Nick

On January 9, our class visited the Friends House Quaker Archives. Through the exploration of several archival documents, I could recognize the overlap in characteristics between the Quakers and Bloomsbury Group. The documents we focused on centralized on the Quaker war relief efforts during the Spanish Civil War, occurring between World War I and World War II. 

There was evidence of ambivalence regarding the war in that Quakers sought to promote Pacifism, yet the war was also viewed as a necessary means to end facism. The Quakers elected to opt for a nontraditional approach in that they stood firm in their beliefs to not be militant, yet they still provided aid through relief efforts for refugees. I was most drawn to the pamphlets that the Quakers had written to encourage the community to provide financial assistance. There was one in particular that caught my attention; it displayed a symbol representing the Quaker’s war relief efforts. The paper was surprisingly smooth for its age and featured exclusively typed text with several subheadings to highlight the need for support for the countries they were supporting and what actions the Quakers have already taken. 

Reading this document, I felt transported back to the past and inspired to support the Quaker efforts. I was incredibly inspired by Quakers efforts to promote positive peace throughout the entire world, not just those they are surrounded by. It felt similar to watching an infomercial on television asking to send financial support to a third world country. The document highlights the tragedies facing Spain, Germany, Austria, China and Czechoslovakia. The refugees in these countries have been displaced and deprived of a means to live. 

There was a direct connection between the Quaker pamphlets and Virginia Woolf’s Three Guineas. Through Three Guineas, Woolf advocates for several nontraditional approaches such as “an outspoken refusal to knit socks in order to discourage war.”1  Through the pamphlets we see the Quakers implementing the same concepts of Pacifism through a different means. Both the Quakers and Bloomsbury Group sought for harmony and a betterment for society through peace. Their compassion for others deserves the utmost respect and I am hopeful that we can emulate this passion for equal rights today.