Panikos Panayi

Ethnic minorities in nineteenth and twentieth century Germany: Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Turks and others.

Chapter 1: Majorities and minorities in German history. Chapter 2: The emergence of the German nation state and the position of Ethnic minorities. Chapter 3: The Kaiserreich, 1871 - 1918: Prejudice, exploitation and full emancipation. Chapter 4: A liberal interlude? The weimar Republic, 1919-33. Chapter 5: The triumph of the racists: nazism and its consequences. Chapter 6: The age of mass migration: Germanies after 1945. Chapter 7: The new Germany and its minorities. Bibliography. Index.

An intolerant act by an intolerant society: The internment of Germans in Britain during the first world war

The German community in Britain during the Great War, which numbered approximately 60,000, and which had developed during the course of hundreds of years, found itself under attack both officially and unofficially during the course of the 1914–18 conflict. The most potent of the official responses involved the introduction of a policy of wholesale internment and repatriation, which reduced the size of the German community in Britain to 22,254 by 1919. In order to fully understand this development we need to put it within the context of the intolerance which gripped Britain during the First World War.

The Evolution of Multiculturalism in Britain and Germany: An Historical Survey

This paper is an introductory survey of the evolution of multiculturalism in Britain and Germany over the past two centuries. The historical approach argues that the main determinants of difference between these nation states lie in their long-term traditional attitudes towards immigrants and ethnic minorities. It focuses upon the patterns of immigration into Britain and Germany as well as the differing imperial traditions, which have both left differing legacies. An equally important historical factor has been the legal position of aliens in the two states, in which, until very recently, Britain adopted a policy of jus solis, whereas Germany pursued one of jus sanguinis. The paper then examines the realities of multiculturalism in the two states. Due primarily to the historical traditions of nationality legislation, immigrants and their descendants in Britain have come to play a more important role in recent British history than their contemporaries in Germany, particularly if we examine their role in the political process and in popular culture. While the conclusion reiterates the differences, it also stresses that we should not view Britain and Germany as the opposite ends of the multicultural spectrum, as both are modern liberal democracies with significant ethnic minority populations.

The British Empire union in the First World War

The question of the British Radical Right before 1914 and after 1918 has received much attention from a wide range of historians. The influence of this political grouping during the First World War has, however, been largely ignored. This article attempts to fill this gap with specific reference to one particular pressure group — the British Empire Union. The piece pays attention to the organizations ideology and shows how this was put into action, before attempting to assess its influence.

‘The hidden hand’: British myths about German control of Britain during the first world war

No national or racial minority in twentieth century Britain has endured hostility as destructive and widespread as that faced by Germans during the Great War. As a result of the instability created by the conflict, enemy aliens endured constant vilification in the press, wholesale destruction of their property, and internment or repatriation. Underlying these events there developed a complex conspiracy theory about German influence within Britain which became widely accepted by 1918.

German minorities in World War I: A comparative study of Britain and the USA

Abstract This article deals with the experience of German minorities in Britain and the USA during World War I. The introductory section points to the fact that serious racial persecutions have taken place during total war in the twentieth century. The subsequent sections detail the experience of Germans in the USA and Britain respectively, pointing to the development of ethnic groups before 1914 and moving on to demonstrate the persecution that they faced from governments and public opinion in both countries. The conclusion compares the wartime experience of Germans in Britain and the USA, and suggests that in terms of strength of hostility, British and US treatment of enemy aliens remains similar. The main difference concerns the much smaller number of Germans in Britain and the greater ethnic diversity of the USA. These two factors, especially the former, meant that the British government could deal with its German population more thoroughly than could the Wilson administration in the USA.

German immigrants in Britain during the nineteenth century, 1815-1914

The pre-19th century background German migration to Britain during the 19th century residential, age and gender and occupational distribution ethnic organizations - religion, philanthropy, culture and politics British attitudes towards Germany, Germans and German immigrants.

The historiography of immigrants and ethnic minorities: Britain compared with the USA

Abstract Writing on immigrants and ethnic minorities in both Britain and the USA has a long history. The present article covers a series of themes. First, it traces some of the main developments in the historiography of immigrants and ethnic minorities in both countries. Second, it argues that, because of the centrality of race in the development of the USA, and acceptance of this fact, studies of immigration and ethnicity have been central in the development of academic history in the USA during the twentieth century. In contrast, British historians have regarded immigration with ambivalence and even hostility. Third, the article looks at the practitioners of immigrant and minority history and concludes that it is much easier for a member of mainstream white middle‐class society to write on the history of minorities than vice versa.

Review article: National and racial minorities in total war

Ansel Adams, Manzanar (London: Secker & Warburg, 1989). xx + 167pp. £15. Joseph Kennedy, British Civilians and the Japanese War in Malaya and Singapore, 1941–45 (London: Macmillan, 1987). xii + 167pp. £29.50. Tony Kushner, The Persistence of Prejudice: Antisemitism in British Society During the Second World War (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989). ix + 257pp. £29.95. Francois Lafitte, The Internment of Aliens (London: Libris, 1988, 1990). xxiv + 266pp. £24.95 hb; £8.95 pb. Abraham Lewin, A Cup of Tears: A Diary of the Warsaw Ghetto (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988, 1990). vi + 310pp. £14.95 hb, £4.99 pb. Frederick C. Luebke, Germans in Brazil: A Comparative History of Cultural Conflict During World War I (London: Louisiana State University Press, 1987). xii + 248pp. £30.90. Graham A. Smith, When Jim Crow Met John Bull: Black American Soldiers in World War II Britain (London: I.B. Taurus, 1987). 265pp. £14.95.

The imperial war museum as a source of information for historians of immigrant minorities: The example of Germans in Britain during the first World War

This article looks at the importance of the Imperial War Museum as a source of information for historians of immigrant minorities with reference to the plight of the Germans in Britain during the First World War. Three classes of documents are considered. First, the memoirs of a German, Richard Noschke, which discuss his experiences both inside and outside internment camps. Second, a number of diaries kept by English people, which deal particularly with ‘spy fever’. And third, pamphlets and journals of the British Empire Union, the most important anti‐alien organization of the war years.