Spotlight on collections: Professor Alice Eckardt papers

In the first blog of 2023, spotlighting on collections, we take a look at our first accession of the year – the papers of Professor Alice Eckardt. And perhaps fittingly in the week of Holocaust Memorial Day, we look at a person who was a leading scholar and activist in the field of Christian-Jewish relations and her connections with a leading British figure in the same field – Revd Dr James Parkes.

Alice and A. Roy Eckardt with James Parkes in the gardens at Barley [MS425/15 A4386/2/58]

Alice Lyons Eckardt (1923-2020) gained her BA from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1944 and then an MA at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1966. She taught at Lehigh throughout her career, becoming Professor of Religious Studies in 1972 and retaining this post until 1987. There she worked alongside her husband A. Roy Eckardt (1918-98), a leading scholar in Christian-Jewish relations, who was chairman of the Religious Studies Department between 1951 to 1982. They co-authored three books Encounter with Israel: a challenge to conscience (1970); Long night’s journey into day: life and faith after the Holocaust (1982) and A revised retrospective on the Holocaust (1988) and Alice Eckardt also wrote over two hundred articles. In 1979 she was appointed special consultant to the President of the United States’ Commission on the Holocaust and also acted as a special advisor to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

The Eckardts knew James and Dorothy Parkes and visited the Parkes’ home at Barley when Roy was utilising the Parkes Library.

James Parkes at his home at Barley [MS425/15 A4386/2/98]

In her conference paper delivered at the First Friday Forum, Institute of Jewish-Christian Understanding, at Muhlenberg College, November 2007, Alice Eckardt recalls how she and her husband met and came to know James and Dorothy Parkes.

“My husband Roy Eckardt and I first got to know James and Dorothy Parkes in 1963-64 when Roy was researching how European thought about the Christian-Jewish relationship might have changed in roughly 20 years since the Holocaust. We had chosen to live in Cambridge, England, for the University’s library along with its nearness to Parkes’s home in the small village of Barley. We worked frequently in his library and had morning tea and the mid-day meal with them many days. By the end of the year I had come to see James as a true Renaissance man because of the width and depth of his interests and knowledge. We also experienced his impish grin and his marvellous story-telling, which our fourteen-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old son thoroughly enjoyed; especially his “ghost” story…”

[MS425/15 A4386/1/6]

James and Dorothy Parkes, 1977 [MS425/15 A4386/2]

Alice Eckardt’s own collection is made up of files of papers relating to Parkes, including articles and reviews by him, correspondence with Parkes, details of a paper on Parkes given by Eckardt at a conference in 2007 and of the biographies by Colin Holmes and Haim Chertock together with material by Robert Everett. 

Part of a letter from James Parkes to Alice and Roy Eckardt praising their study of the Holocaust, 15 Feb 1977 [MS425/15 A4386/1/5]

There also are a series of slides, which include a number of Barley and as well as photographs of James and Dorothy Parkes.

The Parkes Library at Barley [MS425/15 A4386/2/85]

Barley [MS425/15 A4386/2/100]

The collection also contains a number of publications by Parkes, both books and pamphlets, which have been heavily annotated by Alice Eckardt.  This printed material will become part of the Parkes Library collection.

A selection of pamphlets by James Parkes

A full catalogue of the archive material and photographs shortly will be available in the online Archive Catalogue – work is in process.

Join us next week for further blogs in February shining a light on other collections in our care.

Antisemitism, Refugees and the Holocaust: Pamphlets in the Parkes Library

James Parkes (1896-1981), whose Library on Jewish/non-Jewish relations is the largest and best used of the printed Special Collections, was a keen collector of pamphlets. For him, they gave the “day to day savour of an actual period which a historian seeks to catch”. Describing the collection’s transfer to Southampton in (appropriately) a pamphlet, Parkes highlighted the 2,000 historical and contemporary pamphlets which he had acquired, and described the immediacy he found when studying those from the emancipation period.

Thanks to Parkes, users of his Library can find the same immediacy in the leaflets and pamphlets that he collected during the 1930s and 1940s. Intended to educate and inform, most were produced by the organisations with which he worked to combat antisemitism in this country or to help refugees from Nazi Europe. Amongst the pamphlets are publications by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Christian Council for Refugees from Germany and Central Europe and the National Committee for Rescue from Nazi Terror.

1930s pamphlets from the Parkes Library

In response to the formation of the British Union of Fascists in 1932 and the growth of antisemitism, the Board of Deputies circulated a range of leaflets and pamphlets for both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences via its Press and Information Committee and later its Coordinating Committee. Addressing the Jewish community, they warned against attending fascist meetings where clashes between the groups would create public disorder, whilst other pamphlets stressed the patriotism of the Jews, the contribution they made to society and also the threat to the Jewish communities of Germany and Austria.

The Co-ordinating Committee: [a brief survey of its work] (1938) Parkes BZ 6601.B61

As well as publishing pamphlets and reprinting articles from the press, the Board also supported speakers at open-air campaign meetings, often held in the same place and immediately after an antisemitic meeting. Each of the series of thirty Speakers’ Notes addresses an individual antisemitic allegation, giving a refutation based on authoritative sources. In the initial “Hints to Speakers” they are advised, amongst other things, to keep to the facts and verify references, to treat all questioners with the greatest courtesy and to stick to policy and avoid personalities.

From: Speakers’ Notes prepared by the Co-ordinating Committee of the Board of Deputies of British Jews (1938) Parkes BZ 8211.B61

As the situation deteriorated in Europe, many organisations were set up to help refugees. The Christian Council for Refugees from Germany and Central Europe was established in 1938 to raise funds for the relief of “non-Aryan” victims of Nazi oppression, that is those who were defined as Jews by the Nazis, but not Jewish by religion. James Parkes was a member of its Council whilst Rev. W.W. Simpson was the General Secretary from 1938-1942. The pamphlets published by the Council were intended to generate support for its work and to overcome negative attitudes towards refugees. Titles included Refugees Have Proved their Worth and Refugees and Industry which highlighted the work of refugee industrialists in establishing over 300 factories in Britain, often in deprived areas, in the six years prior to the war.

The Refugees & Industry Christian Council for Refugees from Germany and Central Europe (1941) Parkes cabinet BZ 6651.C58

With so many organisations becoming involved in the struggle to help European Jews, the picture was muddied for both those seeking help and those trying to provide it. A Central Office for Refugees was created as a communications channel between government departments and the refugees organisations, the Executive Committee consisting of representatives of the Central Council for Jewish Refugees, the Christian Council and the Refugee Children’s Movement. The pamphlet Bloomsbury House (1942) issued by the Central Office provided a guide to all the refugee organisations headquartered at Bloomsbury House (making it clear why such a guide was needed) and was also a manual of general information on questions of refugee employment and welfare. The Central Office’s pamphlet, Entertaining our Refugee Guests provided advice under such headings as private hospitality and entertainments.

From: Bloomsbury House Central Office for Jewish Refugees, 2nd ed. (1943) Parkes BZ 6651.C46

Another organisation with which Parkes was involved, this time as a member of its Executive Committee, was the National Committee for Rescue from Nazi Terror. Set up in March 1943, the Committee worked to bring the pressure of public opinion to bear on the British Government in the hope that it would take a lead in rescuing and providing a home for Jewish refugees. Again, publications were seen as crucial in both publicising the Nazis’ treatment of the Jews and in generating support. Rescue the Perishing (1943) by Eleanor Rathbone M.P., a prominent member of the Committee, contained descriptions of massacres in Poland, a twelve-point programme of rescue measures as well as replies to anticipated objections such as “we cannot spare the food” or “we have not the accommodation”. 

Rescue the Perishing Eleanor Rathbone (1943) Parkes BZ 6651.R38

The pamphlets collected by Parkes show the changing priorities as the organisations with which he was associated attempted to counter antisemitic and fascist propaganda, to help refugees in the 1930s and to save Jews in the 1940s. Used to publicise the events which had, in some cases brought the organisation into being, they were intended to influence public opinion and to generate support, both financial and moral. For today’s readers, they provide something of the “day to day savour” of the period, which made pamphlets so important to Parkes.

The Jews in Europe Board of Deputies of British Jews (1945) Parkes BZ 2211.B68

Digitised audio recordings of Revd James Parkes

22 December marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Revd Dr James William Parkes. The transfer of his Library and archive to the University of Southampton in 1964 marked the start of a half century of significant growth, both in the Parkes Library and in Jewish archive collections, transforming Southampton into a major Jewish documentation centre. Amongst the predominantly paper based archive collection were a series of audio material in analogue or obsolete formats. This material, which includes recordings of sermons and talks during the 1960s and 1970s, has been transferred to digital to make it available for research.

Revd James Parkes in studio for a radio broadcast [MS 60/34/6]

The sermons include “The End of the Way” delivered by Parkes at the Church of St Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge, at the close of the conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) on Jewish-Christian co-operation in 1966 [MS 60/4/6]; and “The Road to Jerusalem” consisting of five sermons for Lent given at Salisbury Cathedral in 1967 [MS 60/4/8/5], sequentially titled “Jesus Clears His Mind – The Temptations”, “The Road Through Tradition”, “The Road Through Teaching”, “The Road Through Healing” and “The Road Through Suffering”.

Recordings of talks by Parkes include “Israel, the diaspora and the world outside” recorded for the BBC, 1 September 1966 [MS 60/4/6]; “Jewish Students between the Wars” delivered to the Oxford University Jewish Society on 14 May 1967 [MS 60/4/8/8]; and “Tradition and Adventure” given at the Westminster Synagogue on 13 June 1967 [MS 60/4/8/8].

The collection also contains two recordings focusing on the life of James Parkes. These include “Journeying” recorded by Parkes’ wife, Dorothy, on 29 April 1977 [MS 60/37/1]; and “Word of Greeting” recorded by Dr Morton C Fierman, California State University, for a colloquium held by the International Council of Christians and Jews in honour of Rev Dr James Parkes and Professor Jules Isaac at Connaught Hall, Southampton, on 20 July 1977 [MS 60/37/1].

The earliest recording is of the opening of the Parkes Library at the University of Southampton on 23 June 1965 [MS 60/4/6]. The event included speeches by Edmund Leopold de Rothschild, and Lord Perth, Vice President of the Council of Christians and Jews. In his introductory speech, the University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor announced the establishment of the Parkes Library Fellowship, a post intended to raise the profile of the collection and to help secure funding for the international research centre envisaged by James Parkes.

Photograph of the official opening of the Parkes Library at the University of Southampton Library, 23 June 1965 [Univ. Coll. Photos LF 789.5L46]

The following thirty years saw a series of distinguished Parkes Library Fellows working on the collection, but it was not until 1996 — the year of his centenary — that Parkes Centre for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations was launched. Five years later the Parkes Institute was created to coordinate and expand the activities of what had become the AHRB Parkes Centre, and the associated library and archive collections.

All of the recordings are now available to access in the Archives and Manuscripts reading room.

The Battle of Cable Street – 4th October 1936

The Battle of Cable Street is a significant moment in the history of London Jewry and has often been represented as a turning point in the struggle against Fascism in Britain. This week, commemorations for the 80th anniversary will include a march and a rally in east London – both to remember the past – and to highlight the importance of combating racism and prejudice today.

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Anti-fascist protesters run as police approach a barricade near Aldgate during the clashes – crowds had overturned a lorry in Cable Street and used building materials from a local building yard to block the road.

There were at least 100,000 Anti-Fascist protesters on the streets that day (some sources suggest as many as 250,000 people). Jews, Irish dockers, trade unionists, Communists, Independent Labour Party members, women and children turned out to form a “Human barrier to Stop Fascists” [Sunday Referee, 4 October 1936]. “LIKE A SIEGE. 84 arrests, 200 hurt” ran the headlines of the Daily Express, following clashes with police – who made baton charges into the crowds in an attempt to clear the roads.  Just one week earlier, the British Union of Fascists (BUF) had announced its intention to parade in the vicinity of the Royal Mint, where it would be drawn up in military formation and inspected by Sir Oswald Mosley. From here they planned to march through Aldgate and Whitechapel – the heart of the Jewish East End of London – before holding Fascist meetings at multiple venues in the area. [q BZ8211.P73 Parkes Cable St. press cuttings]

‘Stop Racial Incitement in East London!!’ poster [MS 60/15/53] – thousands of leaflets were distributed prior to the march

The BUF had been running a campaign of provocation and violence aimed at stirring up anti-Semitism in the East End for some time. The newly formed Jewish People’s Council against Fascism and Anti-Semitism (JPC) drew attention to inflammatory speeches, indoor and outdoor meetings, processions into Jewish and anti-Fascist districts, and incidents of violence against Jews. Their statement of policy identified the BUF with a modern political anti-Semitism which threatened the democratic rights of the British people as a whole. [MS 60/15/53]

Strenuous efforts were made by local organisations to persuade the government to prohibit the march – the mayors of five East End boroughs asked the Home Office to ban it – but without success.

Petition to the Secretary for Home Affairs [MS 116/6]

In just 48 hours, the JPC gathered almost a 100,000 signatures for a petition which was presented to the Home Secretary, Sir John Simon. This would not have been possible without the “magnificent assistance” of local Anti-Fascist groups, including the Jewish Councils of Action, the East London Association for combating Fascism; the Ex-Servicemen’s Movement against Fascism, and the members of the Workers’ Circle.

Although the parade went ahead, the scale of the counter-demonstration and the threat of blood shed were so great, that Sir Philip Game, the Chief Police Commissioner, called off the march through the East End to prevent further breaches of the peace. Running battles continued for hours in the streets.

‘Fascist Hooliganism!’ poster [MS 60/15/53]

The BUF may have suffered defeat on the day but the fight against Fascism was far from won. The passage of the Public Order Act, 1936, after the disturbances, banned marching in uniform and required police consent in order for marches to go ahead. In the short term, however, historians suggest that life became worse for Jews in the East End. The prominent Jewish involvement at Cable Street and the publicity that violent opposition had produced was exploited by the Fascists to gain sympathy and support.

The story and significance of Cable Street is vividly captured in the papers of the Reverend James William Parkes (1896-1981), held here in the Special Collections at Southampton. Parkes dedicated the greater part of his life to combating anti-Semitism. He had first-hand knowledge of the situation in the East End of London and in 1936 he was meeting local people, giving educational lectures, trying to understand the problem, in order to work out possible solutions. His papers shed a fascinating light on the different approaches and viewpoints within the Jewish community and of the efforts of Gentiles and Christians to join them in the fight against prejudice.

To read about the life of the Reverend James Parkes: MS 60

Cable Street 80: http://cablestreet80.org.uk/

Exhibition: Creating a Legacy: the Parkes Library

Drawing on material in the Special Collections, the exhibition will consider the legacy created by Revd Dr James Parkes, through his library and his research on Jewish/non-Jewish relations. James Parkes began collecting material in the 1930s and by the time it arrived at Southampton in 1964, the Library consisted of 4,000 books, 2,000 pamphlets and 140 journals. It has developed into one of the largest Jewish documentation centres in Europe and complements the Anglo-Jewish Archives, also part of Special Collections, which is one of the largest collections of Jewish archives in Western Europe. These research collections have led to the development of the Parkes Institute, which is a research centre focusing on Jewish history and culture, and which continues Parkes’s legacy of teaching and research.

The exhibition will run in conjunction with the Parkes Institute Jubilee Conference, the climax of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations 2014-2015. It will open on Monday 7 September and run until 6 November 2015.

During exhibitions the Special Collections Gallery is open to the public Monday to Friday 1000 to 1600. Admission is free. Visitors may be asked for proof of identity by Library Reception staff.

Holocaust Memorial Day

27 January is Holocaust Memorial Day, the date chosen as it is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp. 2015 is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

The Parkes Library, created by Revd Dr James Parkes, who spent much of his life combatting anti-Semitism, contains a sizeable section of printed material on the Holocaust including general histories of the Holocaust, together with books describing events in individual countries. Published diaries and testimonials of victims and survivors are well represented and there are also sections on the interpretation of Holocaust literature and on the historiography of the subject.

Telegram (MS 175/142/1) sent to Hertz in November 1938 using the term ‘Holocaust’ in response to the events of Kristallnacht.

There is considerable material within the Anglo-Jewish Archive collections at Southampton, ranging from a telegram sent to the Chief Rabbi Hertz in November 1938 using the term ‘Holocaust’ in response to the events of Kristallnacht, to memoirs and testimonials and papers relating to war crimes and war criminals.

The writings of Eugene (John) Heimler (MS220) on the Holocaust include some pages of his Holocaust memoir Night in the mist. The collection also includes material relating to the foundation of a Holocaust survivors’ centre. Amongst the papers of the Council of Christians and Jews (MS 65) is material of the Association of Nazi Camp Survivors and of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation Committee. Other smaller collections include an account of the war experiences of David Kutner, who was incarcerated in Lodz ghetto and subsequently Auschwitz, and papers of Rudi Kennedy who led a successful campaign for compensation for Jewish slave labourers.

The main collection relating to war crimes is MS 200 which is the papers of the International Military Tribunal and Nuremberg Military Tribunals, 1945-9. Further material on war crimes and war criminals can be found in collection MS 237-41 the Institute of Jewish Affairs and MS 137 the Anglo-Jewish Association.

The Archives and Manuscripts holds two collections of filmed interviews: the Fortunoff Video Collection of Holocaust survivors from Yale University Library, and the Association of Jewish Refugees Refugee Voices, which contains 150 filmed interviews with Jewish survivors and refugees from Nazism who have settled in Great Britain.

An event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2015 has been jointly organised by Southampton Solent University and the University of Southampton. For further details please visit the Parkes Institute Events page.

50th Anniversary of the arrival of the Parkes Library

Consisting of over 4000 books, 2000 pamphlets and 140 journals, the private library of Revd. Dr James Parkes was transferred to Southampton University Library in 1964, making 2014 the 50th anniversary of the transfer.

Revd Dr James Parkes devoted his life to combating anti-Semitism, which he first encountered in European universities while working for the International Student Service. He helped rescue Jewish refugees during the 1930s and campaigned for the Jews of Europe during the Holocaust. During the Second World War he helped found the Council of Christians and Jews and worked throughout his career in promoting religious tolerance and mutual respect.

Official opening of the Parkes Library

As part of his campaigning, he built up the Parkes Library and associated archive, and completed a thesis entitled The Conflict of the Church and the Synagogue: a study in the origins of anti-Semitism. This publication of this work established him as a specialist in the fields of Jewish-Christian relations and the history of anti-Semitism.

The Parkes Library is now one of the largest Jewish documentation centres in Europe and the only one in the world devoted to Jewish/non-Jewish relations. It has led to the development of the Parkes Institute, which provides teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, as well as having a thriving doctoral programme and a range of outreach activities engaging the general public, local communities and colleges.

Along with the Parkes Library, Revd James William Parkes also transferred his papers to the University of Southampton (MS 60). These contain correspondence and notes relating to his publications, as well as newspaper cuttings on significant events such as the Suez crisis of 1956, the Palestine question, anti-Semitism and fascism. Other sections of the archive include the personal financial papers relating to the administration of the Parkes Library.

User perspectives: Discovering the situation for Jews and Jewish Refugees during the twentieth century using the Anglo-Jewish archives

The University of Southampton holds one of the largest collections of Jewish archives in Western Europe. The holdings partly grew out of the association with the Parkes Library, originally the private library of Reverend Dr James Parkes. Parkes devoted his life to investigating and combating the problem of anti-Semitism and since the arrival of Parkes’ Library at the University in 1964 the study of Jewish/non-Jewish relations has developed significantly.

Books within the Parkes Library

Alice Caffull, a former University of Southampton Modern History and Politics undergraduate student, and now a Master’s Jewish History and Culture student, explains how she has used the Anglo-Jewish archives for her research.

“I consulted the “Refugee Voices” Association of Jewish Refugees collection in both my undergraduate and postgraduate degree because of my interest in personal testimony and memoirs. I used this collection in various essays and found it an easy-to-navigate and fascinating source. I study MA Jewish History and Culture and therefore the wealth of Jewish history contained within the archives is extremely useful and exciting for me. I spent a whole module (an Individually Negotiated Topic module) on the diaries of Samuel Morris Rich, a Jewish teacher who kept a diary from 1905 until his death in 1950. I really enjoyed getting into the content of these diaries and assessing the situation for Jews particularly before the First World War through his diaries.

MS 168 AJ 217/4 Diary of Samuel Morris Rich, 1908

The archives were also one of the main reasons that I stayed at Southampton to do my Master’s degree, as well as of course for the fantastic Parkes Institute. For my MA dissertation I will be spending many more hours in the Archive, looking at Rabbis Hertz and Schonfeld’s papers, the papers of James Parkes and Carl Stettauer, and the records of various Councils and committees such as the Council for Christians and Jews. These will hopefully aid my discussion of the work of the Salvation Army in England with refugee groups in the first half of the twentieth century, a previously unstudied topic. Through these documents I am looking for information on the work of Christian and Jewish groups together, and for any references to the work of the Salvation Army within wider Christian and philanthropic movements at this time.”