20. yüzyıl (ve 21. yüzyıl) İrlandalı şairlerin Yahudi soykırımına verdiklerini tepkiye ilişkin her türlü değerlendirme, öncelikle İrlanda'nın küçük Yahudi toplumunun tarihsel bağlamını ve savaş öncesinde ve savaş sırasında Avrupa anakarasından İrlanda’ya gelen mültecilerin göçüne ilişkin kayıtları içermelidir. Mevcut nüfus sayımı istatistikleri 1861 yılından bu yana İrlanda’da ağırlıklı olarak Dublin'de, ama aynı zamanda Cork ve Limerick gibi şehirlerde küçük ama önemli bir Yahudi toplumunun bulunduğunu göstermektedir. 1901 yılında yani James Joyce'un Ulysses (1922) adlı eserinin geçtiği 1904 yılından üç yıl önce yapılan nüfus sayımı, İrlanda'da yaşayan yaklaşık 3 milyon 200 bin kişiden 3 bini biraz aşkınının Yahudi olduğunu göstermektedir. 1946'ya gelindiğinde bu sayı yalnızca 5 bin 381'e yükselmişti. Bu istatistikler, Orta ve Doğu Avrupa'dan kitlesel sürgünler karşısında İrlanda'nın savaş öncesi ve savaş sırasında bir şey yapmadığını kendi dilince anlatıyor. Yahudi soykırımı yıllarında (1942 - 45) bile, İrlanda’nın politikası aşırı derecede eli sıkı olarak tanımlanabilir. Dermot Keogh’un Jews in Twentieth-Century Ireland (1998) (20. Yüzyıl İrlanda’sında Yahudiler) adlı güvenilir eserinde, İkinci Dünya Savaşı sırasında İrlanda tarafından kabul edilen Yahudi mültecilerin sayısı “60 gibi düşük bir sayı olabilir” (Keogh 1998: 192) denilmektedir.
Any
consideration of the response by twentieth and twenty-first century of Irish
poets to the1 Hholocaust
must consider first the historical context of
Ireland’s little small 2Jewish
community and the record of pre-war and wartime immigration into Ireland by
refugees from mainland Europe. Available census statistics show that 1861
onwards there was a little small but significant Jewish community in Ireland mainly based in Dublin
but also in cities such as Cork and Limerick. The 1901 census taken three years
before the 1904 setting of James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922), suggest that there
were just over 3,000 Jews3 living in
Ireland out of a total population of roughly 3,200,000. By 1946, this number
had risen only to 5,381 professing Jews
on the island of Ireland. These statistics tell their own story of Ireland’s
pre-war and wartime inaction in the face of mass expulsions from central and
eastern Europe. Even during the years of the
Hholocaust,
1942-45, Irish policy was parsimonious at best and according to Dermot Keogh’s
authoritative study “Jews in Twentieth-4Century Ireland (1998)”5,
the number of Jewish refugees 6admitted
during the Second World War “may have been as few as sixty” (Keogh 1998: 192).
Any
consideration of the response offered 1by
twentieth and twenty-first century of 2Irish
poets to the3 Hholocaust must consider
first involve reviewing 4the
historical context of Ireland’s little small 5Jewish
community and the Ireland’s record of pre-war and wartime immigration into Ireland by acceptance of refugees from mainland Europe.
Available census statistics show that 1861 onwards
there was a little small but significant Jewish community has
existed in Ireland since 1861. This
community was primarily mainly based
in Dublin but also settled in cities
such as Cork and Limerick. The 1901 census,
taken three years before the 1904 setting of James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922),
suggests that people of Jewish origin constituted there were just over 3,000 Jews6
living inof Ireland’s out of a total population of roughly
3,200,000. By 1946, this number had risen only to 5,381 people professing Jews on the island of Ireland7.
These statistics tell narrate 8their own story of Ireland’s pre-war and
wartime inaction in the face of mass expulsions from Ccentral and Eeastern Europe.
Irish policy was parsimonious at best even between
1942 and 1945, the years of the Holocaust. Even during the years of the Hholocaust,
1942-45, Irish policy was parsimonious at best and Aaccording to Dermot Keogh’s
authoritative study “9Jews in
Twentieth-10Century Ireland (1998)”11, the number of Jewish
refugees 12admitted by Ireland during
the Second World War “may have been as few as sixty” (Keogh 1998: 192).
Any consideration of the response offered by twentieth and twenty-first century Irish poets to the Holocaust must first involve reviewing the historical context of Ireland’s small Jewish community and Ireland’s record of pre-war and wartime acceptance of refugees from mainland Europe. Available census statistics show a small but significant Jewish community has existed in Ireland since 1861. This community was primarily based in Dublin but also settled in cities such as Cork and Limerick. The 1901 census, taken three years before the 1904 setting of James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922), suggests that people of Jewish origin constituted just over 3,000 of Ireland’s total population of roughly 3,200,000. By 1946, this number had risen only to 5,381 people. These statistics narrate their own account of Ireland’s pre-war and wartime inaction in the face of mass expulsions from Central and Eastern Europe. Irish policy was parsimonious at best even between 1942 and 1945, the years of the Holocaust. According to Dermot Keogh’s authoritative study Jews in Twentieth-Century Ireland (1998), the number of Jewish refugees admitted by Ireland during the Second World War “may have been as few as sixty” (Keogh 1998: 192).
