Immigrants share experiences in Britain for BBC series
Birkbeck historian Mike Berlin presents a new BBC series about immigration
Historic movements of communities from Europe and Africa to parts of Britain are explored in new BBC Radio 4 programmes presented by Birkbeck historian Mike Berlin. The three-part series called Journeys down my street focuses on three immigrant communities – the Polish in Bradford, Somalis in Cardiff, and Viennese Jews in North West London.
Berlin, of Birkbeck’s Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, spoke to elderly residents of these communities about moving to Britain many decades ago, about their early lives, and their reflections on modern life. He said: “The immigrants I interviewed told me extraordinary stories of being uprooted from their places of birth, experiencing great hardship, and creating new homes in Britain. The challenges of preserving their own cultures and integrating into British life were common themes. Their relationship with more recent immigrants is fascinating too.”
The programmes will be broadcast on Radio 4 at 11am on Monday 8, 15 and 22 April.
The Polish community in Bradford
The first episode concentrates on Polish political refugees who settled around Edmund Street in former industrial city of Bradford in the late 1940s. Berlin talks to long term Bradford residents about lives affected by the mass deportations to Siberia following the simultaneous German and Russian invasion of Poland in September 1939, and about fighting alongside the British in the Second World War. He visits the key institutions in the Polish community, including the Veterans’ Association, the Polish Club, the Church and Saturday School. Berlin asks about lives forged in Bradford, and the thoughts of the elderly towards the new generation of Polish immigrants.
Berlin said: “Now that there’s a Polski Sklep – a Polish shop – in the High Street of so many towns and cities in Britain, it’s easy to forget that some Polish communities in Britain go back much further than the recent arrivals. The Polish community in Bradford dates back to the late 1940s, and has managed to preserve its culture. Whereas a “little Poland” exists in this northern city, its elderly residents do not have the opportunity to return to Poland, unlike many of the new arrivals.”
The Somali community in Cardiff
Mostly concentrated in Butetown, the Somali population in Cardiff numbers about 7,000 and is one of the largest areas of Somali settlement in Britain. The community’s origins date back to the 19th century and its culture and heritage are celebrated in Somali cultural festivals and events.
The first Somali settlers were merchant seamen who came to the Welsh capital in the 1870s during the heyday of Cardiff’s docks after they were recruited as deck hands and boiler room crews on ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal. In later decades, Somali seafarers lived in boarding houses in Bute Street, and their numbers increased following the arrival of refugees fleeing Somalia’s civil war after the fall of Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.
In the episode, Berlin visits important places within the community, including the Noor ul Islam Mosque – one of the oldest mosques in Britain – and the Red Sea house – a home and social centre for retired merchant seamen.
Berlin said: “A big issue in Butetown is the sense of being ghettoised by the Cardiff Bay redevelopment, which has brought luxury flats, gated communities and new retail outlets to the seafront, but little for Butetown itself. We also met some highly ambitious and motivated young people who were keen to advance themselves through higher education.”
The Viennese Jewish community in North West London
The final episode in the series focuses on the arrival of Jewish refugees in Britain. By September 1939, around 60,000 refugees had arrived from Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia. Many Viennese Jews settled in North West London on either side of Finchley Road near Swiss Cottage.
Berlin discovers that this community tried to create a little corner of Vienna in NW3, but also wanted to integrate into British society, never speaking German in the street and ensuring their children attended English schools. He speaks to Austrians who created new lives in London, including Ernst Flesch, who arrived in London thanks to the Kindertransport – the rescue operation for Jewish children – and was active in the Free Austrian Movement.
Berlin said: “Embedding themselves in British society, the Viennese Jews got on with their lives. Whether it was the architecture of Erno Goldfinger, the music-making of the Amadeus Quartet, or the writing of the great late historian and President of Birkbeck Professor Eric Hobsbawm, the émigrés made a profound mark on post-war Britain. But also, as I found out during my interviews, members of this community maintain multiple identities – they are still very much Austrian as well as being Londoners.”