Overview

Rescue the Perishing is the first study to date of Eleanor Rathbone's commitment to the 'refugee question' from 1933 until her death in 1946. It explains how, from a working life devoted to championing the cause of the disadvantaged, the impoverished, and the underrepresented in British society, her humanitarian activism shifted towards Britain's imperial colonies, as well as Europe, before focusing on refugees, most of them Jewish, fleeing persecution in Nazi-occupied Europe before and during World War II. The book highlights the challenges that Rathbone faced, especially from within government, from officials who did not share her philosophy on rescue. The difficulties that she encountered in attempting to persuade the British government to act honorably towards refugees - whether they were in Czechoslovakia, had been deported to the Dominions, or were enemy aliens interned in Great Britain or on the Isle of Man - is an abiding theme throughout this book.

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9780853037798

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Scholars, students, and the intelligent public alike will welcome the re-appearance of Susan Cohen's magisterial biography of Eleanor Rathbone. Cohen's study reminds us of the earnest and creative efforts exerted in order to assist those suffering under the Nazis. - Professor Michael Berkowitz, U. Coll. London [This] fills a gaping hole in the history of British responses to tragedy abroad and the suffering of the Jews in the Nazi period, in particular. Comprehensively researched and written with great sensitivity, Cohen's study will ensure that Eleanor Rathbone occupies the place that she deserves. - Professor David Cesarani, Royal Holloway, U. of London Whoever reads this book begins to understand the meaning of the term 'righteous gentile.' - AJL Newsletter

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