Holocaust and Rescue: Impotent or Indifferent? Anglo-Jewry 1938-1945

by Pamela Shatzkes

Overview

This is a penetrating and balanced analysis of the options facing British Jews as they wrested with the problems of rescuing the victims of Nazi discrimination. Alive to political realities, and mercifully unpolemical, Shatzkes exposes the cruel dilemmas that made rescue increasingly difficult. The result is an impressive reworking of a contentious story, told here with compassion and understanding. RICHARD OVERY, Professor of History, King's College London

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780853035503
Publisher:	Vallentine Mitchell
Publication date:	02/01/2004
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Pamela Shatzkes is Lecturer in International History at the London School of Economics.

Table of Contents

	List of Figures	viii
	Abbreviations	x
	Preface	xi
	Introduction	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 Efforts: A Chronicle of Failure?	163
9	Relief Efforts: A Chronicle of Success?	188
	Conclusion: Lack of Will or Lack of Skill?	216
	Notes	240
	Bibliography	289
	Index	305

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Shatzkes has written a most important book on what for the Jewish communities in Britain has been one of the most tragic and disturbing passages in its history.

D. Cameron Watt

Challenging the widely-held perception that Anglo-Jewish efforts on behalf of European Jews during the Nazi era were weak and half- hearted, Shatzkes (international history, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK) argues that Anglo-Jewry was a well- integrated community that tackled the escalating problems of refugee immigration in the 1930s with compassion and administrative expertise based in a long tradition of communal charity. She contrasts this response with that of the Anglo-Jewish leadership which was hamstrung during the war years, focusing on what was actually attempted and whether it was reasonable in principle, given what was known at the time. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"Dr. Shatzkes has written a most important book on what for the Jewish communities in Britain has been one of the most tragic and disturbing passages in its history." —Professor D. Cameron Watt

From the Publisher