George Shanks (1896–1957) was an
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
Briton
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mo ...
born in Moscow and was the first translator of ''
Protocols of Zion
''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
'' from Russian into English. He was also a founding member of Radio Normandy.
__NOTOC__
George Shanks was the son of Henry Shanks, a well-known British merchant who resided in Moscow. Henry Shanks managed the family firm of Shanks & Bolin, Magasin Anglais established by his father
James Steuart Shanks
James Steuart Shanks, (1826–1911), second son of the coachmaker Robert Shanks was a British merchant living in Moscow. James studied at Leiden University and he came of age in 1845 at which point he inherited from his uncle Robert How. In 18 ...
in 1852. As a result of the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
, the family lost their business and home and were forced to return to London. It is believed that the translation was completed during this period in London. His identity was not discovered until 1978; initially, it was believed that
Victor E. Marsden
''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
was the translator, as his name came to be associated with the British English language translation of the ''Protocols'' in
pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
or booklet form soon after he died in 1920.
Shanks gave it a new fore-title ''The Jewish Peril''. Shanks may have been assisted in the translation by Count
Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich
Major-General Count Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich (Spiridovitch) (or A. de Tcherep-Spiridovitch) (aka Artur Čerep-Spiridovič) (8 September 1866 – 22 October 1926) was a major-general in the Imperial Russian Navy (not a major-general in the Impe ...
. The first edition was published by Eyre & Spottiswoode at the beginning of 1920. The second edition was produced for
The Britons
The Britons was an English anti-Semitic and anti-immigration organisation founded in July 1919 by Henry Hamilton Beamish. The organisation published pamphlets and propaganda under imprint names: Judaic Publishing Co. and later The Britons, and ...
, an early anti-immigration and anti-Semitic organisation, at the end of that year. Shanks is known to have engaged in a dispute with The Britons over payment of the royalties to which he was entitled.
In an article published in
Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carried a homoer ...
’s ''Plain English'' journal in January 1921 it is claimed that Shanks had been employed as a clerk at the Chief Whips Office at No. 12 Downing Street and then as Personal Assistant to Sir
Philip Sassoon
Sir Philip Albert Gustave David Sassoon, 3rd Baronet, (4 December 1888 – 3 June 1939) was a British politician, art collector, and socialite, entertaining many celebrity guests at his homes, Port Lympne Mansion, Kent, and Trent Park, North Lond ...
, the Personal Secretary to British Prime Minister,
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
. The Chief Whips Office would have been run at this time by
Freddie Guest
Frederick Edward "Freddie" Guest, (14 June 1875 – 28 April 1937) was a British politician best known for being Chief Whip of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's Coalition Liberal Party, 1917–1921. He was also Secretary of State for Air be ...
(for the Liberal Party) and
Edmund FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent
Edmund Bernard FitzAlan-Howard, 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent (1 June 1855 – 18 May 1947), known as The Honourable Edmund Fitzalan-Howard between 1855 and 1856, Lord Edmund Fitzalan-Howard between 1856 and 1876, and Lord Edmund Talbot bet ...
(for the Conservative Party). The British Government at this time was a coalition government. Although George is referred to as Edward in the article that was published on 22 January 1921, the editor printed a formal correction in an issue published the following month. A letter published in the journal on 5 February 1921 also revealed that George’s mother’s name was Schilling.
His First World War Service Records show that from 1915 to 1916 Shanks served as Sub-Lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
on Special Service with the
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...
at RNAS Kingnorth. On 20 December 1916 he was seconded to the ''Russian Government Committee'' under General Eduard K. Hermonius
Boris Anrep
Boris Vasilyevich Anrep (russian: Борис Васильевич Анреп; 27 September 1883 – 7 June 1969) was a Russian artist, active in Britain, who devoted himself to the art of mosaic. In Britain, he is known for his monumental mosaic ...
at Canada and India House in Kingsway, London. He resigned his commission with the Royal Naval Air Service at his own request on 19 April 1919.
Louise Maude Shanks, George’s aunt on his father’s side, was married to Aylmer Maude.
Aylmer and Louise Maude
Aylmer Maude (28 March 1858 – 25 August 1938) and Louise Maude (1855–1939) were English translators of Leo Tolstoy's works, and Aylmer Maude also wrote his friend Tolstoy's biography, ''The Life of Tolstoy''. After living many years in Russi ...
were friends and translators of the Russian novelist
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
. In October 1918, Aylmer was reported to have accepted an invitation by the British Government to assist in the anti-Bolshevik propaganda campaign at
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...
(Archangel) in North West Russia. He subsequently offered his services as Special Correspondent to the Manchester Guardian newspaper. Shanks’ ''Jewish Peril'' pamphlet was reviewed by ''The Times'' of London on 8 May 1920. A few days later, on 12 May, his uncle Aylmer Maude had a letter printed in ''The Times'' questioning its authenticity. At no point in his letter does Maude acknowledge the part played by his nephew George Shanks in the book’s translation and publication.
That the ''Plain English'' article includes several personal details that would be verified by letters unearthed several decades later by historian, Gisela C, Lebzelter, lends additional weight to the claims. A letter written in response to the article by Patrick Hamilton in Tring in February 1921 suggests that it was unlikely that Shanks would have been able to complete the translation “unassisted”. The discovery of letters between Shanks’ friend, Robert Hobart Cust and
H. A. Gwynne
Howell Arthur Keir Gwynne, CH (3 September 1865 – 29 June 1950) was a Welsh author, newspaper editor of the London ''Morning Post'' from 1911 to 1937. , Mee, Arthur. ''Who's Who in Wales''. Cardiff, Western Mail Limited (1921). (p.170)
Earl ...
of ''
The Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
'' confirms that Shanks was indeed assisted by Temporary Major Edward Griffiths George Burdon, who was awarded an O.B.E in the Queens Birthday Honours List in 1919. A supplement to the London Gazette of 21 August 1919 places him in the category of Special List officers of the
General Service Corps
The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army.
Role
The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...
. The ''Special List'' is a reference to officers who may have had ordnance, linguistic or intelligence skills. Upon his death in March 1937, Burdon left Shanks a sum £5,000 from his estate and a box of letters. According to a report printed in the ''Kington Times'' newspaper in August 1913, Burdon had expressed a wish that the letters should be sent to George Shanks “unopened so that he might deal with the contents according to instructions communicated to him”.
[''Kington Times'', 14 August 1937 p.4]
Works
*''
The Jewish Peril: Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion''
:anonymously translated by George Shanks
:(London:
Eyre & Spottiswoode
Eyre & Spottiswoode was the London-based printing firm that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, a publisher prior to being incorporated; it once went by the name of Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & co. ltd. In April 1929, it was incorporated as E ...
, 1920; First edition)
:(London:
The Britons
The Britons was an English anti-Semitic and anti-immigration organisation founded in July 1919 by Henry Hamilton Beamish. The organisation published pamphlets and propaganda under imprint names: Judaic Publishing Co. and later The Britons, and ...
, 62 Oxford Street, 1920; Second edition)
:Related name:
Nilus, Sergei Aleksandrovich, 1862–1930
905 Russian source
References
Sources
*
Sharman Kadish
Sharman Kadish (born 1959) is a contemporary scholar, author, historian and preservationist.
Biography
Kadish was born in London, England, of Russian Jewish descent. Her father was the artist Norman Maurice Kadish. She was educated at Univers ...
– ''Bolsheviks and British Jews: The Anglo-Jewish Community, Britain, and the Russian Revolution'' – (London: Frank Case, 1992)
*
Robert Singerman
Robert Singerman (born 1942) is a librarian, and a recognized Judaica bibliographer. He is often cited by Judaica rare book dealers. He holds the position of University Librarian, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, where he was ...
– ''The American Career of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion"'' – ''American Jewish History'', Vol. 71 (1981), pp. 48–78
External links
Library catalogue entryat the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
George Shanksat shanks-family.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanks, George
1890s births
Year of death unknown
Antisemitism in the Russian Empire
British conspiracy theorists
British expatriates in Russia
Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Russian–English translators