The Strange Case of Dora Fabian and Mathilde Wurm: A Study of German Political Exiles in London During the 1930's

The deaths of two German Socialist exiles from Nazism, Dora Fabian and Mathilde Wurm, in London in 1935, in far from straightforward circumstances, were a cause celebre of their day. They were of particular concern to the German exile community in Britain and elsewhere, and to the British intellectual Left, who feared not only that National Socialist agents might have been involved but also that the British authorities were intent on blocking the case's thorough investigation. Setting the Fabian-Wurm affair in its context, this study traces the lives and careers of the two dead women and also examines the position of the earliest political exiles from Germany. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, including British official documents never previously consulted, it reconstructs the events surrounding the Fabian-Wurm deaths as well as the repercussions of the affair on other exiles, on British public opinion, British policy towards the refugees and Anglo-German relations.

Table of Contents:
Contents: German Socialist exiles in Britain 1933-1935 - National Socialist activities in Britain - The deaths of Dora Fabian and Mathilde Wurm - Press coverage - Reactions - Investigations - Public opinion in Britain - The British authorities - The role of the German Embassy.

About the Author :
The Author: Charmian Brinson was born in Oxford and studied German at University College, Birkbeck College and King's College London. Since 1979 she has been a lecturer in German at Imperial College London. She has published widely in the field of German exile studies, particularly on exile in Britain, including works on Rudolf Olden, Fritz Gross, the campaign for the release of Carl von Ossietzky, and the London-based exile newspaper Die Zeitung. She is also a founder member of the London Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies.

Review :
Charmian Brinson ist eine klare, gut lesbare und spannende Darstellung der komplizierten Materie gelungen. (Ursula Langkau-Alex, Internationale wissenschaftliche Korrespondenz zur Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung) Bisher ist die sogenannte 'erste Welle' des Exils, d.h. vor den Nuernberger Gesetzen im September 1935, die viele Fuehrer der verbotenen politischen Parteien und Mitglieder der Gewerkschaftsbewegung einschloss, die Gruppe, die am wenigsten erforscht wurde; mit dieser Studie wird eine Wende eingeleitet und groesstenteils voellig neues und bisher unzugaengliches Material ausgewertet. (Deborah Vietor-Englaender, Germanistik) Die interessante und gut zu lesende...Studie von Charmian Brinson zeichnet sich durch eine aufwendige Recherche und kenntnisreiche Darstellung von Archivquellen aus. (Leonie Wagner, Ariadne - Almanach des Archivs der deutschen Frauenbewegung) This fascinating study...[is] meticulously researched and documented, drawing on a wide range of archival material, including British official documents not previously evaluated. ...a useful source for anyone interested in the early years of German-speaking exile in Britain. (Richard Dove, Journal of European Studies) Charmian Brinson hat mit dieser Studie ein beeindruckendes Beispiel dafuer gegeben, wie man individuelle Schicksale mit der Gesamtsituation des Exils verbinden und an Hand zweier Fallbeispiele eine umfangreiche Geschichte des fruehen deutschen Exils in Grossbritannien nachzeichnen kann. Und sie hat eine ueberaus nuetzliche Darstellung des Netzwerkes der sozialistischen Emigrantenorganisationen in England und ihrer personellen Ueberschneidungen geliefert. (Reinhard Mueller, Archiv fuer die Geschichte der Soziologie in Oesterreich) Diese detaillierte Studie, in der viele bislang unveroeffentlichte Quellen verarbeitet werden, leistet einen wertvollen Beitrag zur Exilforschung. (Bettina Hofmann, Das Historisch-Politische Buch) Charmian Brinson's 'The Strange Case of Dora Fabian and Mathilde Wurm' is a meticulously researched treasure of a book. Brinson's prodigious work in many archives, including in Germany, Switzerland, Norway, the US and the UK, as well as her examination of the international press and, most crucially, her direct contact with friends and associates of Dora Fabian and Mathilde Wurm allow her to render a detailed and intriguing account of the circumstances of their lives and deaths. I was fascinated by this book, not just as an example of scholarship of the highest order, but as a reliable account of what it is possible to know about these extraordinary women. (Anna Funder, author of 'Stasiland' and 'All That I Am')