British Quaker Aid to Spanish Republican Exiles in Concentration Camps in the South of France (1939–1940)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Line 103 -- Reads like a quoted source but not quoted
Line 111-2 -- Edit
Check all quotation marks; "quote" and not 'quote'?
Danger of one-sided sources. French government agencies clearly involved. British cannot be far away. Given the officially neutral policies of western states, Quaker efforts clearly offered an alternative. Significance would be vastly increased by American and French documents -- including the French Foreign Ministry.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

I appreciate your careful reading of the text, along with your very pertinent suggestions for improvement. I have endeavoured to respond appropriately. 

Corrections completed:

Line 103 -- Reads like a quoted source but not quoted
Line 111-2 -- Edit
Check all quotation marks; "quote" and not 'quote'?

I have to admit that you are right about the danger of one-sided sources. I have attempted to respond to this by underlining the general historic/academic consensus and by pointing the interested reader to relevant research.

Though I acknowledge that inclusion of American and French documents would, indeed, enhance the paper, I am unable to do this given the current constraints of time and space. I feel that this might be a possible future exercise. I hope I have not let you down too much, in this respect.

Many thanks for your kind help,

Reviewer 2 Report

The article is well written and makes an original contribution to the history of humanitarian relief during the Spanish Republican exile. However, it is necessary to explain in more detail the influence of the religious dimension of the Quakers in the configuration of their humanitarian engagement. Why Quakers have been historically committed with humanitarian work? I suggest to develop this point by analysing ego-documents. 

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Many thanks for your detailed reading of this paper, your kind comments, and your very pertinent suggestions for improvement - namely:

'It is necessary to explain in more detail the influence of the religious dimension of the Quakers in the configuration of their humanitarian engagement. Why Quakers have been historically committed with humanitarian work?'

Upon reading the paper again, I completely agree with this - an important issue which I had rather 'taken for granted'. I have attempted to make this much clearer from the outset and have modified and restructured the introduction to the text. (I have left the font in red so that the changes might be more easily seen.)

I do hope that you feel that this is an adequate response.

Many thanks,