Editing Victor Gollancz (section)

===1943 publication of description of the Holocaust===
Gollancz publicised the anti-Semitism of the Nazi regime early on; in 1933 he had published the compilation volume ''The Little Brown Book of the Hitler Terror''<ref>Edwards (1987), p. 218.</ref> and Fritz Seidler's book on the Nazi persecution of the Jews ''The Bloodless Pogrom'' in 1934. 

In the summer of 1942, Gollancz came to realise that he and the rest of the world had been seriously underestimating the horrific extent of the [[The Holocaust|Nazi persecution of the Jews]]. He explained in his 16,000-word pamphlet ''Let My People Go'', written over Christmas 1942, that between one and two million Jews had already been murdered in Nazi-controlled Europe and "unless something effective is done, within a very few months these six million Jews will all be dead.".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Victor-Gollanczs-attempt-to-stop-the-Holocaust-614283 | title=Victor Gollancz's attempt to stop the Holocaust|website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |first=Raymond S. |last=Solomon|date=15 January 2020}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ho-fAAAAMAAJ ''The Massacre of a People: What the Democracies Can Do''] (1944). Jewish Frontier Association, p. 22.</ref> 

Gollancz proposed a series of practical responses, centred around a rescue plan, and undertook a lecture and fundraising tour; he was also made vice-president of [[Eleanor Rathbone]]'s ''National Committee for Rescue from Nazi Terror''. Published early in the new year of 1943, the pamphlet sold a quarter of a million copies within three months<ref>Edwards (1987), pp. 371 & 374–375.</ref> and was quoted in the [[Parliament of Canada]] in 1943,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=-0JOAAAAMAAJ Debates: Official report, Volume 5 (1943), Canada. Parliament. House of Commons]. P. 4606.</ref> and in ''[[The Adelaide Advertiser]]'' on Saturday 15 May 1943.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48912740?searchTerm=%22wiping%20out%20of%20six%20million%20jews%22%20AND%20%22six%20million%20jews%22&searchLimits=exactPhrase=six+million+jews|||todd=01|||tomm=06|||toyyyy=1945|||sortby=dateAsc The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA)], Saturday 15 May 1943.</ref> 

Along with Rathbone, Gollancz was the foremost British campaigner during the Second World War on the issue of the Nazi extermination of European Jewry.

Towards the end of June 1943, Gollancz suffered a serious nervous breakdown, believed to have been brought on by overwork (he had cut out holidays and reduced his social and cultural life) and his identification with the Nazis' victims. After his recovery he started work on a book to be called ''The Necessity for Zionism''; although the book was never written, he did publish a number of books on Jewish topics.<ref>Edwards (1987), p. 389.</ref> His work for [[Zionism]] at this time led to him being appointed as a governor of the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]. In May 1945, he wrote his last major contribution to Jewish refugees, the pamphlet ''Nowhere to Lay Their Heads: The Jewish tragedy in Europe and its solution'', a personal appeal for the opening up of Palestine for large-scale Jewish immigration from Europe, which he distributed for free and was a great success.<ref>Edwards (1987) pp. 392–393.</ref>