Well, I've just read Andy Murray's excellent new biography of Kneale, which illuminates this thread rather helpfully.

Nigel Kneale was British, but his wife, Judith Kerr, was in fact Jewish and escaped from Hitler's Germany with only one day to spare. Her father was "an outspoken opponent of the Nazis" who bravely made weekly broadcasts criticising the upcoming Hitler. In 1933, the family fled to Switzerland the day before Hitler became Chancellor and sent officials to confiscate their passports!

Kneale later met Judith while she was working for the BBC in London.

The book looks at the practical side of writing the TV series and films, and how Kneale got his various script assignments. It doesn't probe the subtexts of his material as deeply as, say, this thread! I certainly think that the story of QUATERMASS AND THE PIT alone, could easily inspire a thick volume of essays. It's so rich in ideas and implications.

The author illustrates and implies that Kneale's work also influenced many others, notably ALIEN, 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY, and the finale of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK!

INTO THE UNKNOWN is an invaluable book on Kneale's life and work. Sadly, he's just passed away at the weekend, while I was halfway through reading it.