Abstract
ABSTRACTThe article seeks to contribute to debates on the British management of news of the Holocaust during World War II. It provides a case study of how a mid-level diplomat, the scholar Isaiah Berlin, responded to news about the destruction of Jews in Europe while serving British interests in the United States. It is argued that Berlin’s reports to London, in marginalizing how different constituencies in the United States reacted to the terrible news from Europe, played a role in insulating decision-makers in London from pressure from American civil society to act to save the perishing. The article provides a fuller appraisal of the information about the Holocaust that Berlin had access to during the war than has hitherto been offered and advances explanations for Berlin’s wartime responses to, and his postwar account of, news of the destruction of Europe’s Jews. It is contended that ‘genteel’ antisemitism took a toll on Berlin, and that the particularity of Berlin’s chosen British (and) Jewish identities influenced his responses to news of the Holocaust.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call