Anglo-German Relations Research Articles

England and German Christmas Festlichkeit, c.1800-1914

This article examines the cultural transfer of Christmas customs from Germany to England in the long nineteenth century, and contextualizes the reception of new cultural practices by the English within the broader context of Anglo-German relations. Although the modern Christmas festival developed in parallel fashion in a number of countries, German customs, particularly the Christmas tree, played a significant role in the evolution of the festive season in England, and its configuration as a festival for children. The initial reception of Christmas tree rituals in England owed much to the activities of a small literary elite, who, particularly in literature for children, represented the Germans as an honest, simple and home-loving people, a theme which survived worsening Anglo-German relations in the late nineteenth century, and was a key narrative in the reporting of the famous Christmas truce during the First World War. It has also recently re-emerged in the popularity of German Christmas markets: they promote a vision of a timeless and authentic festival unspoiled by the taint of commercialism, which coexists alongside negative German stereotyping. The majority of nineteenth-century sources, however, failed to interrogate the German origins of the Christmas tree too closely, which encouraged the popular and enduring belief that Prince Albert introduced the Christmas tree to England. This reveals a strong tendency for imported customs to be naturalized and made palatable to the national story, and further complicates the process of trying to distinguish between cultural transfer and parallel developments.

From Case to Narrative: The Marquess of Lansdowne, Sir Edward Grey, and the Threat from Germany, 1900–1906

The former Conservative and Unionist prime minister, Arthur Balfour, contributed an article in 1912 to the German magazine Nord und Süd in which he explained why the ‘English point of view’s viewed Germany with ‘deep uneasiness’s. His theme was the role of narrative in Anglo-German relations: British anxieties stemmed from the interpretation that people ‘have thought themselves obliged to place upon a series of facts, or supposed facts, each of which taken by itself might be of small moment, but which taken together can neither be lightly treated nor calmly ignored’s. The building of a large fleet, the arms race, the demands for territory, and the threats to Europe's small states, notably the Netherlands and Belgium, made an Anglo-German war appear increasingly likely. If Germany wanted to improve relations with Britain, Balfour concluded, it had to prove its love for peace by co-operating with other states. A longer narrative underlay the famous memorandum written five years earlier by the head of the western department of the foreign office, Eyre Crowe. For him, the ‘maintenance of a state of tension and antagonism between Third Powers’s had characterized German foreign policy since the time of Prince Bismarck, whose bid for colonies had been an act of ‘direct and unmistakable hostility’s to Britain. By the time Crowe put pen to paper, in January 1907, German antagonism had become a feature in the landscape of British foreign policy-makers.

The British Budgetary Question and Anglo-German Relations

The British Budgetary Question and Anglo-German Relations

Translating Nietzsche, Mediating Literature: Alexander Tille and the Limits of Anglo-German Intercultural Transfer

Dr. Alexander Tille (1866–1912) was one of the key-figures in Anglo-German intercultural transfer towards the end of the 19th century. As a lecturer in German at Glasgow University he was the first to translate and edit Nietzsche’s work into English. Writers such as W. B. Yeats were influenced by Nietzsche and used Tille’s translations. Tille’s social Darwinist reading of the philosopher’s oeuvre, however, had a narrowing impact on the reception of Nietzsche in the Anglo-Saxon world for decades. Through numerous publications Tille disseminated knowledge about British authors (e.g., Robert Louis Stevenson, William Wordsworth) in Germany and about German authors (e.g., Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) in Britain. His role as mediator also extended into areas such as history, religion, and industry. During the Boer war, however, Tille’s outspoken pro-German nationalism brought him in conflict with his British host society. After being physically attacked by his students he returned to Germany and published a highly anglophobic monograph. Tille personifies the paradox of Anglo-German relations in the pre-war years, which deteriorated despite an increase in intercultural transfer and knowledge about the respective Other.

Anglo-German Relations in European Integration: With respect to Single European Act

Anglo-German Relations in European Integration: With respect to Single European Act

"The most explosive object to hit Britain since the V2!": The British Films of Hardy Kruger and Anglo-German Relations during the 1950s

This article investigates the brief British career of the German actor Hardy Kruger during the 1950s. It examines his popularity with British audiences, focusing on his appeal to younger cinemagoers, especially women. It also discusses how his star persona and screen performances reflected wider tensions in contemporary Anglo-German relations.

Perceptions of Germany and the Germans in Post-war Britain

Although Anglo-German relations since 1945 have by and large been friendly at the level of the political elite, on a wider scale British perceptions of Germany and the Germans are for the most part negative and still dominated by images of the Third Reich and the Second World War. It has even been suggested that ‘kraut-bashing’ is the only form of racism in Britain which is still considered socially acceptable. Going beyond the simplistic but commonly expressed view which dismisses these negative British perceptions of Germany as envy of Germany's post-war economic revival, this paper will argue that there is a range of other reasons which help to account for the negative perceptions British people hold of Germany and the Germans such as the legacy of the Second World War and post-war challenges to British national identity, the nature of the Holocaust and the way history and languages are taught in Britain.

Money and Security: Troops, Monetary Policy, and West Germany's Relations with the United States and Britain, 1950-1971

Introduction 1. On whose shoulders? German rearmament and the Cold War burden 2. The British 'new look' and Anglo-German relations 3. Adenauer and 'perfidious Albion': troop reductions, support costs, and the integration of Europe, 1957-9 4. The Radford plan: America and its troops in Germany, 1955-8 5. The political economy of US troop stationing in Europe 6. Offset and monetary policy during the Kennedy administration, 1961-2 7. The bargain slowly unravels: offset, troop reductions, and the balance of payments, 1962-5 8. The culmination of the burden-sharing conflict: Chancellor Ehrard's visit to Washington in September 1966 9. The trilateral negotiations of 1966-7 Conclusion.

“The Winston of Germany”: The British Foreign Policy Élite and the Last German Emperor

This article analyzes the perception of Kaiser Wilhelm II by the British foreign policy élite from the mid-1880s to 1914. Drawing on regular diplomatic reporting by Britain’s representatives abroad as well as a wide range of private papers, it examines a series of seemingly minor incidents, which nevertheless played a significant role in shaping British establishment views of the last German Emperor. One of the key elements of British élite perceptions was the Kaiser’s assumed, rumoured, and frequently commented-upon mental instability. The article seeks to demonstrate that Wilhelm’s idiosyncrasies were of greater significance in the formulation of British policy towards Germany than has been previously acknowledged. British concerns about the Kaiser’s flawed personality did not arise sporadically in response to his better known “outbursts” but were constantly present. As such they did not simply mirror the manifold problems with which Anglo-German relations were increasingly fraught after the turn of the century. On the contrary, the Kaiser’s perceived public and private persona was one of these problems.

The Social Politics of Medieval Diplomacy: Anglo-German Relations (1066-1307), Joseph P. Huffman

Journal Article SHORTER NOTICES Get access The Social Politics of Medieval Diplomacy: Anglo-German Relations (1066–1307), by Joseph P. Huffman (Ann Arbor: U. of Michigan P., 2000; pp. 361. £37). JOHN GILLINGHAM JOHN GILLINGHAM Brighton Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The English Historical Review, Volume CXVI, Issue 468, September 2001, Pages 929-a–929, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/CXVI.468.929-a Published: 01 September 2001

The social politics of medieval diplomacy: Anglo-German relations (1066-1307)

The social politics of medieval diplomacy: Anglo-German relations (1066-1307)

The Sour Fruits of Victory: Sterling and Security in Anglo-German Relations during the 1950s and 1960s

By analysing the Anglo-German talks about financial compensation for the cost of British troops in West Germany, this article seeks to clarify the linkages between Britain's security and European and monetary policies. The ideological commitment of British politicians to a reserve currency role for sterling had a deep impact on Britain's relations to Europe, particularly the Federal Republic. By consistently threatening to cut its military commitment on the Continent and by minimising it to a question of financial expediency, London failed to draw any political capital from its troops. This became very visible in the field of European integration. The conflict on currency issues and troop deployment was a crucial element in preventing closer relations between the Federal Republic and the United Kingdom in the 1950s and 1960s.

Anglo-German Theological Relations during the First World War

Anglo-German Theological Relations during the First World War

Weltkrieg III?

This article examines past and present identity politics issues between England and Germany and considers the role of sport and the media in perpetuating national habitus. A qualitative case study of English and German media coverage of their semifinal match in the 1996 European Football Championships is used to illustrate the key issues. The Eliasian concepts of sleeping memories, imagined charisma, and fantasy shields are employed to construct an account of the current tensions evident in Anglo-German relations, which surface in media reporting of sporting contests. The authors’ findings point to the existence of an agenda based around nostalgia and ethnic assertiveness/defensiveness on the part of the English press, with references to the Second World War and the World Cup victory of 1966. The German press preferred to focus on the contemporary European political situation to assert their superiority over England—and to take further satisfaction from the victorious performance of their football team.

England, Britain and the Audit of War (The Prothero Lecture)

THE award of the Booker Prize for 1995 to Pat Barker'sGhost Roaddid more than pay tribute to the latest powerful novel in the author's ‘Regeneration Cycle’. It also emphasised once again how much the historical and cultural consciousness of twentieth-century Britain is dominated by images of war. With the obvious exception of Northern Ireland, Great Britain has been an unusually peaceful and stable country in a century marked by revolution and upheaval. Yet our national experience has been shaped, almost obsessed, by two world wars in a way true of few, if any, other countries. Memories of 1914 and 1939 tower over us like Lutyens's massive monument at Thiepval. The war leaders, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, are commonly thought of as our two greatest prime ministers in modern times (though another, more recent, prime minister, victorious in the Falklands, still has her champions). Armistice day, Remembrance Sunday and the wearing of poppies retain their potency as all-powerful national symbols of sacrifice. The British Legion remains an influential pressure group. The eightieth anniversary of the battle of the Somme in July 1996 emphasised anew the enduring impact of the tragedies of the first world war. More generally, the fiftieth anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day the previous year were nationwide ceremonies of remembrance for the sacrifices of the second. Almost every episode in current history, especially where Europe is involved, is commonly linked with memories of earlier conflict. Even the 1996 crisis in Anglo-German relations, such as it was, arising from ‘mad cow disease’ evoked comparison with 1939.

:The Stuart Court and Europe: Essays in Politics and Political Culture

1. Introduction R. Malcolm Smuts 2. England's troubles, 1603-1702 Jonathan Scott 3. The ancient constitution reassessed: the common law, the court and the languages of politics in early modern England Johann Sommerville 4. The invention of Britain and the early Stuart masque Martin Butler 5. Art and the material culture of kingship in early Stuart England R. Malcolm Smuts 6. The Hector of Germanie, or the Palsgrave, Prime Elector and Anglo-German relations of early Stuart England: the view from the popular stage Hans Werner 7. Old English honour in an evil time: aristocratic privilege in the 1620s Richard C. McCoy 8. The theatre of dynasty Caroline Hibbard 9. French philosophy and English politics in interregnum poetry Charles Kay Smith 10. 'Crouching at home and cruel while abroad': Restoration constructions of national and international character Annabel Patterson 11. The religion of Charles II Ronald Hutton 12. The duchess of Portsmouth: English royal consort and French politician Nancy Maguire 13. The world beyond Whitehall Geoffrey Parker.

Trade, Politics, Perspectives and the Question of a British Commercial Policy towards the German States, 1848-66

Because the field of Anglo-German relations remains a function of domestic history rather than a subject of investigation in its own right, and because the mid-century is of particular interest to German historians rather than British, British foreign relations with the German states are predominantly approached using parameters set by German historians. This study attempts to take much more account of the British perspective. To this end, it discusses the place of the German states in the wider field of British commercial policy, how information is received and processed on the German states, and the way in which policy is formulated. It shows that British commercial policy as applied to the German states had little to do specifically with the states, but was rather the application of a commercial policy which was to be generally applied. It also aims to prove that there was little political motivation behind British commercial policy. One of the conclusions is indeed just how low the profile of the German states was in British policy-making. At the same time, an account is given of the ramifications of British commercial policy in the environment of the German states. It is shown that the 1850s represent a crucial period there where the utmost tension is felt between the old and the new; the ancien regime and industrialised Europe, and the political status quo of particularism and a new order. In this atmosphere of tension and polarisation British commercial policy - as indeed British foreign policy in general - took on political proportions never intended in London. For the creation of this sense of perspective, a wide variety of archival sources has been used, placing British sources next to German ones - the latter from a relevant cross section of the German states. A good deal has been taken from the British press and that of the German states, as well as from memoirs and secondary sources from both German and British History. The thesis is indeed a call for the matter of perspective to be taken into account, both by German and by British historians: It is a call for the matter of imbalance in Anglo-German relations to be remembered in any interpretation. for an approach in Anglo-German relations which bears more relevance to the period and perceptions of British policy makers than to the preconceptions of German History to be considered, and for the impact of the tensions between old and new on the way British policy in the German states was received to be kept in mind.

The Great Powers, Imperialism, and the German Problem, 1865-1925

The European powers in the late 19th century international relations - Biarritz to the Berlin Post, 1865-75 the dilemma of Bismarckian foreign policy, 1875-87 imperial rivalries in Africa, 1875-98 the Far Eastern crisis of 1895-1905 and the Ententes of 1904 and 1907 Weltpolitik, the Navy, and Anglo-German relations, 1897-1913 crises and tension, 1905-1913 the great powers and the July crisis, 1914 epilogue - the German problem, 1919-25.

Perception and Reality: Anglo-German Relations during the Berlin Crisis 1958-1959

Perception and Reality: Anglo-German Relations during the Berlin Crisis 1958-1959

Perception and Reality: Anglo-German Relations during the Berlin Crisis 1958-1959

Perception and Reality: Anglo-German Relations during the Berlin Crisis 1958-1959