den ehemaligen Österreichern im Nachkriegs-Großbritannien zu finden. Das Buch basiert auf zahlreichen Interviews mit österreichischen Juden, die nach dem Anschluss nach Großbritannien flohen. Diese Interviews bieten wertvolle Einblicke in ihre Kindheit und Jugend in Österreich, die Verfolgung durch die Nazis, die Emigration sowie die Integration in die britische Gesellschaft. Zudem beleuchten sie das Selbstverständnis der „Jewish refugees“ und deren britisch-jüdisch-österreichische Identität, ihr Verhältnis zur Vergangenheit und zum heutigen Österreich.