Protest and Prayer

This book examines the reactions of Orthodox British Jews and their leaders to the Holocaust as it unfolded in the years 1942-1945. It focuses on the efforts of Solomon Schonfeld, who was the leader of the ultra-orthodox Haredi community in Britain at the time, and concentrates on the community’s efforts on behalf of the beleaguered Jews on the Continent rather than the assistance offered to refugees in Britain. Through extensive research into Schonfeld’s papers, British public and municipal archives and those of the Agudat Israel and Vaad Ha Hatzala, the author has made an important contribution to the history of this period. Many of these documents have not been analysed until now. Careful, extensive research, coupled with a keen understanding of human nature, has enabled the author to paint a vivid picture of a segment of Jewry that was desperate to assist its brethren, but was faced with almost insurmountable obstacles.