Refuge and the Fortress: Britain and the Flight from Tyranny

Prejudice against asylum seekers is not new. It echoes much of the rhetoric that greeted Jewish refugees from Tsarist pogroms at the turn of the 20th century and those escaping Hitler in the 1930s. Yet this only tells half the story. As well as xenophobia, rejection and hostility, the British continue to show a characteristic generosity and kindness towards those who have suffered cruelty and injustice. Through the direct testimonies of refugees and their descendants over the past 75 years, The Refuge and the Fortress unravels these apparent contradictions, giving us an insight into the elusive quality of what it means to be British, a question which is now at the centre of intense social and political debate.