Anna Nyburg and Charmian Brinson eds., "Refugees from Nazism to Britain in Trade, Industry, and Engineering" (Brill, 2025)

Dec 2, 2025

Anna Nyburg, an academic focused on exile studies, discusses her edited work on refugees from Nazism and their vital impact on British trade and engineering. She highlights how these refugees brought innovation in everyday items, contributing to fields like aviation and electromechanical devices. Nyburg explores their experiences during WWII, facing both material shortages and internment, while emphasizing the importance of their expertise in shaping modern industry. She also connects historical lessons to today's refugee policies, advocating for humane integration.

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INSIGHT

Refugees As Skilled Economic Agents

Many refugees arriving in 1930s Britain were entrepreneurs, inventors, and trained professionals rather than low-skilled migrants.
Their technical training and business practices imported new technologies and managerial approaches into British trade and industry.

ANECDOTE

Everyday Objects Have Refugee Origins

Dr. Tony Morgan's survey links refugees to everyday British items like the dualit toaster and improved shop display techniques.
These examples show many things Britons consider 'iconically British' originated with German and Austrian refugees.

INSIGHT

German Engineering Traditions Raised Standards

German-trained engineers brought a university-based, high-status model of engineering to Britain.
Their methods produced inventive solutions like using industrial waste heat to warm housing and other advanced practices.

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Refugees from Nazism to Britain in Trade, Industry, and Engineering (Brill, 2025) is a book in German Studies that explores the intricacies and impacts of refugees on British industry and engineering, through which new technology, business ideas, and strategies were imported to Britain. The book has fifteen chapters, detailing individual stories of fifteen different contributors, including Tony Morgan, whose contribution is a survey of the impact of refugees on the social and domestic life in Britain. Refugees’ contributions in this regard include various spheres of activity, such as making toasters and organising group travels. Apart from Morgan’s contributions, Anna Nyburg notes the importance of each individual story in understanding the broader impact of refugees on trade, industry and engineering.

The book emphasises the importance of mobility and development in society, and how this was facilitated by the efforts of the German refugees in Britain. Among such efforts was the development of a corrosion-resistant substance by Shell. The book also highlights wartime challenges faced by refugees during the Second World War, including bombing and shortages. The book emphasises that the refugees’ experiences are same as the challenges of the British population, such as rationing and material shortages. The book reflects on how many refugees diversified their businesses to contribute to the British war effort, such as producing parachute silk. As part of the war experiences of the refugees, the book also accounts for the alien internment of refugees in Britain.

Mariam Olugbodi is a university teacher and a writer, she is the author of the monograph titled: Stylistic Features in the 2011 and 2012 Final Matches Commentaries in the UEFA Champions League, published by Grin Verlag. Mariam’s greatest dream is seeing a world where knowledge is accessible to all. She does this through her volunteering roles on open knowledge platforms as a host and an editor. As part of her effort to maintain inclusion and diversity in knowledge transmission, she volunteers as a teacher in crises contexts and a podcast host on NBN. Learn more and connect with Mariam through her social links @ (22) Olugbodi Mariam | LinkedIn, Mariam Olugbodi (0000-0001-5027-6644) - ORCID and User:Margob28 - Meta

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