Whitehall and the Jews, 1933–1948
British Immigration Policy, Jewish Refugees and the Holocaust

The fullest study yet of the British response to European Jewry under Nazism.

Louise London (Author)

9780521534499, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 27 February 2003

332 pages, 10 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.3 x 2.3 cm, 0.5 kg

'With all … previous work that has been undertaken on the entry of Jewish refugees, the question of whether another book on this topic is needed, has to be addressed. the simplest way. To answer this query is to ask whether London's work adds anything new to the topic. The answer is undoubtedly 'yes'. She goes beyond the sources that have been previously utilized, and opens up new areas of interest, as well as presenting a well-developed and supported argument.' Reviews in History

Whitehall and the Jews is the most comprehensive study to date of the British response to the plight of European Jewry under Nazism. It contains the definitive account of immigration controls on the admission of refugee Jews, and reveals the doubts and dissent that lay behind British policy. British self-interest consistently limited humanitarian aid to Jews. Refuge was severely restricted during the Holocaust, and little attempt made to save lives, although individual intervention did prompt some admissions on a purely humanitarian basis. After the war, the British government delayed announcing whether refugees would obtain permanent residence, reflecting the government's aim of avoiding long-term responsibility for large numbers of homeless Jews. The balance of state self-interest against humanitarian concern in refugee policy is an abiding theme of Whitehall and the Jews, one of the most important contributions to the understanding of the Holocaust and Britain yet published.

Introduction
2. Immigration control
3. Control without visas
4. New restrictions after the Anschluss, March to October 1938
5. From Kristallnacht to the outbreak of war, November 1938 to September 1939
6. Refugees from Czechoslovakia
7. War-time policy
8. The response to the Holocaust
9. Post-war decisions
10. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], British & Irish history [HBJD1]