Remembering Refugees Then and Now

Refugee crises are one of the gravest problems facing the modern world. This book explores the paradox of why countries such as Britain pride themselves on their past treatment of refugees yet are suspicious and hostile towards asylum seekers trying to gain entry. It explores the contemporary treatment and representation of refugees ranging from the Huguenots in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries through to the many groups that have gained entry more recently. Was the treatment of refugees such as Jews escaping Tsarist and later Nazi persecution as welcoming as politicians and others now make out? Why have some groups been remembered positively, while others have been forgotten?

Tony Kushner is Marcus Sieff Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Southampton.