Dorothy Frances Buxton ( née Jebb; 3 March 1881 – 8 April 1963) was an English humanitarian, social activist and commentator on Germany.

Life

Dorothy Frances Jebb was born 3 August 1881 in Ellesmere, Shropshire, the youngest of three sisters born to Arthur Trevor Jebb (1839-1894) and Eglantyne Louisa Jebb. Her mother's brother was the Cambridge classicist

Richard Claverhouse Jebb Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb (27 August 1841 – 9 December 1905) was a British classical scholar. Life Jebb was born in Dundee, Scotland. His father Robert was a well-known Irish barrister; his mother was Emily Harriet Horsley, daughter of ...

, and Dorothy was educated at

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

.Dorothy Frances Jebb (I23268)
/ref> In 1904 she married Charles Roden Buxton, at that time a Liberal politician, and the pair were active in the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. In 1915 she joined the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

. In 1917 she and her husband left the Liberal Party for the Labour Party, and joined the Society of Friends. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she compiled 'Notes from the Foreign Press' for the ''

Cambridge Magazine Charles Kay Ogden (; 1 June 1889 – 20 March 1957) was an English linguist, philosopher, and writer. Described as a polymath but also an eccentric and outsider, he took part in many ventures related to literature, politics, the arts, and philo ...

''. Her writing inspired the Fight the Famine Council, founded in 1918 as an effort to alleviate starvation of civilians in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

during the Allied blockade of Germany in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, which led to the

Save the Children Fund The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

, which she and her sister

Eglantyne Jebb Eglantyne Jebb (25 August 1876 – 17 December 1928) was a British social reformer who founded the Save the Children organisation at the end of the First World War to relieve the effects of famine in Austria-Hungary and Germany. She drafted th ...

founded in 1919. In 1935, increasingly concerned at Nazi treatment of Christians in Germany, she visited Germany to see for herself.'Church and Politics: Dorothy Buxton and the German Church Struggle', in ''History, religion, and identity in modern Britain'', Continuum International Publishing Group, 1893, pp.183-194 She secured an interview with

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

to raise the issue of treatment of civilians.Clare Mulley
The Woman who Saved the Children
, Oxford: Oneworld, 2009, p. xix-xx. On her return she informed George Bell, Bishop of Chicester, that German Christians whom she had met "seemed oppressed and bound with the apparent necessity of extreme caution".R. C. D. Jasper, ''George Bell, Bishop of Chicester'', p. 205. Cited in Robbins, p. 184 Though her husband campaigned for appeasement of Germany, Dorothy Buxton became convinced that war was necessary against the Nazis. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

she campaigned for refugees from Nazi Germany, as well as for the welfare of German prisoners of war. She died 8 April 1963 in

Peaslake Peaslake, Hoe, and Colman's Hill are in the centre of the Surrey Hills AONB and mid-west of the Greensand Ridge about ESE of Guildford. Surrounded by denser pine and other coniferous forest-clad hills, the three conjoined settlements have a ...

, near Guildford, aged 81. Papers relating to her and her husband are held at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

Works

* (with Charles Roden Buxton) ''The world after the war'', London: G. Allen & Unwin Ltd.

920 __NOTOC__ Year 920 ( CMXX) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December 17 – Romanos I has himself crowned co-emperor of the Byza ...

Translated into German by Rudolf Berger as ''Die Welt nach dem Weltkriege'', 1921. * ''The war for coal and iron', London : The Labour Party, 921 * ''Upper Silesia and the European crisis'', London : Fight the Famine Council, 921 * ''The challenge of bolshevism; a new social ideal'', London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1928. * (ed.) ''Save the child: a posthumous essay'' by

. London : The Weardale Press, 1929. * (with Edward Fuller) ''The white flame: the story of the Save the children fund'', London, New York: Longmans, Green and Co.; London: The Weardale Press, Ltd., 1931. * (as 'An English Protestant') ''The Church Struggle in Germany: A Survey of Four Years, March 1933-July 1937'', London, 1937. * ''The Religious Crisis in Germany'', Kulturkampf Association: London, 938.* (ed. and tr.) ''I Was In Prison: letters from German pastors'', Student Christian Movement Press: London, 1938 * ''The economics of the refugee problem'', ondon Focus Publishing Co., 938 * (with

Norman Angell Sir Ralph Norman Angell (26 December 1872 – 7 October 1967) was an English Nobel Peace Prize winner. He was a lecturer, journalist, author and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party. Angell was one of the principal founders of the Union o ...

) ''You and the refugee: the moral and economics of the problem'', Harmondsworth : Penguin Books Ltd., 1939. Translated into Spanish by F. Fernández de la Madroñera as ''El crimen de nuestro tiempo: la raza blanca en peligro'', 1943. * (ed. with a foreword) ''Christendom on trial : documents of the German church struggle, 1938-39'', London: Friends of Europe, 939* (ed. and completed) ''Prophets of heaven & hell: Virgil, Dante, Milton, Goethe'' by Charles Roden Buxton. Cambridge: The University Press, 1945

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Dorothy 1881 births 1963 deaths English activists English humanitarians English women activists Liberal Party (UK) politicians Labour Party (UK) people English Quakers Women's International League for Peace and Freedom people People from Ellesmere, Shropshire Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge

Life

Works

Archives

References

External links