4.2 (1925-48) refugees from nazism and WW2 Flashcards
what was the colour bar?
not allowing people with dark skin access to employment, housing or education (an example of systemic racism)
what did fascists believe in?
extreme right-wing nationalism and militarism
who was oswald mosley? and which party did he create?
leader of the british union of fascists aka ‘blackshirts’
- he was an admirier of hitler and mussolini
- had served as conservative but then ‘crossed the floor’ to the labour party
- created his own party (BUF) in 1932 which had many nazi sympathisers
how did merchant seamen respond to tensions between migrant communities?
- men returning from war found women and migrants in their jobs
- migrant workers were made to work for less wages (lascars received a £1 to every £9 a white worker received)
- rather than fighting for wages, trade unions wanted ‘white’ men in work and ‘coloured’ men forced out
- the government then passed the 1925 coloured seamen order
what were the terms of the 1925 coloured seamen order?
it forced migrant workers to register with the police (automatically criminalising them), even though they were british citizens from within the empire
how did the colour bar affect ‘coloured’ citizens in britain?
- the colour bar prevented workers from getting jobs based merely on race, despite the fact that those were the men who transported vital supplies to britain during the world wars
- in 1938, 18 hospitals refused to train black nurses
how did migrants respind to the colour bar? give two examples of oragnisations that did this
- the league of coloured people (1931) was established to fight discrimination and it organised community events in most cities.
- the pan-african conference (1945), which united all people of african descent. it worked to obtain independence for colonized countries. it was attended by many prominent african political activists
when was the battle of cable street and what caused it?
1936
- there was to be an fascist march in east london with 3000 black shirts
- anti-fascists asked the home secretary to ban the march but they instead provided 6000 offices to clear the route
- the government supported the march because they were more scared of communism than of fascism and oswald mosley was a prominent, public figure
- the BUF clashed with the anti-fascist protestors on cable street and the march was called off
why did anti-semitism increase during the 1930s?
- right-wing parties often thought it was convenient to blame jewish people for the high levels of unemplyment and poverty
- this was encouraged by the BUF and oswald mosely, who was a supporter of hitler
what was kindertransport?
- after the kristallnacht when jewish people were being attcakced throughout germany, britain agreed to allow jewish children entry into britain
- 10,000 children out of 500,000 were brought in by trains from germany, austria and czechoslovakia
- they were offered homes by welcoming families
what is some evidence that britain offered support to jews?
- the government allowed entry of jewish children after 1938
- they were welcomed into british homes by families
- 10,000 children were brought in via kindertransport from germany, austria and czechoslovakia
- people from all socioeconomic statuses offered to take care of the children
what is some evidence that britain offered minimal support to jews?
- government only gave children temporary visas
- they didn’t pay for the scheme, instead it was paid for by charities - the refugee children’s movement
- families accepting children were not previously vetted resulting in some children having to work instead of going to school
- it was only a tiny proportion of those who needed help as over 500,000 had applied
who were considered to be enemy aliens during the world wars?
german people who lived in britain at the time
why was the government keen to keep its approach to enemy aliens lowkey?
- to prevent the repetition of the anti-german riots during WW1
how did the mass interment of italian and german immigrants start during WW2?
- in 1940, italian and german shops were attacked in soho
- they wer attacked by mobs and sent to mass internment camps which were of poor conditions and overcrowded + 7000 were deported
