England football team, Berlin 1938

Stanley Matthews: ‘An FA official visited the dressing room and instructed the players to give the Nazi salute – an order which caused everyone of us to stop what we were doing and look up in some alarm... it was pointed out that when the British athletics team had given the eyes right salute at the Olympic Games in 1936 many Germans took it as a deliberate snub. So, much as the boys hated this gesture towards Hitler we agreed to abide by the decision of the FA... Whenever I glance at that infamous picture... I feel ashamed.’

Derby County, Munich 1934

George Collins: ‘We told the manager, George Jobey, that we didn’t want to do it. He spoke with the directors, but they said that the British ambassador insisted we must. He said the Foreign Office were afraid of causing an international incident if we refused. It would be a snub to Hitler at a time when international relations were so delicate. So we did what we were told. All except our goalkeeper, Jack Kirby.’

British Responses to Nazism and the Holocaust

Key questions The media: In what ways did the media influence British attitudes towards Nazism and the Holocaust? Was it always a positive influence? Choices: “People who had the opportunity to do so, chose to help the Jews.” Do you agree? What factors influenced their choices? Government action: What did the British Government do in response to the Holocaust? Could it have done more? Fascism in Britain: What factors attracted some people to Fascism? Can we learn anything from this? Protestors: How did people protest against Fascism and the treatment of Jews in Europe? Were they successful? Remembrance: How and why has Britain remembered the Holocaust?

How would you characterise British responses to Nazism and the Holocaust since 1933?