The Art of Resistance: Defending Academic Freedom since 1933 | Page 10

CARA
The history of CARA dates back to 1933, when it was set up in
urgent response to the rising number of academics fleeing Nazi
oppression in Central Europe. During a visit to Vienna early that
year, William Beveridge, then director of the London School
of Economics, was horrified to learn of the dismissal of Jewish
teachers from German universities. Vienna offered a refuge for
many escaping Nazi pursuit, but neither Austria nor the rest of
Central Europe would be safe for long.
Back in the UK, Beveridge rallied academics to support
persecuted academics, lobbied government to permit their entry
to the UK, and formed the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) to
raise funds for academic refugees and persuade institutions to
offer them employment or provide support for their continued
research. In its early days, the exiled physicist, Leo Szilard, better
known later as ‘the man behind the [atomic] bomb’, lent urgency
to discussions, and travelled far and wide to meet academic
refugees, coordinate various rescue groups in Britain and Europe,
and publicise the Council’s objectives. As importantly, he brought
the redoubtable Esther (Tess) Simpson to the organisation. For
hundreds if not thousands of refugee scholars, she was the Council.
The AAC was founded in the context of economic depression,
social and political turmoil, and pervasive hostility to Jews in
Britain. However, its image was greatly enhanced in October 1933
when Albert Einstein singled out the great significance of its work
at a crowded public meeting at the Royal Albert Hall, which it had
helped organise.
Perhaps even more important in gaining acceptance for the
AAC was the support it had from the Royal Society. Here, A V Hill’s
vision and tactical skill, as well as his central position in the British
scientific community, were crucial. He understood that it was not
only individual scholars and scientists who were threatened, but
also the very existence of Western civilisation and learning.
8

The Art of Resistance? Defending Academic Freedom

It was through Hill’s endeavours that the AAC changed its
name to the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning
(SPSL) in 1936, transforming it into ‘a permanent organisation for
the defence of core academic values’, making possible its longerterm survival. By 1939 the AAC/SPSL had raised £100,000 from
individual donors and universities, the rough equivalent of £4
million today.
As a group, the first beneficiaries were remarkable. Germany
and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been at the forefront of
scholarship in the sciences, humanities and social sciences.
Their cosmopolitan cities were centres of European art and music.
The refugees from Nazi Europe thus brought with them a rich
intellectual and cultural legacy. Indeed, over a hundred of the
academic refugees assisted by the SPSL were subsequently
elected Fellows of The British Academy and The Royal Society.
Some eighteen were awarded Nobel Prizes and, as many, knighthoods.
During this fraught period, other organisations in Britain and
the USA were also raising funds to help persecuted academics,
but the SPSL stood out on account of its profoundly humanitarian
sentiment. The potential benefit to American universities of
renowned European academics was not a detail that went
unnoticed to many committees and sponsors in the USA; many
placed limits on age and only considered applications from
distinguished scholars. For the SPSL, self-interest and personal
gain were not driving factors. It actively sought positions for
refugee scholars, and put faith in young academics who had not yet
shown their true talent.
It was often the case that only after several years in exile
would the brilliance of a beneficiary be revealed. One applicant
was famously described as ‘a third-class chemist, but a first-class
violinist!’ It was Ernst Chain, who later shared the Nobel Prize for
work on penicillin.
As well as practical assistance, the SPSL provided vital
emotional support. The remarkable Tess, who worked for nearly
9