After 1933, Britain, and London in particular, became a crossroads for numerous intellectuals, many of them German-Jewish, who were persecuted by the National Socialist regime. Shaped by their experiences of exile and through their encounters with British intellectuals, these emigrés began to renegotiate the conditions underpinning liberal societies – and in doing so, to examine the tipping points at which such societies slide towards fascism. Working at the intersection of theoretical and literary forms of writing, and employing diverse strategies of public intervention and pamphleteering, they developed forms of politically engaged writing which will be explored in this workshop from literary, historical and cultural perspectives. The workshop is jointly organised by the ILCS and the University of Cologne and will take place on 27 and 28 November 2026 at the Erich Auerbach Institute, Cologne. It is generously supported by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation and the Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft des Leo Baeck Instituts (WAG).
The workshop language will be German. All interested participants are warmly welcome (in Person or online). Advance registration required.
Organisers: Till Breyer (Cologne) and Till Greite (ILCS, London)
