Collection GB 1556 WL 610 - Spector, David (fl 1930-1997)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 1556 WL 610

Title

Spector, David (fl 1930-1997)

Date(s)

  • 1936-1992 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

12 folders

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

David Spector, a British born Jew, dedicated much of his life to fighting fascism in Britain, having experienced at first hand, the effects of Nazi persecution on Holocaust survivors.

In World War Two he enlisted in the Royal Artillery and within 2 years he was heading for the Middle East, where he became the youngest ever staff captain at a military college in Egypt. He then volunteered for the Jewish Brigade, and was appointed brigade major, training many of the men who were later to become senior officers in Israel's army. At the end of the war, Spector helped thousands of displaced Holocaust survivors make their way to Palestine.

After World War Two he returned to work in the City and became a leading figure in AJEX, the Association of Jewish Ex-servicemen, serving as its national vice-chairman and as a member of the Board of Deputies' Defence Committee. However he eventually resigned from these posts in protest at what he regarded as a soft attitude towards Moseley's post-war attempts to return to British political life. He died in 1997.

Repository

Archival history

GB 1556 WL 610 1936-1992 collection 12 folders Spector , David , fl 1930-1997 , anti-fascist campaigner

David Spector, a British born Jew, dedicated much of his life to fighting fascism in Britain, having experienced at first hand, the effects of Nazi persecution on Holocaust survivors.

In World War Two he enlisted in the Royal Artillery and within 2 years he was heading for the Middle East, where he became the youngest ever staff captain at a military college in Egypt. He then volunteered for the Jewish Brigade, and was appointed brigade major, training many of the men who were later to become senior officers in Israel's army. At the end of the war, Spector helped thousands of displaced Holocaust survivors make their way to Palestine.

After World War Two he returned to work in the City and became a leading figure in AJEX, the Association of Jewish Ex-servicemen, serving as its national vice-chairman and as a member of the Board of Deputies' Defence Committee. However he eventually resigned from these posts in protest at what he regarded as a soft attitude towards Moseley's post-war attempts to return to British political life. He died in 1997.

David Spector

Papers of David Spector, 1936-1992, including leaflets, periodicals and pamphlets of British right wing organisations and anti-Semitic propaganda.
Correspondence on topics including anti-Semitism; right wing organisations; Lord Beaverbrook's alleged association with Hitler; the organisation of 'Moral Re-armament'; expropriated Jewish property; A K Chesterton's involvement in the National Front and Count Nicholas Tolstoy's views on the Cossacks' role during World War Two.

Press cuttings and typescript article on right wing groups in Britain during World War Two including descriptions of the following groups: '18B Detainees'; British Aid Fund; People's Common Law Parliament; Social Credit; British National Party; Peace Pledge Union; Society of Individualists; National League of Freedom and 'Black Hundred' and copies of documents on the activities, interrogation and internment of Oliver Gilbert, prominent British Fascist of the 1930s and 1940s.

Original order

Open

Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.

English

Detailed description on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk.

Papers Oliver Gilbert at The National Archives (ref: HO45/25692).

David Spector's post World War Two papers relating how he helped thousands of displaced Holocaust survivors make their way to Palestine, are housed with in the museum and archives of the Israel Defence Forces.

Entry compiled by Sarah Drewery.

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.

Mar 2008 Wars (events) 18B Detainees Aitken , William Maxwell , 1879-1964 , 1st Baron Beaverbrook of Beaverbrook , newspaper proprieter x Beaverbrook , 1st Baron Antisemitism British Aid Fund British National Party Chesterton , Arthur Kenneth , 1896-1973 , right-wing politician Civil and political rights Communication process Europe Human rights International conflicts Jews National League of Freedom Peace Pledge Union People's Common Law Parliament Persuasion Propaganda Racial discrimination Religious groups Right to property Social Credit Society of Individualists Spector , David , fl 1930-1997 , anti-fascist campaigner UK War Western Europe World wars (events) World War Two (1939-1945) London England

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

David Spector

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers of David Spector, 1936-1992, including leaflets, periodicals and pamphlets of British right wing organisations and anti-Semitic propaganda.
Correspondence on topics including anti-Semitism; right wing organisations; Lord Beaverbrook's alleged association with Hitler; the organisation of 'Moral Re-armament'; expropriated Jewish property; A K Chesterton's involvement in the National Front and Count Nicholas Tolstoy's views on the Cossacks' role during World War Two.

Press cuttings and typescript article on right wing groups in Britain during World War Two including descriptions of the following groups: '18B Detainees'; British Aid Fund; People's Common Law Parliament; Social Credit; British National Party; Peace Pledge Union; Society of Individualists; National League of Freedom and 'Black Hundred' and copies of documents on the activities, interrogation and internment of Oliver Gilbert, prominent British Fascist of the 1930s and 1940s.

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

Detailed description 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

David Spector's post World War Two papers relating how he helped thousands of displaced Holocaust survivors make their way to Palestine, are housed with in the museum and archives of the Israel Defence Forces.

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Wiener Library

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

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area