The Quaker Internationalist Tradition in Displaced Persons Camps, 1945–48

Abstract

‘The Society of Friends does not have an internationalist tradition; the Society of Friends is an internationalist tradition.’1 This evaluation of the Quakers, by the American theologian Stanley Hauerwas, highlights the importance of international concern in the work undertaken by Friends in war and peace. But how is that ‘internationalist tradition’ converted into practice? Their commitment to relief work is born out of a sense that as Quakers we are impelled by our faith to make our lives an active witness for peace and justice’.2 Translating religious belief into ‘positive action’ in the face of human tragedy has frequently taken the form of relieving human suffering and supporting efforts at rehabilitation.3 However — and this tends to set them apart — Quakers also believe in the importance of playing their part in eradicating the causes of war, through mediation, disarmament and education, as well as through personal example. Following in the footsteps of their founder, George Fox, Quakers have attempted and continue to attempt to live ‘in the virtue of that life and power that [take] away the occasion of all war’.4 Quaker calls to abolish war stretch back to William Penn’s appeal for the establishment of a European Diet in 1693. Later, John Bright, a Quaker MP whose opposition to the Crimean War led to the loss of his Manchester seat, called for the British to ‘cultivate friendship with all nations. … The past events of our history have taught me that the intervention of this country in European wars is not only unnecessary but calamitous.’5KeywordsDisplace PersonRelief WorkerReligious SocietyPolish ChildBritish ArmyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.