Divisions and Diversity: The Complexities of Medical Refuge in Britain, 1933-1948

Abstract

The experiences of medical refugees who came to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany and occupied Europe in the 1930s and 1940s reflect the general characteristics of the British response to the refugee crisis. This article analyzes the role of the British medical establishment and its interplay with the government and refugee aid organizations. Processes of decision making and changes of policy are revealed, drawing on the files of the "Aliens Committee" at the archive of the British Medical Association, on the private collection of Yvonne Kapp, former administrative head of the Medical Department of the Central Office for Refugees, and on the medical subseries of the archive of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning. "Divisions" refer to differing interests and attitudes of the institutions, organizations and individuals involved; "diversity" reflects the response to the various nationalities of medical refugees, mainly German, Austrian, Czech, and Polish.