At the outbreak of the First World War, German immigrants, who for decades had been respected members of their community, became enemies almost overnight. Their livelihoods, shops and houses were destroyed by violent crowds. Yet German people had settled in Britain over many centuries. They were courtiers, merchants, engineers, and skilled workers such as the sugar bakers in London’s East End, living in almost exclusively German-speaking communities.
During the Victorian period, Britain had no border controls and German people were largely accepted. However, attitudes towards immigrants hardened towards the end of the century. Migrants were accused of stealing jobs from the home community, and ‘foreigners’, particularly the Germans, were labelled as lazy and untrustworthy. Towards the end of the century the influx of Eastern European Jews, who had escaped Tsarist Russia, led to increasingly anti-alien agitation. This resulted in the first British legislation aimed at restricting immigration: the Aliens Act of 1905. This Act set the foundation for many later immigration laws.
In the nineteenth century, the South London areas of Forest Hill, Sydenham and Lambeth were tranquil and rural. Yet, the developments of the railway meant they offered easy access to the city of London and elsewhere. These areas were favoured by wealthy German merchants who, following the decline of the sugar industry, moved out of London’s East End.
One local resident was the German conductor of the Crystal Palace orchestra, August Manns (1825-1907). For over 40 years Manns brought German classical music to British audiences. The conductor was so popular that, having become a British citizen, he was knighted in 1903. Following his death, he was buried in West Norwood cemetery.
Herne Hill was considered the ‘Belgravia of South London’ in the early years of the nineteenth century. Johann Heinrich Schröder, the founder of the Schröder banking dynasty, arrived in London from Hamburg in 1802, in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars. His brother, Johann Friedrich, lived in Dulwich Lodge, Herne Hill; when he died in 1852 he was buried in a small cemetery in the centre of Dulwich Village. The 1911 census shows that another member of the family, Johann Schröder, lived with his wife Caroline in a mansion on Herne Hill.
Champion Hill in Camberwell was known at the time as ‘little Germany’. Alexander Friedrich Kleinwort, a merchant banker, married the German-born Sophie in 1855. Thereafter they lived in the Glebe, a substantial house set on a hill with a view over London and the Crystal Palace. They were surrounded by many other German families and the area boasted an array of German shops, including delicatessens, haberdasheries, and even a German undertaker. The Kleinworts socialised with the other German families in the area, and on Sundays attended the German Protestant Church in Camberwell where the pastor conducted services for a congregation of up to 300 people. The Kleinworts moved to The Platanes in 1900, an imposing house on Champion Hill, which still exists today and is now part of King’s College Hospital.
South London was also the home of less well off German families. The 1911 census shows that there were four German families living at Fawnbrake Avenue in Herne Hill. One worked in the drapery business, another was a cigar dealer, a third worked in coffee export and the fourth was a clerk in the Stock Exchange. Nineteen Germans lived in Milkwood Road in Herne Hill. Conrad Schneider, who lived at number 6, owned a bakery on Herne Hill. Although he was a British citizen, his business was ransacked at the height of anti-German feelings in 1915. In neighbouring streets there lived a German watchmaker, a silk merchant, a bank clerk, a paper maker and paper dealer, among many others. While according to the 1911 census, the majority of migrants in the Herne Hill area were either German or Austrian, a number of other nationalities, including French, Swiss, Dutch, and Italian were also noted.
After war broke out in 1914, being German was a fraught and dangerous existence. Some wealthier German families, such as those in Camberwell, who had lived in the country for decades, changed their names and addresses. Yet, this was not possible for many. The Aliens Restriction Act meant that all Germans had to register themselves; German men between the ages of 17 to 55 were interned as enemy agents in various camps across the country. Many thousands of older men, women, and children were forcefully repatriated. British cities, including London, witnessed anti-German riots throughout the war, but particularly in May 1915 following the sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania by German U-boats. By the end of the First World War the German population of England and Wales had more than halved to 22,254.
It is not surprising that both World Wars caused prejudice, stereotyping, and animosity towards Germans – which, following the Second World War, took many years to overcome. Today, there are no longer distinct German areas in London, although there are over 100,000 Germans living in the UK. In Herne Hill, however, there are two German nurseries, one primary school that teaches German, and in Sydenham there is still a German Lutheran Church. Lambeth remains a diverse and multi-cultural area; it now has the largest population of people who identify themselves (based on the 2011 census) as ‘mixed’ in Britain. Yet, immigration remains a complex societal and political issue.
By Lore Arthur and Laurence Marsh, U3A Shared Learning Project researchers for the Citizens Project
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