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Focuses on the political historiographical connections between Great Britain and Germany. Conferences of Fruhe Neuzeit Interdisziplinar; Presentation of research papers on the culture, politics and society of the German-speaking central Europe; Engagement of participants in debates; Lists of conference participants.

Information about several reports discussed at two conferences is presented including the Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung in Potsdam, Germany and at the University of Glamorgan in Wales in April 2003. The focus of these conferences had been the political interrelationship between Great Britain and the German Democratic Republic, between different institutions and social groups within the framework of the Cold War.

This article has been developed and updated from a paper delivered at the Grossbritannien-Zentrum, Humboldt University at Berlin, June 2000. Traditionally, sport has been marginalized, even treated as an irrelevance, in the study of International Relations (IR). The 2002 World Cup Finals raised yet again questions about the realism of continuing to write sport out of IR, and particularly to ignore its impact upon such relationships as those between Britain and Germany. Football's role in mirroring, influencing and articulating British perceptions of Germany, at least at the popular and media level, is presented as a case-study, since the football field proved another important British_German battleground throughout the twentieth century. This trend continues. Already, three high profile football internationals played during 2000–1 as well as rivalry to host the 2006 World Cup tournament have illuminated the problematic state of the British-German relationship, particularly the fact that history, most notably world war imagery, imparts en enduring extra-sporting sub-text for any England-Germany footballing encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights the conference 'Britain and the GDR: Relations and Perceptions in a Divided World' in Potsdam, Germany. Organizers of the event; Purpose of the convention; Speakers and topics discussed during the conference.

The article discusses the Anglo-Russian Agreement of 1907, a diplomatic treaty demarcating British and Russian spheres of influence in Central Asia. It examines the agreement within the context of Great Britain's foreign relations with Russia and Germany, particularly noting Great Britain's alarm at Russia's growing power in Persia and Afghanistan and exploring the Anglo-German naval rivalry. Several British statesmen and diplomats are discussed, including Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Office Permanent Secretary Sir Charles Hardinge, and assistant Foreign Undersecretary Sir Francis Bertie.

This article argues that Sir Eric Phipps’ reputation as an “anti-appeaser” of Germany during his Berlin embassy 1933–1937 is not accurate. While Phipps was not in favor of placating Hitler by making territorial concessions, he had much in common with those who had sought a rapprochement with Germany in the 1920s through a policy of inclusion and reconciliation. Particular importance is placed on Phipps’ attitude towards the League of Nations, with detailed consideration also being accorded to his relationship with the British Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Office officials of the period, as well as his views on the Entente Cordiale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 commentedupon 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British-German relations have undergone a considerable transformation since 1945 with both countries having to adapt to significant changes in their own status, as well as a very different international environment. Germany's status as a morally and militarily defeated and occupied power in 1945 is in stark contrast to the confident role it is playing at the beginning of the new millennium when—sixty years after the end of World War II—the German chancellor for the first time took part in the VE-Day celebrations of the victors. This article analyzes recent dynamics of collective memory in both countries and examine if and to what extent their collective memories play a role in British-German relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the function of the commerce warfare, with the interdiction of imports to Great Britain, in an Anglo-German conflict in 1914. It argues on a vocal element among German Admirality Staff planners regarded the prohibition of imports to Great Britain, with the aim forcing the negotiation of terms advantageous to Germany. Meanwhile, British observers were aware of their nations's vulnerability and captain J. C. R. Colomb indicated the necessity of an empire-wide naval strategy. According to the author, the planned depredations against trade offered an opportunity to compel Great Britain to reduce her forces in home waters. As a result, it limited the strategic flexibility which was already under pressure from Dominion demands for protection of merchant shipping.

The article examines the Anglo-German Naval Agreement (AGNA) that marked Great Britain's de facto recognition of a German Navy that denied Part V of the Treaty of Versailles. The continuing studies focus on the political and diplomatic origins of the agreement which ignores the role of the admiralty and its process. Moreover, the strategic origin of the AGNA are generally located in the period after the First World War in which British sea power was challenged through competition from other naval powers both for sea control and in the development of new weapons. It has been argued that Great Britain's fall in power was marginal not fatal for it still retained both the military, economic might and maritime supremacy in general.

Analyzes the influence of politician David Lloyd George's writings on the relationship between England and Germany. Interest in the Anglo-German rapprochement; Positive view of Germany; Promotion of better relations with Germany; Support for moderation and magnanimity towards the Germans during the peace conference in Paris, France in 1919.