We are delighted to welcome David, an MSc Information and Library Studies student on placement with us in Archives and Special Collections this semester. In this guest post, he shares his insights into the Aldred collection.
As someone with a research background relating to Holocaust writing and Holocaust memory, the contents of one of the library’s special collections immediately caught my eye. Containing a range of socialist and anti-fascist pamphlets, texts and serials published between 1839 and 1971, the Andersonian library’s Aldred collection is an excellent resource for those looking to gain insight into British and American responses to historical anti-Semitism. It could be of particular interest to those, for instance, who are looking to research periods and perspectives that are not often represented in contemporary writing.
Anti-Semitism in British Culture
As an example, titles such as A.J. LaBern’s ‘The disease of anti-Semitism’ (London: Woburn Press, 1942) and ‘The Jews: Some plain facts’ (London: Woburn Press, 1942) highlight the undercurrent of anti-Semitism that had begun to creep into British culture and media during the wartime period, with both aiming to counter this by stressing specific Jewish contributions to the war effort.
Holocaust Memory
As the collection also features materials that were published immediately following the liberation of the concentration camps, it also provides valuable insight into another period that is often under-represented in contemporary Holocaust writing. Specifically, this would be the period that Barbie Zelizer1 has referred to as the “first wave” of Holocaust memory. This period is generally viewed as spanning from the liberation of the concentration camps to the end of the 1940s and is heavily informed by the photographs that featured in British and American media during this time. As such, the emphasis is not yet placed on camps such as Auschwitz, which has come to form a vital part of contemporary Holocaust memory, but on places such as Dachau, Bergen-Belsen and Buchenwald. In this light, Victor Gollancz’s pamphlet ‘What Buchenwald Really Means’ (London: V. Gollancz ltd., 1945) is particularly valuable, as it features a fascinating post-liberation framing of the Holocaust. Importantly, Gollancz emphasises the failure of the British media to capture the reality of the genocide as it was taking place and, correspondingly, he chastises the British government and the British public at large for failing to take decisive action in preventing the genocide. The text also offers a noteworthy discussion of collective punishment and, specifically, Gollancz questions whether the German people can be held collectively accountable for the actions of the German government. As he puts it: “People forget what an unspeakably efficient instrument of oppression is a modern dictatorship...” As with many of the resources contained within this collection, therefore, this document provides a valuable perspective that is specific to the period.
This kind of resource can therefore have tremendous value for those who are looking to gain additional insights into specific historical periods or who are looking to understand the immediate framing of certain events. As very few of these documents will have been preserved physically, due to the inherently disposable nature of pamphlets, this collection also offers the chance to closely examine these rare materials. This is very much worth it, as these are rare and often compelling windows into global historical events.
1 Remembering to Forget: Holocaust Memory Through the Camera's Eye. University of Chicago Press. 1998.
We are thrilled to announce the launch of the catalogue for the papers of prolific ban asbestos campaigner Laurie Kazan-Allen.
This opens up over 75 archive boxes of materials to all researchers.
Laurie Kazan-Allen is a hugely significant figure in the ban asbestos movement. She spent over 30 years researching, writing about and campaigning internationally to eradicate the asbestos hazard. In 1990, she was founding editor of the British Asbestos Newsletter: a quarterly publication distributed worldwide to solicitors, victim support groups, academics, medical personnel and research bodies.
The British Asbestos Newsletter (BAN) was a vital tool to share information about asbestos, its effects and the plight of victims of the deadly substance, particularly in the days before the World Wide Web was at its height. At that time asbestos information was in the hands of multinational corporations, government agencies and other vested interests, most of whom were determined to keep tight control over key documents and information.
Kazan-Allen was also the founder and coordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), established in 1999 to work towards a global asbestos ban and to support victims of asbestos-related diseases. From the very beginning, IBAS made common cause with trade unions, labour federations, environmental campaigns, human rights organisations and other like-minded civil society groups. The links forged were vital for progressing the international coalition which motivated and sustained all IBAS activities.
The bulk of the collection is material gathered by Kazan-Allen on various aspects of asbestos, its uses, dangers and effects. Journal articles, correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, case documentation, leaflets and statistics have all been filed under thematic headings including: countries; international agencies; asbestos companies; scientific and medical developments; legal cases; individuals involved in historical and scientific research; and others.
Laurie Kazan-Allen used these research files to write articles, speeches, and reports which are also represented within the collection and on the website of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat.
This collection joins our growing and popular corpus of asbestos-related materials: some of our most frequently consulted collections. We look forward to welcoming researchers to access this new and important collection.
Asked for her comments on the launch of the on-line catalogue, Kazan-Allen said:
Further information:
Contact us to make an appointment or enquire about the collection.
Feature image: Ban asbestos campaign badges (LKA/6/11)