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Lecture

Trudy Gold
Other “Promised Lands”

Thursday 9.06.2022

Summary

The lecture delves into historical movements aiming to address the “Jewish problem,” tracing back to the Mansion House Committee established in 1840 in London. Trudy Gold highlights the committee’s rallies, petitions to the Tsar, and fundraising efforts totaling £208,000 to aid Russian Jewish refugees. She also discusses the committee’s initiative to settle Jews in North America, fearing an influx into England. Through these narratives, Trudy unveils diverse responses to Jewish persecution and aspirations for restoration amidst complex geopolitical landscapes.

Trudy Gold

An image of Trudy Gold

Trudy Gold was the CEO of the London Jewish Cultural Centre and a founding member of the British delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Throughout her career she taught modern Jewish history at schools, universities, and to adult groups and ran seminars on Holocaust education in the UK, Eastern Europe, and China. She also led Jewish educational tours all over the world. Trudy was the educational director of the student resources “Understanding the Holocaust” and “Holocaust Explained” and the author of The Timechart History of Jewish Civilization.

Yes, she was. She put out the Channel perfume, Number Five with a Jew. She betrayed him to the Nazis so she could have full ownership. He got around it by entrusting the ownership to Gentiles. After the war, he continued to do business with her in spite of the betrayal. Now the Channel brand is owned by a conglomerate.

Not everyone’s an anti-Semite. But these characters, they wanted to be part of the outside world. In Germany, in the twenties, intermarriage was running at 45%, which meant there were German families who were prepared to accept Jews.

I know that the Mendelssohn bank was closed in 1933. I think they got to America. I don’t think any of them actually were caught by the Nazis.