Ronald Roberts, the Lad Who Outwitted the Nazis
From Weimar Germany to Windrush Britain
Summary
Ronald Roberts was born in Germany in 1921. As the son of a Barbadian father and a white mother, Roberts suffered racial persecution in Nazi Germany and spent the Second World War interned in a civilian camp as a British national. After the war, he made a new life for himself working with the British military in occupied Austria and finally settled in a postwar Britain that was barely coming to terms with its own colonial legacy. His experiences along the way are a record of endurance, inventiveness and the stubborn refusal to ‘go under’ in the face of persistent racism.
Roberts’ prison and camp letters to his parents (a unique source) and his postwar testimony are reproduced here, along with a short biography by his widow. His story is richly illustrated with family photos and documents, and an introduction and explanatory notes provide readers with critical and historical context.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- Introduction
- Biography (2008)
- ‘Ronald’s arithmetic and reading are very good. He writes badly.’ (1911–1932)
- ‘Just stay away from the girls…’ (1932–1937)
- ‘It’s hard work, from 9 in the morning to 1.30 or 2 at night.’ (1937–1938)
- ‘Some nights I stand at the window and wonder whether I should just put an end to all this misery.’ (March 1939–May 1940)
- ‘You keep writing about an apprenticeship, but I’ve had it up to here with this stupid apprenticeship.’ (May 1940–September 1941)
- ‘You have no idea how boring and hard the life of an internee is.’ (October 1941–September 1942)
- ‘Applause for the German-Indian dancer Beryl Roberts, an exotic artiste with a special personal touch.’ (Spring 1944)
- ‘I got your parcel with all the fine things. I was really surprised by the film magazine…’ (Summer 1944–May 1945)
- ‘Byrrh is a breakfast wine from the South of France that is considered a first-rate tonic because of its high quinine content.’ (1946–1952)
- ‘No Whites wanted’ (1952–1957)
- ‘All I want is to be with you.’ (1955–1959)
- Letters (1938–1944)
- Testimony (1951–1956)
- Memories (1996)
- Explanatory Notes
- Sources and Further Reading
Acknowledgements
This project has been developing over many years since Carol Roberts’ first decision to write down Ronald’s story as he had told it to her, but the story would remain unknown if not for the support and encouragement of people on the way. Carol’s dear friend Jean Tondy encouraged her to gather together the evidence for the story and contact the Wiener Library – a first step which Carol would never have taken otherwise. Her brother, Steven Griffin, who managed to get on the Antiques Road Show with a painting of Ron’s father from the Ruhleben camp, also deserves mention. She is grateful to Eve for her unflagging enthusiasm and curiosity and for uncovering dimensions of Ron’s story that even he didn’t know.
Joe Sweetinburgh recognised the power and importance of Ronald’s story when he came across it in the Wiener Library archives. He brought Carol and Eve together to work out how to communicate the story to a wider audience, and his energy and wisdom in stewarding the project have been crucial. Thanks to Joe from Eve, too, for making her think again about dual heritage identities and experiences. Eve is also grateful to Robbie Aitken, Robert Beachy, David Revell, Walter Sauer, Jonathan Wipplinger and Tilmann Ziegenhain for sharing aspects of their research and to Günter Zwickl for adding his knowledge about Beryl and the Singer family. Carol, Eve and Joe thank Richard Excell for his design advice in the early stages of our publication journey.
Howard Falksohn and the staff of the Wiener Holocaust Library not only saw enough value and power in Ron’s story to develop an exhibition but have been unflagging in their support of Carol and of this book project.
We are all grateful to Laurel Plapp at Lang and to the series editors, as well as to the anonymous reviewers of the manuscript, for their confidence and support and for helping to make the book as good as it can be.
List of Illustrations
All images are from the Personal Archive of Carol Roberts and are reproduced here by permission. Those credited Wiener Holocaust Library have been deposited there and are reprinted by courtesy of the Library.
Details
- Pages
- XIV, 176
- Publication Year
- 2025
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781803748528
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781803748535
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781803748511
- DOI
- 10.3726/b22479
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2025 (December)
- Keywords
- Black European Black German / Afro-German Black British mixed heritage Nazi persecution civilian internment camps escape narrative World War II
- Published
- Oxford, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York, 2025. XIV, 176 pp., 50 fig. b/w.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG
