The Czech Refugee Trust Fund in Britain 1938–1975 Lifeline to Freedom

This book documents the role of the British-based Czech Refugee Trust Fund (CRTF) and its predecessor, the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia (BCRC). It provides insight into the political debates, controversies, and difficulties that impacted on the British and Czechoslovak governments as well as on the refugees from the Nazi invasions of 1938 and 1939. In addition to Czechs, those seeking to leave included political and/or racial antifascist German and Austrian refugees who had been sheltering there prior to the 1938 Munich Agreement. Spanning Fascist and Communist eras, the book draws upon archive materials and personal experiences of refugees, examines issues of internment and resettlement after WW2, and the BCRC/CRTF’ s dwindling resources with which to support the refugees. The CRTF was able to assist the next group of Czech refugees after the Communist coup in 1948, but not a third group who arrived in 1968 after the invasion by Warsaw Pact armies. The book critically evaluates the successes and failures of the BCRC/CRTF and concludes that, despite the many problems, the CRTF offered a unique service to refugees in its care in times of need.

Jana Barbora Buresova publishes and lectures on Czech refugees from Fascism and Communism and is the recipient of the Honorary Jan Masaryk Silver Medal from the Czech Republic for her work. Charmian Brinson is an Emeritus Professor of German at Imperial College and a founder member of the Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies on which she has published extensively.

Contents Abbreviations Acknowledgements List of Images Map of Czechoslovakia, 1918-1938 Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Early Days: the Rise and Fall of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia 3. ‘A Troublesome and Unrewarding Job’? The Establishment of the Czech Refugee Trust Fund 4. Stresses and Strains: Tensions in the CRTF 5. The Internment of Aliens and the CRTF 6. Life in Wartime: The CRTF and its Refugees 7. The ‘Homecoming’ 8. Winding down the CRTF 9. Conclusion Documents in Appendices Appendix A: Chronology Appendix B: List of Political, Ethnic and Religious Groups making up the ‘Arbeitskreis’ System together with their Leading Members Appendix C Appendix D Appendix E Appendix F Appendix G Appendix H Appendix I Select Bibliography Index