Refuge and the Fortress

Refugees have made a profound and measurable contribution to the life of Britain, ever since Hitler forced Jewish academics out of German universities within weeks of coming to power in 1933. The physicists, biologists and chemists who were guilty of promoting what the Nazis called 'Jewish science' were chased from their homeland. Those to whom Britain gave shelter include Ludwig Guttmann, who revolutionised the treatment of paraplegics at the world-famous Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries unit, and who invented what became the 'Paralympic games'; Karl Popper, one of the greatest philosophers of science of the twentieth century and Nikolaus Pevsner, whose love of British architecture is enshrined in the famous 'Pevsner Guides'. They all have at least three things in common: they were refugees from Nazism, they made a lasting contribution to their adoptive countries and they were all rescued by CARA, currently celebrating its 80th anniversary. This collection of first-hand accounts from some of the most intelligent and articulate of those who make a new life in Britain, provide insights about their experiences that are often poignant, sometimes surprising and always illuminating. Jews expelled from Nazi Germany have a wry, but often affectionate, story to tell; while people from the former imperial territories share their amazement at the way in which the received view of the country differs from what they had been taught about it. As well as demonstrating the positive contribution of academics from elsewhere to learning in Britain, their testimonies also reveal the intellectual, cultural and social gifts brought by outsiders, gifts which enrich and enhance the life of the country that opened its doors to them.