Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

At least 400,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered the EU so far, & the EU is preparing to allow all Ukrainians who flee the war the right to stay & work in EU countries for up to three years.

Britain isn't considering being anywhere near as generous.

Those eligible to apply to apply for a visa to stay in Britain are limited to a spouse or civil partner, an unmarried partner of at least two years, children under the age of 18, a parent if their grandchild is under the age of 18, or adult relatives who are carers.

The UK scheme severely limits those who can apply for a visa, as a refugee has to be a direct relative of a British citizen. It also excludes parents of adult children.

Let's look back & examine Britain's twentieth century immigration policy for Jewish refugees.

Hitler came into power in Germany in 1933, when there were about 523,000 German Jews - less than 1% of the country's population.

Subject to threats & persecution, Jews began to try & emigrate in large numbers from that point until the start of World War II in 1939.

More than 117,000 Jews left Austria & more than 300,000 had left Germany by the end of 1939.

Initially, Germany encouraged Jews to leave, then they restricted the amount of money they could take from German banks & imposed high emigrations taxes.

The German government forbade emigration after October 1941. The German Jews who remained, about 163,000 in Germany & less than 57,000 from annexed Austria, were mostly elderly who were murdered in ghettos or taken to Nazi concentration camps.

First, a bit of historical context.

In the 19th century, the Russian Empire was home to about five million Jews - the "largest Jewish community in the world". Subjected to religious persecution, they were obliged to live in the Pale of Settlement, on the Polish-Russian borders, in conditions of great poverty.

About half left, mostly for the USA, but about 150,000 arrived in the UK, mostly in England, reaching its peak in the late 1890s, with "tens of thousands of Jews... mostly poor, semi-skilled and unskilled" settling in the East End of London.

By the turn of the century, a familiar media & public backlash had begun. The British Brothers' League was formed, & supported by prominent politicians, organised marches & petitions. At rallies, speakers said Britain should not become "the dumping ground for the scum of Europe".

The Aliens Act of 1905 acted as a means of immigration control, restricting the immigration of the poor, & Jews from eastern Europe.

There was a decrease in 'alien' admissions, partly because Jews chose other countries, & the law had the effect of deterring would-be immigrants.

In 1905, an editorial in the Manchester Evening Chronicle wrote "that the dirty, destitute, diseased, verminous and criminal foreigner who dumps himself on our soil and rates simultaneously, shall be forbidden to land". Antisemitism led to violence in South Wales in 1902/3.

Aside from antisemitic sentiments, the 1905 Aliens Act was also driven by the economic & social unrest in the East End of London where most immigrants settled.

Work was difficult to come by & families required all members to contribute.

Future PM Winston Churchill opposed the bill. He stated it would appeal to prejudice against foreigners & Jews, & he said he preferred "the old tolerant & generous practice of free entry & asylum to which this country has so long adhered and from which it has so greatly gained".

The 1914 Aliens Restriction Act introduced further immigration controls & registration, gave the Home Secretary overall responsibility for matters concerning immigration & nationality, & allowed for deportation.

Even more stringent UK immigration laws were introduced from 1919.

This legislation didn't address or differentiate treatment based upon the circumstances of people wishing to immigrate to Britain, meaning that thousands of refugees fleeing Europe after Hitler assumed power were accepted under its tradition as a safe haven, but only temporarily.

For instance, thousands of men came to Britain with transit visas, & stayed there while seeking acceptance from other countries.

If it was clear that the person seeking entry was a visitor, they were generally limited to a one-month stay.

In 1937, as the rate of people looking to immigrate to Britain increased, the UK Govt made stricter standards for those whom they would admit. One was that the refugees had to have £50 deposited in an overseas bank, but in Germany it was against the law to have foreign currency.

The Jewish community said that they would provide assistance to Jewish refugees and thus provide housing, education & job training, & money to thousands of people by the end of 1939, thereby eliminating any financial burden from the government to support the newcomers.

But the UK Govt limited the number of immigrants further in 1938/39. For instance, after Austria was annexed to Nazi Germany in 1938, the British government restricted the number of Austrian Jews who could enter Britain through strictly controlled visas.

theguardian.com/uk/2002/jun/08…

Realising a plan was needed to manage the large number of emigrants from Nazi Europe, 32 countries met in France at the Évian Conference (July 1938), but almost all of them refused to loosen their immigration restrictions to take in more refugees.

bbc.co.uk/teach/how-did-…

Britain slightly eased its policy for refugees after 9 November 1938, the German Kristallnacht, although numbers were limited.

On that night, Jewish establishments in Germany & Austria were vandalised during protests, & many Jews were arrested, & placed in concentration camps.

By September 1939, 70 - 80,000 Jewish refugees had been accepted in Britain, most settling in North West London.

However, there were more than 500,000 case files of Jews who were NOT admitted, according to British Jewish associations.

Author Louise London stated that "The (British immigration) process... was designed to keep out large numbers of European Jews – perhaps 10 times as many as it let in." When World War II was declared on 1st September 1939, Britain ended immigration from Nazi-controlled countries.

There were still no plans to manage the refugee crisis after the 1943 Bermuda Conference of Allies, by which time it was known the Nazi regime intended to exterminate all the Jews in Europe.

Just 10,000 Jewish refugees "managed to find their way into Britain" throughout the war.

Britain could & should have been more generous to European Jews.

I suspect most British people think Britain could & should be more generous to people fleeing #Ukraine in 2022, as does Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…