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New publication: A Matter of Intelligence
Members of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies have recently published a book which may be of interest to readers of this blog. A Matter of Intelligence: MI5 and the Surveillance of Anti-Nazi Refugees, 1933–50, by Charmian Brinson and Richard Dove, 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.
Charmian Brinson is Professor of German Studies at Imperial College, London.
Richard Dove is Emeritus Professor of German, University of Greenwich.
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. It is published by Manchester University Press.
HB 978-0-7190-9079-0 £70.00 €84.00
234x156mm 256pp
Order Matter of Intelligence from Blackwell’s
Order Matter of Intelligence by post
Contents
Introduction
Part I: I Spy 1933–39
1. Defending the realm: MI5 in the making
2. Liddell in wonderland: MI5 and the Prussian
secret police
3. The undesirables: political refugees from
Germany and Austria after January 1933
4. The mysterious case of Dora Fabian
5. Nazi spies and the ‘Auslandsorganisation’
6. No more peace: Otto Lehmann-Russbueldt
and German rearmament
7. Flying and spying: Claud W. Sykes, Karl Otten
and the ‘Primrose League’
8. The ‘Red Menace’
9. ‘Peace for our time’
Part II: Secrets, lies and misinterpretations
10. ‘A state of confusion which amounted
almost to chaos’: MI5 1939–41
11. The internment of ‘enemy aliens’
12. ‘The largest communist sideshow in
London’: the Free German League of Culture
13. The Austrian Centre – and ‘the great Eva’
14. ‘About the most dangerous of all these
organisations’: the Czech Refugee Trust Fund
15. Whispers and lies: the informers
16. Friends in need: British supporters of the
refugees
Part III: Preparing for the Cold War
17. Red alert: keeping watch on the communists
18. Tube alloys: the British atomic bomb project
19. The spy who was caught: the case of Klaus
Fuchs
20. The spy who got away: the case of Engelbert
Broda
21. Parting company
Conclusion
A note on sources
Select Bibliography
Index
Refugee life and organisations
The Millers were most closely associated with the Austrian exile theatre company, the Laterndl, but their papers also contain documents relating to a number of other political and cultural organisations established by members of the 30,000-strong Austrian refugee community.1 The organisations shown here had various aims, including helping other potential refugees still in Nazi-occupied territory to escape, improving the daily life of the refugees in the UK, and focusing attention on how to build a better Austria after the war. Such organisations would also have fulfilled a much-needed social function for the members themselves, as they created a sense of community and helped refugees overcome feelings of loss, hardship and alienation.2
Miller 2/151. Letter from Austrian Self-Aid, 1938
Probably the earliest document in the Miller collection relating to the refugee organisations is the above letter, which documents some of the desperate attempts by refugees already in the UK to help more victims of Nazi persecution to emigrate, as the wave of Nazi terror in Vienna increased in 1938. It was written by the founders of ‘Austrian Self-Aid’, a ‘charitable, non-political organisation with the aim of providing assistance and information for other Austrian refugees in Britain’.2 Although the exiles who established it were mainly Communist Party members, they gave their political views a low profile in order not to alienate members of the general refugee community and to avoid difficulties with the British authorities. Unfortunately the second page of the letter is missing so the reason for writing is not certain, but since it was written in English and describes the difficulties of dealing with the immense demand for help given the group’s limited resources, it seems likely that it was intended for British supporters of the Austrian cause to request financial support.
Miller 5/3/3. British Council carol concert programme (front), 1939
Miller 5/3/3. British Council carol concert programme (inner), 1939
Another document in the collection, which illustrates one way in which the British authorities interacted positively with the refugee groups, is the above programme for a carol concert held at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on Christmas Eve 1939. The concert was organised by the Resident Foreigners’ Committee of the British Council, which had recently been established to provide educational and cultural support to refugees and allied service personnel.3 As the programme shows, the concert included performances by Czech and Polish choirs, an ad hoc group of German-speaking actors (most of whom were members of one or other of the established German-language exile theatre companies in London) led by Martin Miller, as well as the well-travelled British singing group, Fleet Street Choir 4 Below is a letter from the British Council to Martin sent after the event, congratulating him on the success of the production and thanking him for the Austrians’ hard work.
Miller 2/17. Letter from the British Council, 1939
For many Austrian refugees, the heart of the exile community was the Austrian Centre (AC). Located in Westbourne Terrace in Paddington, London, it was set up by Communist refugees as a self-help organisation to provide support for the community. The above flyer for the AC, dated 30 July 1942, gives information on the Centre’s events, facilities and publications. It shows, for example, the range of Austrian specialities on the menu of the Centre’s restaurant, such as ‘Fridattensuppe’ (broth with sliced pancake), ‘Polsterzipf’ (sweet pastries) and ‘Faschiertes mit Spinat’ (minced meat with spinach). It lists entertainment events organised by refugees at the AC, such as the Laterndl’s production Spiel im Schloss and the première of a farce by Franz und Paul von Schönthan: Raub der Sabinerinnen. It also notifies readers of forthcoming information events concerning the British internment of refugees as enemy aliens, and of a new translation service provided by the AC for members needing to have their documents translated into English.
Miller 1/2/3/2. Austrian Centre info sheet, Jul 1942
Also advertised on the AC flyer is the Centre’s own German-language newspaper, the Zeitspiegel, which was claimed to be ‘unentbehrlich für jeden Emigranten’ (‘indispensible for every emigrant’). This was a weekly paper focusing on topics of most relevance to the refugees, such as antisemitism, the internment situation, and events in Austria and Germany. For example, this edition from the collection (below) reports on developments in Vienna, where hunger, exhaustion and sabotage were apparently dramatically reducing war production.
Miller 5/4. “Zeitspiegel” (no. 46, 15 November 1941)
Finally, this flyer from 1941 highlights some of the key political issues that were considered of particular importance by at least some of the Austrian refugee community at the time. It advertised a series of public debates organised by the association, ‘Das kommende Österreich’ (‘The coming Austria’), at the Mary Ward Settlement in Tavistock Place, London. The discussion topics included the position of the Austrian Communists with regard to unity in the fight against Hitler; the prerequisites for a Central European federation; and the legal position of Austrian refugees and their incorporation into war production and civil defence.
Miller 5/3/7. Flyer for a series of discussion evenings hosted by the association, ‘Das kommende Österreich’
Footnotes
1 This figure is from Anthony Grenville, ‘The Emigration of Austrians to Britain after 1938 and the Early Years of Settlement: a Survey’, in Immortal Austria: Austrians in Exile in Britain, ed. by Charmian Brinson, Richard Dover and Jennifer Taylor, Yearbook of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies, 8 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2006), pp. 3-17 (p. 3).
2 Andrea Reiter, ‘Introduction’ in ‘I didn’t want to float; I wanted to belong to something.’ Refugee Organisations in Britain 1933-1945′, ed. by Anthony Grenville and Andrea Reiter, Yearbook of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies, 10 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2008), pp. ix-xvi (pp. x-xi).
3 Charmian Brinson, ‘Eva Kolmer and the Austrian Emigration in Britain, 1938-1946’, in German-speaking Exiles in Great Britain, ed. by Anthony Grenville, Yearbook of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies, 2 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2000), pp. 143-169 (p. 145).
4 http://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/history/timeline.
5 http://aim25test.da.ulcc.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=16008&inst_id=118&nv1=browse&nv2=sub.
The Laterndl re-alights at 153 Finchley Road
Three months after the government’s enforced closure of theatres at the start of the Second World War, the rules were relaxed as it appeared there was no immediate danger of bombing raids. In January 1940 the Laterndl reopened in new and larger premises at 153 Finchley Road in Hampstead, north London. The company’s first production there was their second Kleinkunst revue-style show, Blinklichter (or Beacons), which was composed of sketches by Albert Fuchs, Karl Stefan, Rudolf Spitz and Peter Preses. One sketch in particular was to spread Martin Miller’s name far beyond the bounds of the Laterndl and its audiences. His impersonation of Hitler at the Laterndl in this show led to his invitation to broadcast the speech on BBC radio.1
Blinklichter programme, 1940 (photocopy)
It was at 153 Finchley Road that Hannah first became actively involved with the Laterndl. Until then, Hannah had only been to the Laterndl as an audience member and had only met Martin briefly whilst working on a play in Austria. She accepted the role of English language conférencier (the term for ‘master of ceremonies’ in European cabaret) for Blinklichter, a job for which Fritz Schrecker and Martin Miller had tracked her down specially, knowing that she spoke good English.2 She then went on to take her first acting role on a London stage in two of the sketches in the company’s third Kleinkunstprogramm: Von Adam bis Adolf in February 1940.
Scripts for Laterndl shows 2 and 3, 1940
The Laterndl’s new premises also saw the start of a programme of organised evenings dedicated to particular writers who had taken a critical stand against the growing National Socialistst threat to Austria in the 1930s. A series of evenings was held for Jura Soyfer, for example, who was an Austrian Jewish socialist journalist who had written plays for the cabaret stage in Vienna in the 1930s. Soyfer was known personally to some of the Laterndl players, and after his death in Buchenwald in February 1939 they were determined to keep alive his memory through the staging and reading of his works. The three Welttheater shows performed in January 1940 were composed of his plays Der Lechner Edi schaut ins Paradies, Vineta, die versunkene Stadt and Der treueste Bürger Bagdads. For more information on Soyfer see http://www.soyfer.at/deutsch/auffuehrungen_1934-1945.htm.
Laterndl events programme January 1940
The last show to be performed at 153 Finchley Road was Brecht’s Dreigroschenoper in May 1940, one of a number of a number of full-length dramas the company would produce as part of their Weltliteratur evenings. However, the players were now confronted with a problem facing all refugees from Germany and Austria in 1940: the internment of enemy aliens. Rehearsals saw the part of Mack the Knife played by three different male actors, as the first two actors were interned and had to be replaced. The loss of its main actors made it too difficult for the company to continue, and the Laterndl closed again, this time for 15 months.
Footnotes
1 Charmian Brinson and Richard Dove, ‘«Just about the best actor in England»: Martin Miller in London, 1939 bis 1945’, in Exilforschung: ein internationales Jahrbuch, ed. by Claus-Dieter Krohn (Munich: Text und Kritik, 1983- ), XXI: Film und Fotografie, ed. by Claus-Dieter Krohn and others (2003), pp. 129-140 (p. 130).
2 Archive of the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of London, Exile Archive, Interview with Hannah Norbert Miller by Charmian Brinson, December 1995.
The opening of the first Austrian exile theatre in London
Some of the most interesting items in this collection are the scripts, photographs, theatre programmes and press reviews that the Millers accumulated whilst working in exile theatre companies in London in the late 1930s and 1940s. This post gives a brief history of the opening of the main theatre company with which the Millers were associated, which was also the first German language exile theatre to be established in London: the Laterndl (or Lantern).
The Laterndl was founded by three Austrian refugees who wanted to keep alive the tradition of Viennese theatre and provide a home for Austrian drama and literature: Fritz Schrecker, Franz Schulz and Franz Hartl (a.k.a. Franz Bönsch). The latter, Franz Bönsch, later explained that they were driven by the desire to take part in the fight for an independent and free Austria. They also viewed the establishment of a German-speaking theatre as a way of relieving the uprooted and desperate exiles’ homesickness, giving them hope and a belief in the future.1
<img class="size-medium wp-image-289 " alt="Laterndl advert” src=”https://norbertmiller.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/laterndl-advert-1939.jpg?w=206″ width=”206″ height=”300″> Laterndl advert 1939The Laterndl‘s first performance took place on 21 June 1939 with the role of director undertaken by Martin, who had arrived in London in March of that year. In these early days of the company’s existence, its home was the Austrian Centre near Paddington, a self-help organisation set up by Austrian refugees to provide assistance and advice to other exiles. The photograph below is the only photograph I have come across which shows the interior of the rooms where the Laterndl performed at the Austrian Centre. In it you can see Martin with Grete Hartwig watching a rehearsal of the first Laterndl production, Unterwegs (On the Road), a revue-style composition of nine short sketches. The photo gives some idea of the limited space the company had in which to practise and perform: the auditorium held 60 to 70 seats, and the stage measured just five by three metres.2
<img class="size-medium wp-image-113 " alt="Laterndl rehearsal for Unterwegs at the Austrian Centre, 1939″ src=”https://norbertmiller.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/laterndl-rehearsal-for-unterwegs-at-the-austrian-centre-1939.jpg?w=300″ width=”300″ height=”244″> Laterndl rehearsal for Unterwegs at the Austrian Centre, 1939Unterwegs was typical of many of the Laterndl’s productions in the early years of its existence, when the group was heavily influenced by the Viennese version of cabaret known as Kleinkunstbühne. This was a politically-charged, often satirical form of revue theatre which had grown out of the politically and culturally repressive conditions of the Austrian capital in the mid- to late-1930s. The Laterndl’s Kleinkunst shows consisted of short plays and sketches written by members of the group which attempted to stoke political awareness of the situation in Austria and Germany.
<img class="size-medium wp-image-115 " alt="Cultural roots of the Laterndl 1939″ src=”https://norbertmiller.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/cultural-roots-of-the-laterndl-1939.jpg?w=209″ width=”209″ height=”300″> Cultural roots of the Laterndl 1939As the Laterndl’s published list of patrons and participants shows, the company was supported by influential figures in the British and Austrian cultural scenes from the beginning. It gained patronage from the playwright Ashley Dukes, the film actress Luise Rainer, the Times journalist Wickham Steed, and the London PEN Club (on which see http://www.exilpen.de/aboutus.html for more information). Amongst the visitors on its opening night were the Austrian writer and novelist Stefan Zweig, the Austrian parodist Robert Neumann, and the English authors H.G. Wells and J.B. Priestley.3
<img class="size-medium wp-image-114 " alt="Laterndl patrons and participants, 1939″ src=”https://norbertmiller.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/laterndl-patrons-and-participants-1939.jpg?w=213″ width=”213″ height=”300″> Laterndl patrons and participants, 1939Although the prime target was the German-speaking exile community, the comments below republished from the British press indicate that it was not only they who appreciated the contribution the Laterndl was to make to London’s wartime cultural life.
<img class="size-medium wp-image-118 " alt="Media reaction to Laterndl, 1940″ src=”https://norbertmiller.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/media-reaction-to-laterndl-1940.jpg?w=219″ width=”219″ height=”300″> Media reaction to Unterwegs, republished in Laterndl advert 1940The Laterndl’s first production was considered a great success and the company went on to perform it to full houses almost 60 times between June and August. However, these activities were curtailed by the outbreak of the Second World War in September, when all theatres and places of public entertainment were forced to close because of the potential danger from air raids. Even in the relative safety of London, the refugees’ activities were shaped by the actions of the regime from which they had escaped.
Footnotes
1 Franz Bönsch, ‘Das österreichische Exiltheater ‘Laterndl’ in London’, in Österreicher im Exil 1934 bis 1945: Protokoll des internationalen Symposiums zur Erforschung des österreichischen Exils von 1934 bis 1945, abgehalten vom 3. bis 6. Juni 1975 in Wien, ed. by Helene Maimann and Heinz Linzer (Vienna: Dokumentationsarchiv des Österreichischen Widerstandes und Dokumentationsstelle für Neuere Österreichische Literatur, 1977), pp. 441-450, (p. 441).
2 Richard Dove, ‘Acting for Austria: the Laterndl and other Austrian theatre groups’, in Out of Austria: the Austrian Centre in London in World War II, ed. by Marietta Bearman and others (London: Tauris Academic Studies, 2008), pp. 113-140, (p. 114).
3 Dove, p. 114.
Cataloguing the Martin Miller and Hannah Norbert Miller Archive 
