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Britishness, Brexit, and the Holocaust

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The Palgrave Handbook of Britain and the Holocaust

Abstract

This chapter tracks how memories and imaginings of the Holocaust have been used at a state level in Britain in recent years. It demonstrates how this process became inexorably tied to ideas of nation and notions of nationhood, with Holocaust memory and education employed to buttress conceptions of ‘Britishness’ and ‘British values’. It traces shifts in mnemonic discourse at a state level, and maps these onto broader trends and issues which emerged with the advent of ‘Brexit’. It concludes with some tentative remarks about possible future developments.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Bronwen Maddox, ‘House of Commons crumbles amid a culture of decay’, Financial Times, 4 November 2017.

  2. 2.

    James Brokenshire, cited, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, ‘Press Release: UK Holocaust Memorial to reaffirm Britain’s commitment to stand up against antisemitism, prejudice and hatred’, 5 December 2018. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-holocaust-memorial-to-reaffirm-britains-commitment-to-stand-up-against-antisemitism-prejudice-and-hatred.

  3. 3.

    Nicholas Boyle, ‘The end of England: How the Brexit storm shattered national identity’, The Tablet, 12 September 2019. Available via: https://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/2/16688/the-end-of-england-how-the-brexit-storm-shattered-national-identity.

  4. 4.

    Peter Bottomley, cited, Jonathan Morrison, ‘Renovating the Palace of Westminster—a gothic horror story’, The Times, 14 August 2019.

  5. 5.

    Jonathan Morrison, ‘Renovating the Palace of Westminster—a gothic horror story’, The Times, 14 August 2019.

  6. 6.

    ‘St George’s Cross coming home to Big Ben’, Sky News, 11 July 2018; James Tapsfield and Kate Ferguson, ‘Scottish and Welsh MPs erupt in fury’, MailOnline, 11 July 2018.

  7. 7.

    Michael Kenny, ‘The English Question—From the margins to the mainstream?’ Blog, Centre on Constitutional Change. Available via: https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/news-and-opinion/english-question-margins-mainstream.

  8. 8.

    Alisa Henderson, Charlie Jeffrey, Dan Wincott, and Richard Wyn Jones, ‘How Brexit was made in England’, The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19:4 (2017), 631–646.

  9. 9.

    Steven Morris, ‘Cataclysm of Brexit “could lead to Welsh independence”’, The Guardian, 5 October 2018; Benjamin Kentish, ‘Brexit and May’s “disgraceful failure of leadership” pave way for second Scottish independence referendum’, The Independent, 9 October 2018.

  10. 10.

    ‘Downing Street to garden retreat: David Cameron spends £25,000 on luxury hut’, The Guardian, 30 April 2017.

  11. 11.

    House of Commons Hansard, ‘Engagements’, 27 January 2016, Volume 605.

  12. 12.

    Patrick Wintour, ‘David Cameron raises West Lothian question after Scotland vote’, The Guardian, 19 September 2014.

  13. 13.

    Ben Pitcher, The Politics of Multiculturalism: Race and Racism in Contemporary Britain (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), p. 8, 51.

  14. 14.

    Kathleen Paul, ‘Communities of Britishness: Migration in the last gasp of empire’ in British Culture and the End of Empire, ed. Stuart Ward (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001), p. 180.

  15. 15.

    Alwyn W. Turner, A Classless Society: Britain in the 1990s (London: Aurum Press, 2013), p. 8.

  16. 16.

    Erica Consterdine, Labour’s Immigration Policy: The Making of a Migration State (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).

  17. 17.

    Will Somerville, Immigration under New Labour (Bristol: The Policy Press, 2007), p. 1.

  18. 18.

    Ibid. 37; Consterdine, Labour’s Immigration Policy, 3. See also Nicholas Watt and Patrick Wintour, ‘How immigration came to haunt Labour: The inside story’, The Guardian, 24 March 2015.

  19. 19.

    Erica Consterdine, ‘The huge political cost of Blair’s decision to allow Eastern European migrants unfettered access to Britain’, The Conversation, 16 November 2016.

  20. 20.

    Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin, National Populism: The Revolt against Liberal Democracy (London: Pelican Books, 2018), p. 8.

  21. 21.

    Julie Smith, ‘A missed opportunity? New Labour’s European policy, 1997–2005’, International Affairs, 81:4 (2005), 703–721. 704.

  22. 22.

    Tony Blair, ‘Tony Blair’s Britain speech’, The Guardian, 28 March 2000.

  23. 23.

    Kirsty Hughes and Edward Smith, ‘New Labour—New Europe?’ in The New Labour Reader, eds. Andrew Chadwick and Richard Heffer (Cambridge: Polity, 2003), p. 235.

  24. 24.

    Smith, ‘A missed opportunity?’ p. 713.

  25. 25.

    Tariq Modood, ‘What is multiculturalism and what can it learn from interculturalism?’ Ethnicities (2015), 11–24. 15–17.

  26. 26.

    Catherine Curran-Vigier, ‘From multiculturalism to global values: How New Labour set the agenda’, Le New Labour et l’identité britannique, ed. Timothy Whitton (Clermont Ferrand: Observatoire de la Société Britannique, 2008). Available via: https://journals.openedition.org/osb/624?lang=en#text.

  27. 27.

    Stephen Driver and Luke Mantell, ‘New Labour: Culture and Economy’ in Culture and Economy after the Cultural Turn, eds. Larry Ray and Andrew Sayer (London: Sage, 1999): 1. See also Gavin Parker, Citizenships, Contingency and the Countryside: Rights, Culture, Land and the Environment (London: Routledge, 2002), p. 53.

  28. 28.

    Derek Mcghee, Intolerant Britain? Hate, Citizenship and Difference (Berkshire: Open University Press, 2005), p. 167.

  29. 29.

    Tony Blair, ‘Full text of the Prime Minister’s speech’, The Daily Telegraph, 28 January 2001.

  30. 30.

    Simon Clarke and Steve Garner, White Identities: A Critical Sociological Approach (London: Pluto Press, 2010), p. 63.

  31. 31.

    Ryan Trimm, Heritage and the Legacy of the Past in Contemporary Britain (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), p. 260.

  32. 32.

    Romain Garbaye and Pauline Schnapper, ‘Introduction’ in The Politics of Ethnic Diversity in the British Isles, eds. Romain Garbaye and Pauline Schnapper (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), p. 7.

  33. 33.

    Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, ‘After multiculturalism’, The Political Quarterly (2001), pp. 47–56.

  34. 34.

    “‘Moral panic” driving asylum policy’, BBC News, 30 July 2003.

  35. 35.

    David Goodhart, ‘Progressive nationalism isn’t an oxymoron, it’s a necessity’, The Guardian, 29 May 2006.

  36. 36.

    Garbaye and Schnapper, ‘Introduction’, p. 8.

  37. 37.

    David Goodhart, Progressive Nationalism: Citizenship and the Left (London: Demos, 2006), p. 26.

  38. 38.

    Ben Pitcher, The Politics of Multiculturalism: Race and Racism in Contemporary Britain (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), p. 8.

  39. 39.

    ‘In full: Ruth Kelly speech’, BBC News, 24 August 2006. Available via: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5281572.stm.

  40. 40.

    For the MCB’s response, see Muslim Council of Britain, ‘MCB responds to Ruth Kelly’s speech’, 15 October 2006. Available via: https://www.mcb.org.uk/mcb-responds-to-ruth-kellys-speech/.

  41. 41.

    Toby Helm, ‘Back British values or lose grants’, The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 2006.

  42. 42.

    Ruth Kelly, cited, Tania Branigan, ‘Muslim groups must tackle extremism to gain funding, says Kelly’, The Guardian, 11 October 2006.

  43. 43.

    Martin Bright, ‘Radical Islam: Ministers get the message’, New Statesman, 9 April 2007.

  44. 44.

    Rachel Fletcher, ‘Brown: “Don’t Boycott HMD”’, The Jewish Chronicle, 26 January 2007.

  45. 45.

    ‘Full text of Gordon Brown’s speech’, The Guardian, 27 February 2007.

  46. 46.

    Hansard, Commons Debates, 3 July 2007, Column 819.

  47. 47.

    Tania Branigan, ‘Shakespeare and algebra are a must for pupils, schools told’, The Guardian, 5 February 2007.

  48. 48.

    Laura Clark, ‘Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims’, Daily Mail, 2 April 2007; Jeevan Vasagar, ‘Schools drop Holocaust lessons’, The Guardian, 2 April 2007.

  49. 49.

    ‘Britain to still teach the Holocaust’, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 20 April 2007.

  50. 50.

    ‘UK government acts on hoax e-mail’, BBC News, 4 February 2008. Available via: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7226778.stm.

  51. 51.

    For information on this programme, see Holocaust Educational Trust, ‘About LFA’. Available via: https://www.het.org.uk/lessons-from-auschwitz-programme.

  52. 52.

    ‘Memorandum submitted by the Holocaust Educational Trust’, Select Committee on Education and Skills Written Evidence, March 2006. Available via: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmeduski/147/147we30.htm.

  53. 53.

    The notion of their being “lessons” of the Holocaust is one which has come under increasing dispute and critique over the recent decade. See, for instance, Michael Marrus, Lessons of the Holocaust (Toronto: University of Toronto, 2016).

  54. 54.

    Alice Pettigrew, Stuart Foster, Jonathan Howson, Paul Salmons, Ruth-Anne Lenga, and Kay Andrews, Teaching about the Holocaust in English Secondary Schools: An Empirical Study of National Trends, Perspectives and Practice (London: Institute of Education, 2009), pp. 7–9.

  55. 55.

    Damian McBride, ‘Jimmy Saville’s Knighthood: The Civil Service Rearguard’. Available via: http://damianpmcbride.tumblr.com/post/33230968057/jimmy-savilles-knighthood-the-civil-service.

  56. 56.

    Hansard, Commons Debates, Columns 304-305WH, 24 April 2009.

  57. 57.

    Gordon Brown, cited, Heidi Blake, ‘Unsung British heroes of the Holocaust awarded medals’, The Daily Telegraph, 10 March 2010.

  58. 58.

    Guy Walters, ‘Did this British PoW really smuggle himself into Auschwitz’, The Daily Mail, 9 April 2011; Idem, ‘The curious case of the “break into Auschwitz”’, New Statesman, 17 November 2011.

  59. 59.

    Communities and Local Government Committee, Preventing Violent Extremism: Sixth Report, 2010. Available via: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmcomloc/65/6504.htm.

  60. 60.

    HM Government, Countering International Terrorism: The United Kingdom’s Strategy (HMSO, 2006), p. 9.

  61. 61.

    Andy Pearce, ‘The Holocaust in the National Curriculum after 25 Years’, Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History, 23:3 (2017), 231–262. 249–252; Idem., ‘In The Thick of It: “High politics” and the Holocaust in millennial Britain’, Patterns of Prejudice, 53:1 (2019), pp. 98–110, pp. 104–105.

  62. 62.

    HM Government, Prevent Strategy (London: HMSO, 2011), p. 1, 13, 45.

  63. 63.

    Ibid., p. 107.

  64. 64.

    Andrew Gamble and Tony Wright, ‘Introduction: The Britishness question’, in Britishness: Perspectives on the British Question, eds. Andrew Gamble and Tony Wright (Oxford: Blackwell, 2009), pp. 4–5.

  65. 65.

    Michael Rosen, ‘Dear Mr Gove: What’s so “British” about your “British values”?’ The Guardian, 1 July 2014.

  66. 66.

    Vini Lander, Fundamental British Values (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), p. 58.

  67. 67.

    Uvanney Maylor, ‘“I’d worry about how to teach it”: British values in English classrooms’, Journal of Education for Teaching, 42:3 (2016), 314–328. 316.

  68. 68.

    Department for Education, Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for School Leaders, School Staff and Governing Bodies (London: HMSO, 2011), p. 14.

  69. 69.

    Press Release, ‘Guidance on promoting British values in schools published’, 27 November 2014. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guidance-on-promoting-british-values-in-schools-published. See also Samira Shackle, ‘Trojan horse: The real story behind the fake “Islamic plot” to take over schools’, The Guardian, 1 September 2017.

  70. 70.

    For summary, see Samira Shackle, ‘Trojan horse: The real story behind the fake “Islamic plot” to take over schools’, The Guardian, 1 September 2017.

  71. 71.

    Elizabeth Poole, ‘Constructing “British values” within a radicalisation narrative: The reporting of the Trojan Horse affair’, Journalism Studies, 19:3 (2018), 376–391. 377, 387.

  72. 72.

    Department for Education, The Prevent Duty: Departmental Advice for Schools and Childcare Providers (London: HMSO, 2015), pp. 4–5.

  73. 73.

    Kara Critchell, ‘“Proud to be British; and proud to be Jewish”: The Holocaust and British values in the twenty-first century’, Holocaust Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/17504902.2018.1528414.

  74. 74.

    By contrast, the government’s academisation policy undermined the position of the Holocaust in the National Curriculum. See Andy Pearce, ‘The Holocaust in the National Curriculum after 25 Years’, Holocaust Studies: A Journal of Culture and History, 23:3 (2017), 231–262. 232.

  75. 75.

    Critchell, ‘“Proud to be British’”.

  76. 76.

    See, for instance, references made to British values in the following: Stories from Willesden Lane N.W 6, Home page. Available via: http://willesdenlane.org.uk/; Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, ‘2019 Postcard Project: Secondary Lesson Plan’, available via: https://www.hmd.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Secondary-lesson-plan.pdf.

  77. 77.

    Michael Gove, ‘“The necessity of memory”: The full text of Michael Gove’s speech to the Holocaust Educational Trust’, Conservative Home, 10 September 2014. Available via: https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/09/the-necessity-of-memory-the-full-text-of-michael-goves-speech-to-the-holocaust-educational-trust.html.

  78. 78.

    James Legge, ‘Government’s “Go home” vans backed by Immigration Minister Mark Harper’, The Independent, 18 October 2013.

  79. 79.

    BBC News, ‘UK government agrees on skilled migration cap’, 23 November 2010.

  80. 80.

    Paul Stocker, English Uprising: Brexit and the Mainstreaming of the Far Right (London: Melville House, 2017), p. 124.

  81. 81.

    George Parker, ‘Votes for Ukip in council elections rock political establishment’, Financial Times, 3 May 2013.

  82. 82.

    ‘David Cameron promises in/out referendum on EU’, BBC News, 23 January 2013.

  83. 83.

    George Parker and Alex Barker, ‘How Brexit spelled the end to Cameron’s career’, Financial Times, 24 June 2016.

  84. 84.

    David Cameron, ‘25th anniversary of the Holocaust Educational Trust: Prime Minister’s speech’, 16 September 2013. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/25th-anniversary-of-the-holocaust-educational-trust-prime-ministers-speech.

  85. 85.

    The Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission, ‘Terms of Reference’. Available via: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/275198/Terms-of-Reference-PM-Holocaust-Commission.pdf.

  86. 86.

    Andy Pearce, ‘An Emerging “Holocaust Memorial Problem”? The Condition of Holocaust Culture in Britain’, Journal of Holocaust Research, 32:2 (2019), 117–137. 131.

  87. 87.

    Cabinet Office, ‘PM’s Holocaust Commission meets President Jimmy Carter’, 30 May 2014. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pms-holocaust-commission-meets-president-jimmy-carter; Adam Sherwin, ‘Steven Spielberg help sought to create new British Holocaust commemoration’, The Independent, 5 May 2014; Marcus Dysch, ‘Holocaust Commission event is a day to remember’, Jewish Chronicle, 8 May 2014.

  88. 88.

    Cabinet Office, Britain’s Promise to Remember: The Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission Report (London: HMSO, 2015) p. 11, 16.

  89. 89.

    On the sacred dimensions of the Commission and its report see David Tollerton, ‘“A New Sacred Space in the Centre of London”: The Victoria Tower Gardens Holocaust Memorial and the religious-secular landscape of contemporary Britain’, Journal of Religion and Society, 19:4 (2017); Idem., ‘Britain’s New Holocaust Memorial as sacred site’, Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief, 13:2 (2017), 266–268. Also, Isabelle Mutton, ‘The Sacred Lineage of the UK’s new Holocaust Memorial’, Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief, 15:2 (2019), 266–268.

  90. 90.

    Cabinet Office, Britain’s Promise to Remember: The Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission Report (London: HMSO, 2015), p. 9.

  91. 91.

    A.J. Sherman, Island Refuge: Britain and Refugees from the Third Reich, 1933–1939 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1973).

  92. 92.

    Ian Austin, cited, Cabinet Office, Britain’s Promise to Remember, p. 23.

  93. 93.

    Ibid., p. 13.

  94. 94.

    Matthew D’Ancona, Post-Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back (London: Ebury Press, 2017), pp. 7–8.

  95. 95.

    Linda Colley, Acts of Union and Disunion (London: Profile Books, 2014), p. 4.

  96. 96.

    Alisa Henderson, ‘Brexit, the Union and the Future of England’, Political Insight, December 2018, 32–35. 34.

  97. 97.

    Madeline Bunting, ‘Don’t overlook the impact of empire on our identity’, The Guardian, 1 January 2007.

  98. 98.

    Mark A. Hutchinson, ‘A genealogy of the term British reveals its imperial history—and a Brexit paradox’, The Conversation, 21 December 2018.

  99. 99.

    Will Dahlgreen, ‘The British Empire is “something to be proud of”’, YouGov, 26 July 2014. Available via: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2014/07/26/britain-proud-its-empire.

  100. 100.

    David Olusoga, ‘Wake up, Britain. Should the empire really be a source of pride?’, The Guardian, 23 January 2016.

  101. 101.

    Richard Gott, Britain’s Empire: Resistance, Repression, and Revolt (London: Verso, 2012), p. 3.

  102. 102.

    Colley, Acts of Union, p. 18.

  103. 103.

    P.W. Preston, Britain after Empire: Constructing a Post-War Political-Cultural Project (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), p. 197.

  104. 104.

    Ibid., p. 36, 203.

  105. 105.

    Ibid., p. 19, 34.

  106. 106.

    Dan Stone, ‘Britannia waives the rules: British imperialism and Holocaust Memory’ in Dan Stone, History, Memory and Mass Atrocity (London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2006), p. 187, 190.

  107. 107.

    Ghia Nodia, ‘The end of the postnational illusion’, Journal of Democracy, 28:2 (2017): 5–19. 11.

  108. 108.

    Marc-William Palen, ‘Britain’s imperial ghosts have taken control of Brexit’, The Conversation, 26 June 2017.

  109. 109.

    Paul Kingsnorth, ‘The Last Wolf’, New Statesman, 23 August 2017.

  110. 110.

    David Marquand, Britain Since 1918: The Strange Career of British Democracy (London: Phoenix, 2009), p. 3.

  111. 111.

    Richard Ashcroft and Mark Bevir, ‘Pluralism, national identity and citizenship: Britain after Brexit’, The Political Quarterly, 87:3 (2016): 355–359. 355.

  112. 112.

    Chaminda Jayanetti, ‘The overlooked dynamic at the heart of the Brexit “culture war”’, Prospect, 29 January 2019. Available via: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/the-overlooked-dynamic-at-the-heart-of-the-brexit-culture-war.

  113. 113.

    Geoffrey Evans and Anand Menon, Brexit and British Politics (London: Polity, 2017), p. 24, 44.

  114. 114.

    Harold D. Clarke, Matthew Goodwin, and Paul Whiteley, Brexit: Why Britain Voted to Leave the European Union (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017), p. 59.

  115. 115.

    James McDougall, ‘This “will of the people” talk must stop—we need a better democracy than that’, The Conversation, 6 February 2017.

  116. 116.

    Clarke et al., Brexit, p. 59.

  117. 117.

    D’Ancona, Post-Truth, p. 21.

  118. 118.

    Tony Wright, ‘Democracy and its discontents’, The Political Quarterly, 90:1 (2019): 5–17. 16.

  119. 119.

    John Ashmore, ‘Top Tory MP lays into “arrogant” fund manager’, Politics Home, 13 October 2016. Available via: https://www.politicshome.com/news/europe/eu-policy-agenda/brexit/news/79819/top-tory-mp-lays-arrogant-fund-manager-over-brexit; Patrick Sawyer, ‘Woman leading Brexit legal battle accused of “special kind of arrogance”’, The Daily Telegraph, 13 October 2016; Mark Chandler, ‘Brexit legal challenge’, Evening Standard, 17 October 2016.

  120. 120.

    ‘Enemies of the people’, Daily Mail, 4 November 2016.

  121. 121.

    James McDougall, ‘This “will of the people” talk must stop—we need a better democracy than that’, The Conversation, 6 February 2017.

  122. 122.

    Tony Wright, ‘Democracy and its discontents’, The Political Quarterly, 90:1 (2019): 5–17. 6, 8.

  123. 123.

    David Goodhart, The Road to Somewhere: The New Tribes Shaping British Politics (London: Penguin, 2017), p. 55.

  124. 124.

    Colin Crouch, ‘Post-democracy and populism’, The Political Quarterly, 90:1 (2019): 124-137. 125; A.C. Grayling, Democracy and Its Crisis (Updated Edition) (London: Oneworld Publications, 2018), p. 113.

  125. 125.

    ‘Supreme Court: Suspending Parliament was unlawful, judges rule’, BBC News, 24 September 2019. Available via: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49810261; Rowena Mason and Frances Perraudin, ‘Boris Johnson refuses to apologise for language about Jo Cox’, The Guardian, 26 September 2019; Jim Waterson, ‘UK democracy under threat and need for reform is urgent, says regulator’, The Guardian, 26 June 2018; Billy Perrigo, ‘British government delays report on Russian interference in Brexit vote until after election’, Time, 4 November 2019; George Monbiot, ‘Dark money is pushing for a no-deal Brexit: Who is behind it?’ The Guardian, 13 February 2019.

  126. 126.

    Rebecca Speare-Cole, ‘Sir Keir Starmer video’, Evening Standard, 5 November 2019; Jon Stone, ‘Tories set up fake “fact-checking service”’, The Independent, 20 November 2019.

  127. 127.

    BBC News, ‘Dominic Raab on “factcheckUK”’, 20 November 2019. Available via: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-50487624/dominic-raab-on-factcheckuk-no-one-gives-a-toss-about-social-media-cut-and-thrust.

  128. 128.

    Colin Crouch, ‘Post-democracy and populism’, The Political Quarterly, 90:1 (2019): 124–137. 126.

  129. 129.

    UKHMF, National Memorial and Learning Centre: Search for a London Site (London: Cabinet Office, 2015).

  130. 130.

    Press release, ‘PM: Holocaust memorial will stand beside Parliament as permanent statement of our British values’, Gov.UK, 27 January 2016. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-holocaust-memorial-will-stand-beside-parliament-as-permanent-statement-of-our-british-values.

  131. 131.

    Press release, ‘International design competition opens for new UK Holocaust memorial’, Gov.UK, 14 September 2016. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/international-design-competition-opens-for-new-uk-holocaust-memorial-beside-parliament.

  132. 132.

    ‘Vision’, United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial International Design Competition. Available via: https://competitions.malcolmreading.com/holocaustmemorial/.

  133. 133.

    UKHMF/Malcolm Reading Associates, Tender Brief (London: HMSO, 2016), p. 16.

  134. 134.

    Hansard, World War II: Genocide: Written Question—HL3829, 19 December 2016.

  135. 135.

    Press release, ‘Adjaye Associates and Ron Arad Architects win UK Holocaust Memorial International Design Competition’, 24 October 2017. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/adjaye-associates-and-ron-arad-architexts-win-uk-holocaust-memorial-international-design-competition

  136. 136.

    Harriet Sherwood, ‘Team lead by David Adjaye to design UK’s Holocaust Memorial’, The Guardian, 24 October 2017.

  137. 137.

    Press release, ‘Adjaye Associates and Ron Arad Architects win’.

  138. 138.

    Ed Balls and Eric Pickles, ‘Why a new memorial to the Holocaust is essential’, Evening Standard, 3 September 2018.

  139. 139.

    UKHMF, ‘Public consultation marks next stage in development of UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre’, 4 September 2018. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-consultation-marks-next-stage-in-development-of-uk-holocaust-memorial-and-learning-centre.

  140. 140.

    UKHMF, ‘Public Exhibition Boards (September 2018)’. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-holocaust-memorial-public-exhibition-boards.

  141. 141.

    UKHMF, ‘Public Exhibition Boards (December 2018)’. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-holocaust-memorial-public-exhibition-boards.

  142. 142.

    UKHMF, ‘Press release: UK Holocaust Memorial to reaffirm Britain’s commitment to stand up against antisemitism, prejudice, and hatred’, 5 December 2018. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-holocaust-memorial-to-reaffirm-britains-commitment-to-stand-up-against-antisemitism-prejudice-and-hatred.

  143. 143.

    Press release, ‘Planning application submitted for Holocaust Memorial’, Gov.UK, 20 December 2018. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/planning-application-submitted-for-holocaust-memorial-proposed-for-next-to-parliament.

  144. 144.

    ‘“I have no doubt it will be built”— Ed Balls and Lord Pickles defend Westminster Holocaust Memorial plans ahead of crunch vote’, Jewish Chronicle, 23 August 2019.

  145. 145.

    Hansard, National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service: Written Question 256929, 29 May 2019.

  146. 146.

    Balls and Pickles, ‘Why a new memorial’.

  147. 147.

    James Brokenshire, cited, Press release, ‘Planning application submitted for Holocaust Memorial’.

  148. 148.

    Ian O’Flynn, ‘Brexit: The differing versions of democracy deployed by both sides of Britain’s political impasse’, The Conversation, 10 April 2019.

  149. 149.

    James McDougall, ‘This “will of the people” talk must stop—we need a better democracy than that’, The Conversation, 6 February 2017.

  150. 150.

    Balls and Pickles, ‘Why a new memorial’.

  151. 151.

    ‘“I have no doubt it will be built’”, Jewish Chronicle.

  152. 152.

    UKHMF, Press release, ‘Prime Minister leads unprecedented support for Holocaust Memorial’, 7 May 2019. Available via: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-leads-unprecedented-support-for-holocaust-memorial-as-further-25m-committed.

  153. 153.

    Ghia Nodia, ‘The end of the postnational illusion’, Journal of Democracy, 28:2 (2017): 5–19. 15.

  154. 154.

    Nicholas Boyle, ‘The end of England: How the Brexit storm shattered national identity’, The Tablet, 12 September 2019. Available via: https://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/2/16688/the-end-of-england-how-the-brexit-storm-shattered-national-identity.

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Acknowledgements

The genesis of this chapter lies in a seminar entitled ‘Forgetting the Holocaust in the Era of Global Holocaust Remembrance’ held at the Lessons and Legacies 2018 conference. I am grateful to the participants of that seminar for the invigorating discussions which enriched this chapter. For their helpful comments on its development, my thanks to Dan Stone and Tom Lawson. All websites last accessed 16 September 2020.

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    Andy Pearce

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    Tom Lawson

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    Andy Pearce

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Pearce, A. (2020). Britishness, Brexit, and the Holocaust. In: Lawson, T., Pearce, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Britain and the Holocaust. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55932-8_23

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