Richard Dove

This book explores a facet of British propaganda during the Second World War that has previously hardly been addressed or considered: the apparent anomaly that much of Britain's wartime propaganda was prepared and delivered by foreigners, not least those officially designated as 'enemy aliens'. German-speaking refugees were involved in every aspect of British propaganda: for the Ministry of Information; the BBC and for the intelligence organisations such as Electra House, the Special Operations Executive and the Political Warfare Executive. They played a significant role in propaganda designed for the Home Front, for neutral and Allied countries, and in propaganda directed at the enemy, and were engaged in both 'white' and 'black' (i.e. covert) materials. The book considers the preparedness of the British authorities to avail themselves of the talents of the 'enemy aliens' and the eagerness of many of the refugees to contribute to the British war effort. They brought with them knowledge of every aspect of their home countries as well as their obvious linguistic skills, all of which could be usefully exploited for propaganda purposes. Refugee artists, writers, journalists, broadcast

Brinson and Dove trace the development and historical significance of the Free German League of Culture, the foremost organisation representing anti-Nazi German refugees in Britain during the years of the Second World War. During its lifetime (1939–46), the League held a regular programme of cultural events ranging from concerts and theatre performances to publications and art exhibitions, as well as a 'university in exile'. Because of the restrictions on refugees imposed by the British authorities, this cultural programme served very much as a surrogate for direct political activity: the continuation of politics by other means. The study concludes by tracing the fate of those who returned to a now-divided Germany and the post-war integration of those who remained into British arts and society. The book is based largely on primary sources, using documentary material held in Frankfurt and Berlin which historians have hitherto neglected, thus most of the content and findings are new. Though based on scholarly research, the book is written in a readable and accessible style.

The Austrian Centre was established in London in 1939 by Austrians seeking refuge from Nazi Germany, of whom 30,000 had reached Britain by the outbreak of World War II. It soon developed into a comprehensive social, cultural and political organisation with a theatre and a weekly newspaper of its own. A Communist-influenced organisation, it also followed a distinct political agenda. In the first book on the cultural and political life of Austrian refugees in Britain, Out of Austria assesses and evaluates the Austrian Centre's activities and achievements, while also examining the Austrians' often fraught relations with their British hosts. It gives a fascinating insight into such figures as Sigmund Freud, who became the Centre's Honorary President during his final months and the poet Erich Fried, then an unknown seventeen-year-old, and sheds light on the interaction of politics and culture against the background of exile in wartime Britain.

How British was the British theatre during and after the Second World War? This book tells the unique story of five German-speaking actors who, after arriving as refugees from Nazi Germany, made the transition to the British stage in a period of heightened nationalism before and during World War II.

This is an unusual book, telling a story which has hitherto remained hidden from history: the surveillance by the British security service MI5 of anti-Nazi refugees who came to Britain fleeing political persecution in Germany and Austria. Based on the personal and organisational files that MI5 kept on political refugees during the 1930s and 1940s – which have only recently been released into the public domain – this study also fills a considerable gap in historical research. Telling a story of absorbing interest, which at times reads more like spy fiction, it is both a study of MI5 and of the political refugees themselves. The book will interest academics in the fields of history, politics, intelligence studies, Jewish studies, German studies and migration studies; but it is also accessible to the general reader interested in Britain before, during and after the Second World War.

This is an unusual book, telling a story which has hitherto remained hidden from history: the surveillance by the British security service MI5 of anti-Nazi refugees who came to Britain fleeing political persecution in Germany and Austria. Based on the personal and organisational files that MI5 kept on political refugees during the 1930s and 1940s – which have only recently been released into the public domain – this study also fills a considerable gap in historical research. Telling a story of absorbing interest, which at times reads more like spy fiction, it is both a study of MI5 and of the political refugees themselves. The book will interest academics in the fields of history, politics, intelligence studies, Jewish studies, German studies and migration studies; but it is also accessible to the general reader interested in Britain before, during and after the Second World War.

Aus dem Englischen von: Ulrike Draesner, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Richard Exner, Gerhard Falkner, Michael Krüger, Reiner Kunze, Anton G. Leitner, Friederike Mayröcker, Heinz Piontek, Joachim Sartorius, Ludwig Steinherr, Jürgen Theobaldy, Paul Wühr u.a. ?Aus einem früheren Leben? beschwört ?abgelebte Zeiten? wieder herauf. Richard Dove legt eine Sammlung von englischsprachigen Gedichten vor, die vor allem in den Jahren 1976 bis 1986 entstanden sind. Inhaltlich setzen sie sich einerseits mit den damaligen gesellschaftlichen Umbrüchen auf der britischen Insel, andererseits mit (in erster Linie) antiken und deutschen Vorbildern auseinander. Aber auch Paris und de Sade fehlen nicht in diesem reichen Spektrum eines formgenauen und weltoffenen Dichters. Für die deutsche Fassung sorgten u.a. etliche Lyriker und Lyrikerinnen von Rang. Die Übersetzer geben damit einen Einblick in die Pluralität der Ausdrucksformen der modernen deutschsprachigen Lyrik. Richard Dove schreibt seit seiner Übersiedlung nach München 1987 überwiegend in deutscher Sprache und veröffentlichte zuletzt 2002 den Gedichtband ?Farbfleck auf einem Mondrian-Bild?, der von Durs Grünbein als ?aufregendes Büchlein? begrüßt wurde.

This work tells the story of five emigre writers who fled from Nazi Germany to Britain - Stefan Zweig, Alfred Kerr, Max-Herrmann-Neisse, Karl Otten and Robert Neumann. Using unpublished material, the author describes the difficult, often dramatic and tragic lives of these men and their families.