Barbed Wire University – A talk by Dave Hannigan

As a follow-up to the very successful trip to the Isle of Man organised by Insiders/Outsiders and Jewish Renaissance magazine in March this year, we are delighted to welcome Dave Hannigan, author of a new book entitled Barbed Wire University: The Untold Story of the Interned Jewish Intellectuals Who Turned an Island Prison into the Most Remarkable School in the World.

Barbed Wire University tells the extraordinary tale of Winston Churchill's internment of some of the most gifted Jewish refugee writers, professors, artists, and painters of their generation in a camp on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. These were men who had fled Hitler's Germany, found refuge in Britain, and then, in the hysteria of 1940, were held in captivity as a perceived security threat. They turned the camp – Hutchinson Camp in Douglas – into a school, concert hall, and artistic community. Using memoirs and diaries, some of which have only recently become available in archives, Dave Hannigan pieces together a richly detailed account of what these remarkable men did during their time in captivity, to tell an extraordinary tale of grit and creativity.

Dave Hannigan is a sports columnist with The Sunday Tribune, the Evening Echo and New York’s Irish Echo. He is the author of three previous books and is also an adjunct professor of history at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island, USA.

Those attending the event will be entitled to a 30% discount on the cover price of the book, by entering the code RLFANDF30 here.

This event is free, but in order to help us continue our activities, a donation of at least £5 per booking would be hugely appreciated. To donate, click here.