Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History Magazine.

At the turn of the 20th century, millions of European Jews were seeking an escape from anti-Semitic persecution.

While many dreamed of Palestine, a few thousand made their way instead to Galveston in Texas.

In her new book, Melting Point, the author Rachel Cockrell tells the story of this little-known

Galveston movement and reveals how it connects to the histories of America,

Zionism and European Jewry. She spoke to Rob Atar. First of all, Rachel, how did you first come

across this story of the Galveston community? I came across the story in a very roundabout way.

I was interested in my family, but not my

great-grandfather who was involved in the Galveston movement, but the next generation down, his

daughter, who was my grandmother and her sister, who raised their children together with both

of their husbands in a fairly shambolic, gigantic house in North London in the years after World War II.

It was a house with around 13 or 14 people in it, seven children, four adults, and then various

other people as well. Me and my siblings had kind of heard stories about this house growing up

because it's how my dad was raised. I was just always very curious to

find out more. And I thought maybe it would make a good book, but I thought perhaps I'd better

start the book by explaining how my family came to England. All I knew was that my grandmother

had come here as a child from Russia speaking no English, but I didn't really know anything

more than that.

I then Googled my great-grandfather, her father. I found sort of a surprising number of

results on Google, and his name was always mentioned in connection with the word Galveston.

I don't think I'd ever heard the word before. I think, like most English people, I don't know

much about Texan geography.

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