Political Anti-Semitism in England 1918–1939

235 Pages·1978·25.17 MB·English

by  Gisela C. Lebzelter (auth.)

POLITICAL ANTI-SEMITISM IN ENGLAND 1918-1939
Political Anti-Semitism in
England Igi8-1939
Gisela C. Lebzelter
M
in association with
Palgrave Macmillan
@ Gisela C. Lebzelter 1978
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1978 978-0-333-24251-3
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means
without permission
First published 1978 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Lebzelter, Gisela
Political anti-semitism in England,
1918-1939
1. Antisemitism - England - History -
20th century
I. Title
323.1'19'24042 DSI46
ISBN 978-1-349-04002-5 ISBN 978-1-349-04000-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-04000-1
This book is sold subject
to the standard conditions
of the Net Book Agreement
Contents
List of Illustrations Vl
Acknowledgements Vll
List of Abbreviations lX
Introduction 11
Part One- Manifestations of Anti-Semitism 11
1 The Myth of a Jewish World Conspiracy 13
2 Social Discrimination and Militant Hooliganism 29
Part Two - Promoters of Political Anti-Semitism 4 7
3 The Britons 49
4 Imperial Fascist League 68
5 British Union of Fascists 86
Part Three-Reactions against Anti-Semitism Ill
6 TheForcesofLawandOrder 113
7 Anglo-] ewry 136
8 The Radical Left 155
Conclusions 170
Notes 178
Bibliography 203
Index 216
v
List of Illustrations
1 Title-page of Jewry Ueber Alles (May 1920)
2 'The Cuckoo', Hidden Hand, I, No. 10 (Nov. 1920)
3 'The Champion ofTruth', British Guardian, VI, No.8 (27 Feb.
1925)
4 'Get a Move on, StGeorge!', Fascist, No. 103 (Dec. 1937)
5 'The Bigamist', Blackshirt, No. 176 (5 Sep. 1936)
6 'How Dare They Say Britain for the British', Action, No. 79
(21 Aug. 1937)
7 'Oi oi vot a Game', Action, No. 79 (21 Aug. 1937)
8 'Britain Protests', Action, No. 86 (9 Oct. 1937)
Reproduced by permission of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, The
Britons Publishing Company, and the Sanctuary Press Ltd.
VI
Acknowledgements
The object of this book is threefold: a documentation of manifesta
tions of anti-Semitism between World War I and World War II;
a portrayal of organized anti-Semitism; and assessment of the
impact of attempts to instrumentalize anti-Semitism in political
campaigns. Throughout, the approach is selective rather than
exhaustive since the aim was not to accumulate 'more ofthe same',
but to trace and discuss the patternsofanti-Semitismastheyemerge
from the English example, a case which hitherto has been given
little attention.
The origin oft he present work is a DPhil thesis which I wrote as a
graduate student at St Antony's College, Oxford. I am grateful to
the Warden and Fellows ofSt Antony's College for enabling me to
pursue my studies at such a stimulating place. I should also like to
thank the Volkswagen Foundation for its generous financial support.
While I am deeply indebted to many individuals, too numerous
to list, who took an interest in my work and offered advice, par
ticular thanks are due to Professor C. Abramsky, who supervised
my dissertation from the beginning. Above all I wish to thank
Mr A.J. Nicholls, without whose constant help, encouragement and
valuable criticism it would not have been completed. I am also
grateful to Mrs Maureen Tayal, who read the entire manuscript
and patiently discussed it with me at various stages. Any errors that
remain are, of course, entirely my own responsibility.
During my research I received much assistance from archivists,
librarians and research officers. It is a pleasure to acknowledge my
gratitude to Mr N. Higson, who helped me with the records of the
National Council for Civil Liberties; to Dr B. Kosmin who guided
me to the minute books of the Board of Deputies of British Jews;
and to Mr G. Phillips, who allowed me to consult documents in
possession of The Times. I am particularly grateful to Mr Tindal
Robertson for his hospitality and for enduring my reques~s
Vll
viii Acknowledgements
regarding the material preserved by the Britons Publishing
Company; to Mr Hamm for his kind reception when I consulted
the Mosley Secretariat; and to the Council of Christians and jews
for allowing me to examine their records.
I wish to record my gratitude for having been granted per
mission to consult the Astor Papers at Reading University, the
Baldwin Papers at Cambridge University, the H. A. Gwynne
Papers at University College, Swansea, theJ. S. Middleton Papers
at Transport House, London, the Maxse Papers at the West Sussex
Record Office, Chichester, the Mount Temple Papers at the
Hampshire Record Office, Winchester, the Nicolson Papers at
Balliol College, Oxford, the Trenchard Papers at the Royal Air
Force Museum, Hendon, and the A. White Papers at the National
Maritime Museum, Greenwich, by courtesy of His Grace, the
Duke of Bedford. In addition to the keepers of these records, I
should also like to thank the staff at the Bodleian Library, British
Library, Marx Memorial Library, Mocatta Library, Parkes
Library, the Public Record Office and the Wiener Library.
Transcripts of Crown-copyright records in the Public Record
Office appear by permission of the Controller ofH. M. Stationery
Office.
Finally, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my husband,
on whose love, devotion and understanding I could always rely.
G.L.
January 1978
List of Abbreviations
BoD Board ofDeputies ofBritishJews
BUF British Union of Fascists
CAB Cabinet Papers
CPGB Communist Party of Great Britain
HO Home Office
FO Foreign Office
IFL Imperial Fascist League
JPC Jewish People's Council
MEPO Metropolitan Police Files
NCCL National Council for Civil Liberties
NSDAP Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei
(National Socialist German Workers' Party)
IX
Introduction
Much has been written on anti-Semitism since the end ofWorld War
II. Once the scope of the holocaust in the middle of Europe became
known, the urge for explaining this unbelievable page of 20th
century history began to occupy historians, sociologists, political
scientists, theologians and psychologists alike. While the people at
large turned away from the difficult task of coming to grips with the
shocking reality of Auschwitz, Dachau, Theresienstadt and other
extermination camps, and embarked upon the more rewarding
and equally urgent task of rebuilding what lay shattered in pieces,
it remained the responsibility of academics to trace, analyse,
understand and explain the mechanisms which had led to the
extermination of two-thirds of European Jewry.
Understandably enough, the focus of study was Germany -
mostly the anti-Jewish policy and ideology of the NS regime, but
also the periods which preceded it and provided a continuity of
anti-Semitic sentiment. However, one cannot reduce the subject of
anti-Semitism to its German variant alone if one wants to assess its
rank within modern history in general. Difficult as it may be, one
has tci abstract from the event of the 'final solution' and look at the
potentials that lay buried in the ideology as such. Once its inherent
dimensions have become intelligible, its impact upon different
societies at various times can be discussed and it becomes possible
to expose its social and political function at certain historical
junctures. An analysis of anti-Semitism in England, where it was of
limited importance, should therefore be regarded as an attempt to
comprehend the nature and dynamics of anti-Semitism from a
theoretical angle.
Since there is no precise understanding as to who is an anti-Semite
and what constitutes anti-Semitism, the topic has to be defined. By
common usage, anti-Semitism is generally meant to describe any
hostility against Jews. For historical reasons, and for the sake of
1