Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1939-1988 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Kitchener camp, a derelict site which had previously been an army camp, was taken over by the Council for German Jewry at the beginning of 1939 as a result of pressure from the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland to rescue threatened Jews from Germany and Austria. Conditions for admission were that inmates must be aged between 18 and 40 and that they have a definite prospect of emigration overseas. The camp began receiving refugees in February 1939 and ended with the outbreak of war in September after which most of the inmates chose to enlist in the British army. Three young English Jews, Jonas and Phineas May and M Banks, who were later to become commissioned officers in the Pioneer Corps, were put in charge of the management of the camp.
Repository
Archival history
This collection comprises 4 separate deposits. The core material was deposited by Phineas May in October 1987 (Accession numbers 54096-54102) when he was Honorary Custodian of the Jewish Museum at Bloomsbury House. He also deposited the entertainments licence at 644/5 in May 1988. In addition Peter Mansbacher, a former inmate of the camp, deposited some material which includes a brief autobiographical sketch at 644/7 and memoirs at 644/8 (Accession number 55506). Harold Jackson also deposited some photographs in September 1985 (Accession number 49111).
GB 1556 WL 644 1939-1988 Collection level 1 box May , Phineas , fl 1939-1985 , Kitchener Camp welfare officer
The Kitchener camp, a derelict site which had previously been an army camp, was taken over by the Council for German Jewry at the beginning of 1939 as a result of pressure from the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland to rescue threatened Jews from Germany and Austria. Conditions for admission were that inmates must be aged between 18 and 40 and that they have a definite prospect of emigration overseas. The camp began receiving refugees in February 1939 and ended with the outbreak of war in September after which most of the inmates chose to enlist in the British army. Three young English Jews, Jonas and Phineas May and M Banks, who were later to become commissioned officers in the Pioneer Corps, were put in charge of the management of the camp.
This collection comprises 4 separate deposits. The core material was deposited by Phineas May in October 1987 (Accession numbers 54096-54102) when he was Honorary Custodian of the Jewish Museum at Bloomsbury House. He also deposited the entertainments licence at 644/5 in May 1988. In addition Peter Mansbacher, a former inmate of the camp, deposited some material which includes a brief autobiographical sketch at 644/7 and memoirs at 644/8 (Accession number 55506). Harold Jackson also deposited some photographs in September 1985 (Accession number 49111).
Phineas May; Harold Jackson; Peter Mansbacher
Papers relating to the Kitchener camp, Kent, 1939-1988, including Phineas May's manuscript diary of camp life, 1939; issues of the 'Kitchener Camp Review', 1939; information leaflets and illustrated brochure of the Kitchener Camp; correspondence of Phineas May in his capacity as entertainments' officer for the Pioneer Corps, 15 Aug 1939-12 Apr 1941 and memoirs of a former Kitchener camp inmate, May 1988.
Original order
Open
Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
English
Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk
Entry compiled by Howard Falksohn.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
November 2007 England Europe Jews Kitchener camp x Richborough Camp Migrants Nazism Political doctrines Refugees Religious groups Third Reich Totalitarianism UK Western Europe London
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Phineas May; Harold Jackson; Peter Mansbacher
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers relating to the Kitchener camp, Kent, 1939-1988, including Phineas May's manuscript diary of camp life, 1939; issues of the 'Kitchener Camp Review', 1939; information leaflets and illustrated brochure of the Kitchener Camp; correspondence of Phineas May in his capacity as entertainments' officer for the Pioneer Corps, 15 Aug 1939-12 Apr 1941 and memoirs of a former Kitchener camp inmate, May 1988.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Original order
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English