German Migrants in Post-War Britain by Dr Inge Weber-Newth Johannes-Dieter Steinert

Author:Dr Inge Weber-Newth, Johannes-Dieter Steinert [Dr Inge Weber-Newth, Johannes-Dieter Steinert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Europe, Great Britain, General, Political Science, History & Theory, Social Science, Sociology
ISBN: 9781135766306
Google: tZCRAgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2006-03-29T15:52:27+00:00

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Welfare and support

During their first few years in Britain the European recruits received a lot of support from local authorities, companies, churches and voluntary organisations. In line with the government’s approach to assimilation, these organisations focussed their activities largely on explaining British customs and bringing locals and foreigners together. The Ministry of Labour took responsibility for basic living conditions in the initial stage of this process. It organised members of the WVS or English speaking migrants, specifically employed for the purpose, to accompany the newly arrived workforce from the ship to their camps and hostels. Together with the National Service Hostels Corporation, the ministry was responsible for the reception and holding camps and state-run hostels. It organised food and clothing, ration books and clothing coupons as well as pocket money and medical assistance.1 The ministry also liased between the British public and the recruits, telling the public about them, and explaining to the foreign workers British habits and working practices. In collaboration with the Central Office for Information, it produced and distributed the brochures To Help You Settle in Britain, and Contemporary Life in Britain.

The Ministry of Labour rejected calls to establish a separate body to ‘watch the interests of these workers and be prepared to advise them during the initial period of their residence in this country’.2 In deciding to use the ‘usual welfare machinery’ it sent a clear message that the foreign workers were to be considered equal to the British and that no distinctions would be made on the basis of national origin. Thus, the ministry looked to the existing network of regional and local welfare officers to support the recruits. This network became responsible for advising the workers, investigating complaints, visiting workplaces and hostels and introducing workers to local clubs, associations, churches and other institutions.3

The government took the same integrated approach when it came to educational activities. Helping the migrants learn English, as soon as possible so that they could mix with the local community, was a key priority. To achieve this, an agreement was reached with the Ministry of Education to run language courses in holding camps. But this special measure only applied to the camps. Once they had started work, the foreign workers were expected to attend existing courses provided by the Ministry of Education,4 although, local authorities were encouraged to offer additional evening classes if there was an obvious need.5 Occasionally some of the larger NGOs, especially the WVS, became involved in this work.

In practice the system functioned somewhat haphazardly, which prompted the Ministry of Education to set up an official inquiry during the early months of 1949. The results were disappointing: Having been in the country for 18 months, thousands of EVWs had little or no English, while others only spoke enough for the most basic shopping purchases. According to the report, part of the reason for this was the difficulty organising language courses for foreigners who diverged so much in terms of intelligence, education, age and previous experience. Furthermore, interest on the part of the EVWs had been extremely low.

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