Description
Object description
German Jewish lawyer in Germany, 1933-1937; refugee in GB, 1937-1940; internee in Kempton Park Racecourse, Warth Mills, Onchan and Lingfield Racecourse Internment Camps in GB, 5/1940-10/1940
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Germany, 1909-1937: family; education; career plans and political activity; reason for decision and preparations to emigrate to GB. Aspects of period as refugee in GB, 1937-1940: attitude of British immigration official on arrival at Dover; living in Bristol; contact with Klaus Fuchs; description of work as legal adviser with Jewish Refugee Committee and Overseas Settlement Department; reaction to outbreak of Second World War, 3/9/1939; description of tribunal and classification opinion of competence of tribunal judge; description of arrest and journey to Kempton Park Racecourse, 5/1940. Recollectons of period as internee at Kempton Park Racecourse, Warth Mills, Onchan, Isle of Man and Lingfield Racecourse, Internment Camps, GB, 5/1940-10/1940: reception on arrival at Kempton Park Racecourse Internment Camp, 5/1940.
REEL 2 Continues: description of Kempton Park Racecourse Internment Camp; attitude of internees to camp leader chosen by commandant; relations with guards; opinion of commandant; communication with family; his attitude to internment; problem of lack of news and rumours in camp; opinion of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's speeches; black market activities in camp; opinion of living conditions; story of hunger strike; journey to and initial impressions of Warth Mills Internment Camp, Oldham; relations with guards; use of newspapers due to shortage of blankets; reason for choosing to sleep outside.
REEL 3 Continues: opinion of living conditions; community spirit; journey to Isle of Man; description of living conditions and organisation of Onchan Internment Camp, Douglas, Isle of Man; method of electing 'House Fathers'; relations between various groups of internees; attitude to social status in camp; morale; attitude to suicide and escape; problem of camp informers; memories of notable internees including artist Jack Bilbo and essayist Kurt Hiller; work and sporting activities.
REEL 4 Continues: description of cultural activities including camp university; attitude of camp authorities to cultural activities; situation of women in camp; effect on male internees of visits to women's camp; sexual problems and homosexual relationships; method of obtaining war news; communication with family; opinion of press coverage of internees on Isle of Man; reason for refusing visit from British Red Cross; cases of psychological problems caused by internment; topics of conversation in camp; attitude to British Government's policy of internment.
REEL 5 Continues: reasons for some internees volunteering for deportation overseas; description of recruitment campaign for Pioneer Corps; question of reputation of Pioneer Corps; attitude to military service; transfer to Lingfield Racecourse Internment Camp; nature of work with emigration system and payment; opinion of other camp personnel including Chaim Raphael; relations with internees; lifestyle in camp; success rate of emigration system; situation regarding berths on ships; attitude of authorities to emigration of internees.
REEL 6 Continues: opinion of living condition in camp; relations between guards and internees including sexual liaisons; family visits; comparison between Lingfield Racecourse Internment Camp and other internment camps; eligibility for release as worker for Jewish Refugee Organisation and reason for wanting to remain working in camp; story of release after feigning duodenal ulcer, 10/1940; examples of other feigned illnesses to obtain release from camp; nature of work following release from internment; story of writing novel 'Obliging Fellow' about internment, 1946.