'Are You Sure That Happened Here?’: Popular Memory of Britain’s Refugee History

Britain’s refugee history is generally remembered as fair. But was it? As the Second World War began, 70,000 German and Austrian nationals – most of them refugees – were labelled ‘enemy aliens’. And in 1972, the British government resisted admitting Asian Ugandans even though they were British passport holders. These are two cohorts of refugees many refer to when they speak of Britain as a country that ‘used to welcome refugees’ and evoke a mythological ‘golden era’ of refugee history. Refugees fleeing to Britain in the past however faced hostility and hardship similar to that faced by contemporary refugees.