Simpson’s legacy

of European scholars (mostly but not exclusively Jewish) under Nazi threat.

On July 2 1992 the CIBA Foundation gave a reception to launch “Refugee Scholars, conversations with Tess Simpson”. Ray Cooper had recorded a series of “têtesà-têtes” with Tess and obtained her agreement to allow them to be published. This was quite an achievement as she was a very private person and did not easily talk about her own involvement in her “rescue work”. I was asked by Joan Stiebel to review the book and my review was published in the Birmingham Jewish Recorder in January 1993. Although Tess rarely admitted to any influence from her Jewish background, I was impressed by her comment about when she moved to Geneva in 1933.

“We used to have little religious services at the end of Thursday morning, and I remembered being very shocked when, on one occasion soon after I joined [the World Alliance of YMCA’s], the French Parson said that while rather awkward happenings were taking place in Germany, we had to ask ourselves what was the will of God. Quoting from Isaiah, he proved to his own satisfaction that it was the will of God that the Jews should be persecuted until they all became Christians. That was a little much for me”.

I think this may have had a profound influence on Tess’s subsequent devotion to her attempts to help the persecuted peoples under Hitler’s regime. (Dr) Anthony Joseph

Emeritus President, Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain