UNIT 5
The Holocaust: Responses and responsibility
5.4 How did the British government respond to the Holocaust? Some people wrongly believe that the British government didn’t know about the persecution and murder of European Jews, or that Britain went to war with Nazi Germany to save the Jews of Europe. Neither of these is true. Most historians agree that: l
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The British government repeatedly said that the best way to help the Jews of Europe was to defeat Nazi Germany and win the war.
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The British government said that they would punish the killers when the war was over.
Britain declared war on Nazi Germany because Germany invaded Poland in September 1939.
Activities Sort the information in the timeline below into two categories: knowledge and response. Some may fall into both.
British decision-makers had knowledge of mass murder in the Soviet Union and the mass murder of Jews, in particular, as early as July 1941.
1 What knowledge did the British government have about the persecution and mass murder of the Jews of Europe?
In summer 1941, the war was not going well for Britain. There was very little they could have done to help the Jews of Europe.
2 How did they respond to this knowledge?
What did the British government know and how did they respond? Key events November 1938 Following Kristallnacht (see page 40), relief organisations asked the British government to allow German and Austrian Jews into Britain. In total, approximately 80,000 Jewish refugees came to Britain. This was just a fraction of those in need. December 1938 The first Kindertransport arrived in Britain. This scheme led to a total of 10,000 Jewish children coming to Britain from Nazi-controlled countries (see page 82).
May 1939 Some Jews wanted to go to Palestine (much of the region is known as Israel today). This is where Judaism began and where the holiest place is for Jews. Palestine was controlled by the British (the British Mandate of Palestine). To prevent unrest among the Arab population there, the British government introduced severe restrictions upon Jewish immigration into the British Mandate of Palestine. These restrictions were not relaxed during or after the war.
1940 In early 1940, the war was going badly for Britain. There was increasing anti-foreign feeling in Britain, in part fuelled by the press. In this atmosphere the government imprisoned thousands of Germans and Austrians, including 27,000 Jewish refugees. Most were released later that year but the experience was a traumatic one for many.
July–August 1941 German radio messages were decoded at Bletchley Park. They gave details of the numbers of people, including Jews, being shot by police and SS troops as they advanced into the Soviet Union. The British Prime Minister, Churchill, received summaries of this information in daily reports. 24 August 1941 Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a speech which was broadcast by the BBC. He referred to the actions of German police units in the Soviet Union and said ‘We are in the presence of a crime without a name.’
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