*/
“Six million is a big number”, Lord Justice Stanley Burnton told the group assembled in Temple Church on May 12 for the opening of “Lawyers without rights: Jewish lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich”, but the impact of this exhibition is to help us to remember that it represented a lot of individuals.
He explained that he had recently returned from a visit to the Berlin judiciary and cited several examples of how Germany “has confronted its past, it is not hidden”. The display, mounted by the Temple Church (thanks to the Master of the Temple Church, who organised the event), the Jewish Museum London and the German Federal Bar has already been to 50 cities in Germany, Israel and the United States. Nineteen panels tell the story of what happened both in general and in particular to 14 lawyers—men, women, people of varying seniority and eminence; those who were murdered, those who fled, and those who returned to rebuild their country. It is an exhibition which rightly requires the visitor to make an effort by reading in detail the texts, which are set out next to copies of extraordinary photographs and documents.
The gathering included Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers (himself the grandson of Sephardic Jews), HE the German Ambassador, the President of the Israeli Bar and the Vice-President of the German Bar. The latter pointed out that in 1933, Jews made up a substantial proportion of the legal profession, and the majority of practitioners in Berlin. What the exhibition does not answer, he admitted, is why their Gentile colleagues remained silent during the years of discrimination and exclusion: “in the end there is only shame”.
The main address was given by Mr Justice Beatson, who edited the accompanying book, Jurists Uprooted. He described in detail the step by step persecution between 1933 and 1938, the departure of refugees (academic lawyers were the first to go but overall numbers remained relatively small until the post-Krystallnacht flood after November 1938), what happened to them in England (“we can be proud but not smug”), the war-time internment (the future Lord Justice Kerr sat the Tripos in a disused ice cream factory, invigilated by the future Professor Kurt Lipstein), and their outstanding contribution to Britain.
What one remembers most vividly are the terrible pre-war events which happened in a country which was part of the family of western nations, at peace with its neighbours and ostensibly governed by the rule of law.
The exhibition is on until July 31.
He explained that he had recently returned from a visit to the Berlin judiciary and cited several examples of how Germany “has confronted its past, it is not hidden”. The display, mounted by the Temple Church (thanks to the Master of the Temple Church, who organised the event), the Jewish Museum London and the German Federal Bar has already been to 50 cities in Germany, Israel and the United States. Nineteen panels tell the story of what happened both in general and in particular to 14 lawyers—men, women, people of varying seniority and eminence; those who were murdered, those who fled, and those who returned to rebuild their country. It is an exhibition which rightly requires the visitor to make an effort by reading in detail the texts, which are set out next to copies of extraordinary photographs and documents.
The gathering included Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers (himself the grandson of Sephardic Jews), HE the German Ambassador, the President of the Israeli Bar and the Vice-President of the German Bar. The latter pointed out that in 1933, Jews made up a substantial proportion of the legal profession, and the majority of practitioners in Berlin. What the exhibition does not answer, he admitted, is why their Gentile colleagues remained silent during the years of discrimination and exclusion: “in the end there is only shame”.
The main address was given by Mr Justice Beatson, who edited the accompanying book, Jurists Uprooted. He described in detail the step by step persecution between 1933 and 1938, the departure of refugees (academic lawyers were the first to go but overall numbers remained relatively small until the post-Krystallnacht flood after November 1938), what happened to them in England (“we can be proud but not smug”), the war-time internment (the future Lord Justice Kerr sat the Tripos in a disused ice cream factory, invigilated by the future Professor Kurt Lipstein), and their outstanding contribution to Britain.
What one remembers most vividly are the terrible pre-war events which happened in a country which was part of the family of western nations, at peace with its neighbours and ostensibly governed by the rule of law.
The exhibition is on until July 31.
“Six million is a big number”, Lord Justice Stanley Burnton told the group assembled in Temple Church on May 12 for the opening of “Lawyers without rights: Jewish lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich”, but the impact of this exhibition is to help us to remember that it represented a lot of individuals.
Chair of the Bar sets out a busy calendar for the rest of the year
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Examined by Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
Time is precious for barristers. Every moment spent chasing paperwork, organising diaries, or managing admin is time taken away from what matters most: preparation, advocacy and your clients. That’s where Eden Assistants step in
AlphaBiolabs has announced its latest Giving Back donation to RAY Ceredigion, a grassroots West Wales charity that provides play, learning and community opportunities for families across Ceredigion County
Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, outlines why barristers, solicitors, judges, social workers and local authorities across the UK trust AlphaBiolabs for court-admissible testing
Through small but meaningful efforts, we can restore the sense of collegiality that has been so sorely eroded, says Baldip Singh
Come in with your eyes open, but don’t let fear cloud the prospect. A view from practice by John Dove
Looking to develop a specialist practice? Mariya Peykova discusses the benefits of secondments and her placement at the Information Commissioner’s Office
Anon Academic explains why he’s leaving the world of English literature for the Bar – after all, the two are not as far apart as they may first seem...
Review by Stephen Cragg KC
