Germany–United Kingdom relations

The bilateral relations betweenGermanyand theUnited Kingdomspan hundreds of years, and the countries were allied for hundreds of years in theLate Middle Agesand have been aligned since the end of World War II.

Germany–United Kingdom relations

Germany	United Kingdom
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Germany, London	Embassy of the United Kingdom, Berlin
Envoy
AmbassadorMiguel Berger since March 2022	AmbassadorAndrew Jonathan MitchellCMG since September 2024

German ChancellorOlaf Scholzand British Prime MinisterKeir Starmeron 28 August 2024

DuringClassical antiquityand theMigration Period,the progenitors of the populations of the United Kingdom and Germany consisted of the sameIngvaeonicandElbe Germanicpeoples.

Relations were very strong in theLate Middle Ageswhen the German cities of theHanseatic Leaguetraded withEnglandandScotland.

Before theUnification of Germanyin 1871, Britain was often allied in wartime with German nations, includingPrussia.The royal families often intermarried. TheHouse of Hanover(1714–1837) ruled the smallElectorate of Hanover,later theKingdom of Hanover,as well as Britain.Queen Victoria,known as thegrandmother of Europe,marriedPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,and further diplomatic marriages would result in their grandchildren occupying both the British and German thrones.

Historians have long focused on the diplomatic and naval rivalries between Germany and Britain after 1871 to search for the root causes of the growing antagonism that led toWorld War I.In recent years, historians have paid greater attention to the mutual cultural, ideological and technological influences.

Germany, as theGerman Empire,fought against the United Kingdom andits alliesinWorld War Ibetween 1914 and 1918; and, asNazi Germany,against the United Kingdom andallied forcesinWorld War IIbetween 1939 and 1945. Germany was defeated by the United Kingdom and its allies in both wars. Following the defeat of Nazi Germany, Germany wasoccupied by the allied forces,including the United Kingdom, from 1945 to 1955, after which it was divided intoWest GermanyandEast Germany.

The United Kingdom became close allies with West Germany during theCold War,through West Germany's integration into the 'Western world'. Contrastingly, relations between East Germany and the United Kingdom were poor owing to the former’s alliance with theSoviet Unionduring the Cold War.

West Germany was a founding member of theEuropean Communities,later to become theEuropean Union,which the United Kingdom joined in 1973. West Germany and the United Kingdom were among the most powerful countries in the organisation, both having significant influence on its development. Germany broadly favouredEuropean integration,whereas the United Kingdom generallyopposed it.

East and West Germany reunifiedin 1990 following the fall of theBerlin Wallin 1989, which marked the end of the Cold War, hence an improvement of the relationship between East Germany and the United Kingdom, with which she had developed along with West Germany.

Through membership of the European Union, trade and cooperation with the United Kingdom significantly increased in many areas, particularly inresearch and developmentwhich has created enduring links between the science and university communities of Germany and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is the second largest consumer of Germanmotor vehiclesafter Germany herself.

In areferendum on continued membership of the European Union in 2016,the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the European Union andleft the blocon 31 January 2020 after 47 years of membership. Despite a slight reduction in trade afterwards, the amity between the countries remain strong in many areas, which has been reinforced by their joint response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.

UK Government data reports 126,000 German nationals were living in the United Kingdom in 2013and German Government data reports 168,000 British nationals living in Germany in 2021. Both countries are members of theCouncil of EuropeandNATO.Germany is aEuropean Union memberand the United Kingdom is aformer European Union member.

Historical connections

See also:Saxon Shore,Anglo-Saxons,andChristianization of the Germanic peoples

Shared heritage

The spread ofAngles(orange),Saxons(blue) andJutes(green) to the British Isles around 500 AD. Primarily based onBede'sEcclesiastical History of the English People.

English and German are bothWest Germanic languages.Modern English has diverged significantly after absorbing more French influence after 1066. English has its roots in the languages spoken byGermanic peoplesfrom mainland Europe, more specifically various peoples that came from what is now the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, including a people called theAnglesafter whom theEnglishare named. Many everyday words in English are of Germanic origin and are similar to their German counterparts, and more intellectual and formal words are of French, Latin or Greek origin, but German tends to formcalquesof many of these. English has become a dominant world language and is widely studied in Germany. German, in the 19th and the early 20th centuries, was an important language of science and technology, but it has now largely lost that role. In English schools, German was a niche language and much less important than French. German is no longer widely studied in Britain, except at the A-level in secondary schools.

Trade and Hanseatic League

There is a long history of trade relations between the Germans and the British. TheHanseatic Leaguewas a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds, and its market towns dominated trade along the coast ofNorthern Europe.It stretched from the Baltic to the North Sea in the 13th to the 17th centuries, and it included London. The main centre wasLübeck.The League facilitated trade between London and its numerous cities, most of them controlled by German merchants. It also opened up trade with the Baltic.

Royal family

Until the late 17th century, marriages between the English and German royal families were uncommon.Empress Matilda,the daughter ofHenry I of England,was married between 1114 and 1125 toHenry V, Holy Roman Emperor,but they had no issue. In 1256,Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall,was electedKing of Germany,and his sons were surnamed Almain. Throughout this period, thesteelyardof London was a typical German business settlement. German mercenaries were hired in theWars of the Roses.

Under theElector's sonPrince George,Hanoverian troopsplayed a major part inMarlborough's major victory at theBattle of Oudenardein 1708.

Anne of Cleveswas the consort ofHenry VIII,but it was not untilWilliam III of Englandthat a king of German origin came to reign, from theHouse of Nassau.Queen Annewas the consort of his successorPrince George of Denmark,from theHouse of Oldenburg,who had no surviving children.

In 1714,George I,a German-speaking Hanoverian prince of mixed British and German descent, ascended to the British throne, founding theHouse of Hanover.For over a century, Britain's monarchs were also rulers of Hanover (first asPrince Electors of the Holy Roman Empireand then asKings of Hanover). There was only apersonal union,and both countries remained quite separate, but the king lived in London. British leaders often complained that Kings George I, who barely spoke any English, and George II were heavily involved in Hanover and distorted British foreign policy for the benefit of Hanover, a small, poor, rural and unimportant country inWestern Europe.In contrast,King George IIInever visited Hanover in the 60 years (1760–1820) that he ruled it. Hanover was occupied by France during theNapoleonic Wars,but some Hanoverian troops fled to England to form theKing's German Legion,an ethnic German unit in theBritish army.The personal link with Hanover finally ended in 1837, with the accession ofQueen Victoriato the British throne, while obtainingHeligolandfromDenmark.The semi-Salic lawprevented her from being on the throne of Hanover since a male relative was available.

Queen Victoria's wedding toPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gothain the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace

Every British monarch from George I toGeorge Vin the 20th century took a German consort. Queen Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother,Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeldand married her first cousinPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gothain 1840. Their daughter,Princess Victoria,marriedPrince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussiain 1858, who became Crown Prince three years later. Both were liberals, admired Britain and detested German ChancellorOtto von Bismarck,but Bismarck had the ear of the elderly GermanEmperor Wilhelm I,who died in 1888. Friedrich Wilhelm now became Emperor Fredrich III until he died only 99 days later, and Princess Victoria became Empress of Germany. Her son became EmperorWilhelm IIand forced Bismarck to retire two years later.

Wilhelm II (1888–1918)

Main article:Wilhelm II, German Emperor

Wilhelm II withGeorge V,wearing the military uniforms of each other's army

Wilhelm, the grandson of Queen Victoria, had a love-hate relationship with Britain. He visited it often and was well-known in its higher circles, but he recklessly promoted the great expansion of theImperial German Navy,which was a potential threat that the British government could not overlook. A humiliating crisis came with theDaily TelegraphAffairof 1908. While on an extended visit to Britain, the Kaiser had a series of conversations with his host,Edward Stuart-Wortley.In the hope that it would help improve British–German relations, he gave his notes, with Wilhelm's permission, toThe Daily Telegraph,which wrote them up in the form of an interview. The result, which Wilhelm approved, was full of his bombast and exaggerations. He was quoted as calling the British populace "mad, mad as March hares" for questioning his peaceful intentions and sincere desire for peace with England, although he admitted that the German populace was in general "not friendly" toward England. The "interview" caused a sensation around Europe, demonstrating that the Kaiser was utterly without tact in diplomatic affairs. The British had already decided that Wilhelm was at least somewhat mentally disturbed and saw the interview as further evidence of his unstable personality rather than an indication of official German hostility.The affair was much more serious in Germany, where he was nearly unanimously ridiculed. He thereafter played mostly a ceremonial role in major state affairs.

The British Royal family retained the German surnamevon Sachsen-Coburg-Gothauntil 1917, when, in response to anti-German feelings during World War I, it was legally changed to the more British nameHouse of Windsor.In the same year, all members of the British Royal Family gave up their German titles, and all German relatives who were fighting against the British in the war were stripped of their British titles by theTitles Deprivation Act 1917.

Intellectual influences

Ideas flowed back and forth between the two nations.Refugees from Germany's repressive regimes often settled in Britain, most notablyKarl MarxandFriedrich Engels.Advances in technology were shared, as in chemistry.Over 100,000 German immigrants also came to Britain. Germany was one of the world's main centres for innovative social ideas in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. The BritishLiberal welfare reforms,around 1910, led by theLiberalsH. H. AsquithandDavid Lloyd George,adoptedBismarck's system ofsocial welfare.Ideas ontown planningwere also exchanged.

Diplomacy

Caricature byOpper1895 of Germany's Bismarck & Britain's Gladstone as performers on the political stage

The British Foreign Office at first was poorly served by a series of ambassadors who provided only superficial reports on the dramatic internal German developments of the 1860s. That changed with the appointment ofOdo Russell(1871–1884), who developed a close rapport with Bismarck and provided in depth coverage of German developments.

Britain gave passive support to the unification under Prussian domination for strategic, ideological and business reasons. The German Empire was considered a useful counterbalance on the Continent to both France and Russia, the two powers that worried Britain the most. The threat from France in the Mediterranean and from Russia inCentral Asiacould be neutralised by a judicious relationship with Germany. The new nation would be a stabilising force, and Bismarck especially promoted his role in stabilising Europe and in preventing any major war on the continent. British Prime MinisterWilliam Ewart Gladstone,however, was always suspicious of Germany, disliked its authoritarianism and feared that it would eventually start a war with a weaker neighbour.The ideological gulf was stressed byLord Arthur Russellin 1872:

Prussia now represents all that is most antagonistic to the liberal and democratic ideas of the age; military despotism, the rule of the sword, contempt for sentimental talk, indifference to human suffering, imprisonment of independent opinion, transfer by force of unwilling populations to a hateful yoke, disregard of European opinion, total want of greatness and generosity, etc., etc. "

Britain was looking inward and avoided picking any disputes with Germany but made it clear, in the"war in sight" crisis of 1875,that it would not tolerate apre-emptive warby Germany on France.

Colonies

The island ofNew Guineafrom 1884 to 1919.Germanycontrolled the north-eastern part andBritainthe south-eastern part.

Bismarck built a complex network of European alliances that kept the peace in the 1870s and 1880s. The British were building up their empire, but Bismarck strongly opposed colonies as too expensive. When public opinion and elite demand finally made him, in the 1880s,grab colonies in Africaand the Pacific, he ensured that conflicts with Britain were minimal.

Improvement and worsening of relations

Relations between Britain and Germany improved as the key policymakers,Prime Minister Lord Salisburyand Chancellor Bismarck, were both realistic conservatives and largely both agreed on policies.There were even several proposals for a formal treaty relationship between Germany and Britain, but they went nowhere, as Britain preferred to stand in what it called "splendid isolation."Nevertheless, a series of developments steadily improved their relations down to 1890, when Bismarck was pushed out by the aggressive Wilhelm II.

Coming to power in 1888, the young Wilhelm dismissed Bismarck in 1890 and sought aggressively to increase Germany's influence in the world (Weltpolitik). Foreign policy was controlled by the erratic Kaiser, who played an increasingly-reckless handand by the leadership ofFriedrich von Holstein,a powerful civil servant in the Foreign Office.Wilhelm argued that a long-term coalition between France and Russia had to fall apart, Russia and Britain would never get together and Britain would eventually seek an alliance with Germany. Russia could not get Germany to renew its mutual treaties and so formed a closer relationship with France in the 1894Franco-Russian Alliancesince both were worried about German aggression. Britain refused to agree to the formal alliance that Germany sought. Since Germany's analysis was mistaken on every point, the nation was increasingly dependent on theTriple Alliancewith Austria-Hungary and Italy. That was undermined by the ethnic diversity of Austria-Hungary and its differences with Italy. The latter, in 1915, would switch sides.

German volunteersfighting on the side of theBoersagainst the British invasion in theSecond Boer War,1899

In January 1896 Wilhelm escalated tensions with hisKruger telegram,congratulating BoerPresident Krugerof theTransvaalfor beating off theJameson raid.German officials in Berlin had managed to stop the Kaiser from proposing a Germanprotectorateover the Transvaal. In theSecond Boer War,Germany sympathised with the Boers.

Under German Foreign MinisterBernhard von Bülow,it was the new policy for Germany to assert its claim to be a global power. Bismarck's conservativism was abandoned, as Germany was intent on challenging and upsetting international order.Thereafter relations deteriorated steadily. Britain began to see Germany as a hostile force and moved to friendlier relationships with France.

Naval race

Main article:Anglo-German naval arms race

TheRoyal Navydominated the globe in the 19th century, but after 1890, Germany attempted to achieve parity. The resulting naval race heightened tensions between the two nations. In 1897 Admiral Tirpitz became German Naval Secretary of State and began the transformation of German Navy from small, coastal defence force to a fleet that was meant to challenge British naval power. Tirpitz calls forRisikoflotte(Risk Fleet) that would make it too risky for Britain to take on Germany, as part of a wider bid to alter the international balance of power decisively in Germany's favour.

TheGerman Navy,under Tirpitz, had ambitions to rival the greatBritish Navyand dramatically expanded its fleet in the early 20th century to protect the colonies and to exert power worldwide.Tirpitz started a programme of warship construction in 1898. In 1890, to protect its new fleet. Germany traded the strategic island ofHeligolandin theNorth Seawith Britain. In exchange, Britain gained theEastern Africanisland ofZanzibar,where it proceeded to construct a naval base.The British, however, were always well ahead in thenaval raceand introduced the highly advancedDreadnoughtbattleship in 1907.

Two Moroccan crises

In theFirst Moroccan Crisisof 1905, there was nearly war between Germany against Britain and France over a French attempt to establish a protectorate overMorocco.The Germans were upset at not being informed. Wilhelm made a highly provocative speech for Moroccan independence. The following year, a conference was held at Algeciras in which all of the European powers except Austria-Hungary (now increasingly seen as little more than a German satellite) sided with France. A compromise was brokered by theUnited Statesfor the French to relinquish some of their control over Morocco.

In 1911, France prepared to send more troops into Morocco. German Foreign MinisterAlfred von Kiderlen-Waechterwas not opposed to that if Germany had compensation elsewhere inAfrica,in theFrench Congo.He sent a small warship, theSMSPanther,toAgadir,made saber-rattling threats and whipped up anger by German nationalists. France and Germany soon agreed on a compromise, with France gaining control of Morocco and Germany gaining some of the French Congo. TheBritish cabinet,however, was angry and alarmed at Germany's aggression. Lloyd George made a dramatic "Mansion House" speech that denounced the German move as an intolerable humiliation. There was talk of war until Germany backed down, and relations remained sour.

Start of World War I

Main articles:British entry into World War IandGerman entry into World War I

German anti-British propaganda, 1914

British anti-German propaganda stamp, pointing outunrestricted submarine warfare

The Liberal Party controlled the British government in 1914 and was averse to war with anyone and wanted to remain neutral as the First World War suddenly erupted inJuly 1914.Since relations with Germany regarding colonies and the naval race had improved in 1914 it did not expect trouble. However Liberal Prime MinisterH.H. Asquithand especially Foreign MinisterEdward Greywere committed to defending France, which was weaker than Germany. The Conservative Party was very hostile to Germany as a threat both to Britain and to France. The emerging Labour Party and other socialists denounced the war as a capitalist device to maximize profits.

In 1907, the leading German expert in the Foreign Office,Eyre Crowe,wrote a memorandum for senior officials that warned vigorously against German intentions.Crowe argued that Berlin wanted "hegemony... in Europe, and eventually in the world ". Crowe argued that Germany presented a threat to thebalance of poweras that ofNapoleon.Germany would expand its power unless the 1904Entente Cordialewith France was upgraded to a fullmilitary alliance.Crowe was taken seriously, especially because he was born in Germany. During a secret diplomatic mission in 1914,Baron Sir Tyrrellnegotiated with diplomatGottlieb von Jagowon a security trade agreement and military alliance with Germany.

In Germany, left-wing parties, especially theSPD or Socialist Party,in the1912 German election,won a third of the vote and the most seats for the first time. German historianFritz Fischerfamously argued that theJunkers,who dominated Germany, wanted an external war to distract the population and to whip up patriotic support for the government.Other scholars, likeNiall Ferguson,think that German conservatives were ambivalent about war and that they worried that losing a war would have disastrous consequences and that even a successful war might alienate the population if it was long or difficult.

German prisoners of war on theWestern Frontin British captivity, 1916

In explaining why neutral Britain went to war with Germany,Paul Kennedy,inThe Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism, 1860–1914(1980), argued Germany had become economically more powerful than Britain. Kennedy downplayed the disputes over economic trade and imperialism. There had long been disputes over theBaghdad Railwaywhich Germany proposed to build through theOttoman Empire.An amicable compromise on the railway was reached in early 1914 so it played no role in starting the July Crisis. Germany relied upon time and again on sheer military power, but Britain began to appeal to moral sensibilities. Germany saw its invasion of Belgium as a necessary military tactic, and Britain saw it as a profound moral crime, a major cause of British entry into the war. Kennedy argues that by far the main reason for the war was London's fear that a repeat of 1870, when Prussia led other German states to smash France, would mean Germany, with a powerful army and navy, would control theEnglish Channeland northwestern France. British policymakers thought that would be a catastrophe for British security.

In 1839, Britain, Prussia, France, and the Netherlands agreed to theTreaty of Londonthat guaranteed the neutrality ofBelgium.Germany violated that treaty in 1914, with its chancellorTheobald von Bethmann Hollwegridiculing the treaty a "scrap of paper".That ensured that Liberals would join Conservatives in calling for war. HistorianZara Steinersays that in response to the German invasion of Belgium:

The public mood did change. Belgium proved to be a catalyst which unleashed the many emotions, rationalizations, and glorifications of war which had long been part of the British climate of opinion. Having a moral cause, all the latent anti-German feelings, that by years of naval rivalry and assumed enmity, rose to the surface. The 'scrap of paper' proved decisive both in maintaining the unity of the government and then in providing a focal point for public feeling.

Allied victory

British soldiers and French civilians next to the sloganMay God punish Englandpainted on a wall by German troops, 1 January 1918

The great German offensive on the Western Front in spring 1918 almost succeeded. The Germans broke through into open country but outran their supplies and artillery support. By summer 1918, American soldiers were arriving on the front at 10,000 a day, but Germany was unable to replace its casualties and its army shrank every day.A series of huge battles in September and October produced sweeping Allied victories, and the German High Command, under Field MarshalPaul von Hindenburg,saw it had lost and told Wilhelm to abdicate and go into exile.

In November, the new republic negotiated an armistice, hoping to obtain lenient terms based on theFourteen Pointsof US PresidentWoodrow Wilson.Instead, the terms amounted almost to a surrender: Allied forces occupied Germany up the River Rhine, and Germany was required to disarm, losing its war gains, colonies and navy. By keeping the food blockade in place, the Allies were determined to starve Germany until it agreed to peace terms.

In the1918 election,only days later, British Prime MinisterLloyd Georgepromised to impose a harsh treaty on Germany. At theParis Peace Conferencein early 1919, however, Lloyd George was much more moderate than France and Italy, but he still agreed to force Germany to admit starting the war and to commit to paying the entire cost of the Allies in the war, including veterans' benefits and interest.

Interwar

Propaganda poster, circa 1919, from theBritish Empire Unioncalling for boycott of German goods

From 1920 to 1933, Britain and Germany were on generally good terms, as shown by theLocarno Treatiesand theKellogg–Briand Pact,which helped reintegrate Germany into Europe.

At the 1922Genoa Conference,Britain clashed openly with France over the amount of reparations to be collected from Germany. In 1923, Franceoccupied the Ruhr industrial area of Germanyafter Germany defaulted in its reparations. Britain condemned the French move and largely supported Germany in theRuhrkampf(Ruhr Struggle) between the Germans and the French. In 1924, Britain forced France to make major reductions on the amount of reparations Germany had to pay.

The Dawes Plan (1924–1929) stabilised the German currency and lowered reparations payments, allowing Germany to access capital markets (mostly American) for the money it owed the Allies in reparations, although the payments came at the price of a high foreign debt.Much of the money returned to Britain, which then paid off its American loans. From 1931, German payments to Britain were suspended. Eventually, in 1951, West Germany would pay off the World War I reparations that it owed to Britain.

With the coming to power ofHitlerand the Nazis in 1933, relations worsened. In 1934, a secret report by the British Defence Requirements Committee called Germany the "ultimate potential enemy against whom all our 'long range' defence policy must be directed,"and called for an expeditionary force of five mechanised divisions and fourteen infantry divisions. However, budget restraints prevented the formation of a large force.

Adolf Hitlergreets British Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlainon the steps of theBerghof,15 September 1938

In 1935, the two nations agreed to theAnglo-German Naval Agreementto avoid a repeat of the pre-1914 naval race.

By 1936,appeasementwas British effort to prevent war or at least to postpone it until the British military was ready. Appeasement has been the subject of intense debate for 70 years by academics, politicians and diplomats. Historians' assessments have ranged from condemnation for allowing Hitler's Germany to grow too strong to the judgement that it was in Britain's best interests and that there was no alternative.

At the time, the concessions were very popular, especially theMunich Agreementin 1938 of Germany, Britain, France and Italy.

World War II

Main article:Diplomatic history of World War II

See also:Nazi propaganda and the United Kingdom

British prisoners of war inTrondheim,May 1940

Lancastriasinking off Saint-Nazaire

Germany and Britain fought each other from the British declaration of war, in September 1939, to the German surrender, in May 1945.The war continues to loom large in the British public memory.

At the beginning of the war, Germany crushedPoland.In spring 1940, Germany astonished the world by quicklyinvadingtheLow CountriesandFrance,driving the British army off the Continent and seizing most of its weapons, vehicles and supplies. War was brought to the British skies in theBattle of Britainin late summer 1940, but the aerial assault was repulsed, which stoppedOperation Sealion,the plans for the invasion of Britain.

The British Empire was standing alone against Germany, but the United States greatly funded and supplied the British. In December 1941, United States entered the war against Germany and Japan after the attack onPearl Harborby Japan, which also later overwhelmed British outposts in the Pacific fromHong KongtoSingapore.

The Allied invasion of France onD-Dayin June 1944 as well asstrategic bombingand land forces all contributed to the final defeat of Germany.

Since 1945

British zone of occupation

Field MarshalBernard MontgomerywithSovietMarshals and generals at theBrandenburg Gatein Berlin, 12 July 1945

Road sign delimiting theBritish zone of occupationin Berlin, 1984

Occupation

As part of theYaltaandPotsdam agreements,Britain took control ofits own sectorinoccupied Germany.It soon merged its sector with theAmericanandFrench sectors,and that territory became the independent nation ofWest Germanyin 1949. The British played a central role in theNuremberg trialsof major war criminals in 1946. In Berlin, the British, American, and French zones were joined intoWest Berlin,and the four occupying powers kept official control of the city until 1991.

Much of Germany's industrial plant fell within the British zone and there was trepidation that rebuilding the old enemy's industrial powerhouse would eventually prove a danger to British security and compete with the battered British economy. One solution was to build up a strong, freetrade union movement in Germany.Another was to rely primarily on American money, through theMarshall Plan,that modernised both the British and German economies, and reduced traditional barriers to trade and efficiency. It was Washington, not London, that pushed Germany and France to reconcile and join in theSchumann Planof 1950 by which they agreed to pool their coal and steel industries.

Cold War

With the United States taking the lead, Britain with itsRoyal Air Forceplayed a major supporting role in providing food and coal to Berlin in theBerlin airliftof 1948–1949. The airlift broke the Soviet blockade which was designed to force the Western Allies out of the city.

In 1955, West Germany joinedNATO,whileEast Germanyjoined theWarsaw Pact.Britain at this point did not officially recognise East Germany. However the left wing of theLabour Party,breaking with the anti-communism of the postwar years, called for its recognition. This call heightened tensions between the British Labour Party and theGerman Social Democratic Party(SPD).

After 1955, Britain decided to rely on relatively inexpensivenuclear weaponsas a deterrent against the Soviet Union, and a way to reduce its very expensive troop commitments in West Germany. London gained support from Washington and went ahead with the reductions while insisting it was maintaining its commitment to the defence of Western Europe.

Britain made two applications for membership in the Common Market (European Community). It failed in the face of the French veto in 1961, but its reapplication in 1967 was eventually successful, with negotiations being concluded in 1972. The diplomatic support of West Germany proved decisive.

In 1962, Britain secretly assured Poland of its acceptance ofthe latter's western boundary.West Germany had been ambiguous about the matter. Britain had long been uneasy with West Germany's insistence on the provisional nature of the boundary. On the other hand, it was kept secret so as not to antagonise Britain's key ally in its quest to enter the European Community.

In 1970, the West German government under ChancellorWilly Brandt,the former mayor of West Berlin, signeda treaty with Polandrecognizing and guaranteeing the borders of Poland.

Reunification

Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcherwith German ChancellorHelmut Kohland US PresidentRonald Reagan,1983

In 1990, United Kingdom prime ministerMargaret Thatcherat first opposedGerman reunificationbut eventually accepted theTreaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany.

Since 1945, Germany hosts several British military installations in Western part of the country as part ofBritish Forces Germany.Both countries are members ofNATO,and share strong economic ties. David McAllister,the formerminister-presidentof the German state ofLower Saxony,son of a Scottish father and a German mother, holds British andGermancitizenship. Similarly, the former leader of theScottish National Partyin the BritishHouse of Commons,Angus Robertsonis half German, as his mother was from Germany. Robertson speaks fluent German and English.

In 1996, Britain and Germany established a sharedembassy building in Reykjavik.Celebrations to open the building were held on 2 June 1996 and attended by the British Foreign Secretary at the time,Malcolm Rifkind,and the then Minister of State at the German Foreign Ministry,Werner Hoyer,and the Icelandic Foreign MinisterHalldór Ásgrímsson.The commemorative plaque in the building records that it is "the first purpose built co-located British-German chancery building in Europe".

Twinnings

• Aberdeen,AberdeenshireandRegensburg,Bavaria
• Aberystwyth,CeredigionandKronberg im Taunus,Hesse
• Abingdon,OxfordshireandSchongau,Bavaria
• Amersham,BuckinghamshireandBensheim,Hesse
• Ashford,KentandBad Münstereifel,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Barking and Dagenham,LondonandWitten,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Barnet,LondonandTempelhof-Schöneberg,Berlin
• Barnsley,South YorkshireandSchwäbisch Gmünd,Baden-Württemberg
• Basingstoke,HampshireandEuskirchen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Bath,SomersetandBraunschweig,Lower Saxony
• Bedford,BedfordshireandBamberg,Bavaria
• BelfastandBonn,North Rhine Westphalia
• Beverley,East Riding of YorkshireandLemgo,North Rhine Westphalia
• Biggleswade,Bedfordshireand,Erlensee,Main-Kinzig-Kreis
• BirminghamandFrankfurt,Hesse
• BlackpoolandBottrop,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Blyth,NorthumberlandandSolingen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Bolton,Greater ManchesterandPaderborn,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Bracknell,BerkshireandLeverkusen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Brentwood,EssexandRoth,Bavaria
• BristolandHanover,Lower Saxony
• Bromley,LondonandNeuwied,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Cambridge,CambridgeshireandHeidelberg,Baden-Württemberg
• Cannock,StaffordshireandDatteln,Baden-Württemberg
• Cardiff,South GlamorganandStuttgart,Baden-Württemberg
• Carlisle,CumbriaandFlensburg,Schleswig-Holstein
• Chelmsford,EssexandBacknang,Baden-Württemberg
• Cheltenham,GloucestershireandTrier,Moselle
• Chesham,BuckinghamshireandFriedrichsdorf,Hesse
• Chester,CheshireandLörrach,Baden-Württemberg
• Chesterfield,DerbyshireandDarmstadt,Hesse
• Christchurch,DorsetandAalen,Baden-Württemberg
• Cirencester,GloucestershireandItzehoe,Schleswig-Holstein
• Cleethorpes,North East LincolnshireandKönigswinter,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Colchester,EssexandWetzlar,Hesse
• Coventry,West MidlandsandDresden,Saxony,andKiel,Schleswig-Holstein
• Crawley,West SussexandDorsten,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Darlington,County DurhamandMülheim an der Ruhr,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Derby,DerbyshireandOsnabrück,Lower Saxony
• Devizes,WiltshireandWaiblingen,Baden-Württemberg
• Dronfield,DerbyshireandSindelfingen,Baden-Württemberg
• DundeeandWürzburg,Bavaria
• DunfermlineandWilhelmshaven,Lower Saxony
• DurhamandTübingen,Baden-Württemberg
• Ealing,LondonandSteinfurt,North Rhine-Westphalia
• EdinburghandMunich,Bavaria
• Elgin,MorayandLandshut,Bavaria
• Ellesmere Port,CheshireandReutlingen,Baden-Württemberg
• Enniskillen,County FermanaghandBrackwede,Bielefeld,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Epping,EssexandEppingen,Baden-Württemberg
• Exeter,DevonandBad Homburg vor der Höhe,Hesse
• Fareham,HampshireandPulheim,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Felixstowe,SuffolkandWesel,North Rhine-Westphalia
• GlasgowandNuremberg,Bavaria
• Glossop,DerbyshireandBad Vilbel,Hesse
• Gloucester,GloucestershireandTrier,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Grantham,LincolnshireandSankt Augustin,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Greenwich,LondonandReinickendorf,Berlin
• Guildford,SurreyandFreiburg im Breisgau,Baden-Württemberg
• Halifax,West YorkshireandAachen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Hammersmith and Fulham,LondonandNeukölln,Berlin
• Hartlepool,County DurhamandHückelhoven,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Havering,LondonandLudwigshafen am Rhein,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Hemel HempsteadandDacorum,HertfordshireandNeu Isenburg,Hesse
• Hereford,HerefordshireandDillenburg,Hesse
• Herne Bay,KentandWaltrop,North Rhine-Westphalia
• High Wycombe,BuckinghamshireandKelkheim,Hesse
• Hillingdon,LondonandSchleswig,Schleswig-Holstein
• Hinckley,LeicestershireandHerford,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Hitchin,HertfordshireandBingen am Rhein,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Hurst Green,East SussexandEllerhoop,Schleswig-Holstein
• Ilfracombe,DevonandHerxheim bei Landau/Pfalz,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Inverness,ScotlandandAugsburg,Bavaria
• Kendal,CumbriaandRinteln,Lower Saxony
• Kettering,NorthamptonshireandLahnstein,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Kidderminster,WorcestershireandHusum,Schleswig-Holstein
• Kilmarnock,AyrshireandKulmbach,Bavaria
• Kingsbridge,DevonandWeilerbach,Rheinland-Pfalz
• King's Lynn,NorfolkandEmmerich am Rhein,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Kirkcaldy,FifeandIngolstadt,Bavaria
• Knaresborough,North YorkshireandBebra,Hesse
• Lancaster,LancashireandRendsburg,Schleswig-Holstein
• Leeds,West YorkshireandDortmund,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Leicester,LeicestershireandKrefeld,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Leven,FifeandHolzminden,Lower Saxony
• Lewisham,LondonandCharlottenburg-Wilmersdorf,Berlin
• Lichfield,StaffordshireandLimburg an der Lahn,Hesse
• Lincoln,LincolnshireandNeustadt an der Weinstraße,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Littlehampton,West SussexandDurmersheim,Baden-Württemberg
• LiverpoolandCologne,North Rhine-Westphalia
• LondonandBerlin
• LoughboroughandSchwäbisch Hall
• Luton,BedfordshireandBergisch Gladbach,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Maidenhead,BerkshireandBad Godesberg,North Rhine-Westphalia
• ManchesterandChemnitz,Saxony
• Margate,KentandIdar-Oberstein,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Middlesbrough,North YorkshireandOberhausen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Milton Keynes,BuckinghamshireandBernkastel-Kues,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Morley,West YorkshireandSiegen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Motherwell,LanarkshireandSchweinfurt,Bavaria
• Newcastle upon Tyne,Tyne and WearandGelsenkirchen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Northampton,NorthamptonshireandMarburg,Hesse
• Norwich,NorfolkandKoblenz,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Nottingham,NottinghamshireandKarlsruhe,Baden-Württemberg
• Nuneaton and Bedworth,WarwickshireandCottbus,Brandenburg
• Oakham,RutlandandBarmstedt,Schleswig-Holstein
• Oxford,OxfordshireandBonn,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Paisley,RenfrewshireandFürth,Bavaria
• Perth,Perth and KinrossandAschaffenburg,Bavaria
• Peterlee,County DurhamandNordenham,Lower Saxony
• Portsmouth,HampshireandDuisburg,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Potton,BedfordshireandLangenlonsheim,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Preston,LancashireandRecklinghausen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Prestwick,South AyrshireandLichtenfels,Bavaria
• Reading,BerkshireandDüsseldorf,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Redcar and Cleveland,North YorkshireandTroisdorf,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Reigate,SurreyandEschweiler,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Richmond upon Thames,LondonandKonstanz,Baden-Württemberg
• Rossendale,LancashireandBocholt,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Royal Tunbridge Wells,KentandWiesbaden,Hesse
• Borough of Runnymede,SurreyandBergisch Gladbach,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Rushmoor,HampshireandOberursel,Hesse
• Sheffield,South YorkshireandBochum,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Skipton,North YorkshireandSimbach am Inn,Bavaria
• Solihull,West MidlandsandMain-Taunus-Kreis,Hesse
• South Tyneside,Tyne and WearandWuppertal,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Spalding,LincolnshireandSpeyer,Rhineland-Palatinate
• St Albans,HertfordshireandWorms,Rhineland-Palatinate
• St. Helens,MerseysideandStuttgart,Baden-Württemberg
• Stafford,StaffordshireandDreieich,Hesse
• Stevenage,HertfordshireandIngelheim am Rhein,Bielefeld,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Stockport,Greater ManchesterandHeilbronn,Baden-Württemberg
• Stoke-on-Trent,StaffordshireandErlangen,Bavaria
• Sunderland,Tyne and WearandEssen,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Sutton,LondonandCharlottenburg-Wilmersdorf,Berlin,andMinden,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Swansea,West GlamorganandMannheim,Baden-Württemberg
• Todmorden,West YorkshireandBramsche,Lower Saxony
• Torbay,DevonandHamelin,Lower Saxony
• Thurso,CaithnessandBrilon,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Truro,CornwallandBoppard,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Uckfield,East SussexandQuickborn,Pinneberg,Schleswig-Holstein
• Wallingford,OxfordshireandBad Wurzach,Baden-Württemberg
• Waltham Forest,LondonandWandsbek,Hamburg
• Wantage,OxfordshireandSeesen,Lower Saxony
• Ware,HertfordshireandWülfrath,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Warwick,WarwickshireandVerden (Aller),Lower Saxony
• Waverley,SurreyandMayen-Koblenz,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Waterlooville,HampshireandHenstedt-Ulzburg,Schleswig-Holstein
• Watford,HertfordshireandMainz,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Wellingborough,NorthamptonshireandWittlich,Rhineland-Palatinate
• Weston-super-Mare,North SomersetandHildesheim,Lower Saxony
• Weymouth,DorsetandHolzwickede,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Whitstable,KentandBorken,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Isle of WightandCoburg,Bavaria
• Windsor,BerkshireandGoslar,Lower Saxony
• Witney,OxfordshireandUnterhaching,Bavaria
• Woking,SurreyandRastatt,Baden-Württemberg
• Wokingham,BerkshireandErftstadt,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Worcester,WorcestershireandKleve,North Rhine-Westphalia
• Workington,CumbriaandSelm,North Rhine-Westphalia
• York,North YorkshireandMünster,North Rhine-Westphalia

See also

• Foreign relations of Germany
• Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
• Anglo-German naval arms race
• Causes of World War I
• German entry into World War I
• History of German foreign policy
• International relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919)
• Timeline of British diplomatic history
• United Kingdom–European Union relations
• Anglo-German Fellowship
• Anglo-Prussian alliance
• Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations
• British Forces Germany
• Two World Wars and One World Cup
• England–Germany football rivalry
• British migration to Germany
• Germans in the United Kingdom
• List of ambassadors of Germany to the United Kingdom
• List of diplomats of the United Kingdom to Germany

Further reading

• Adams, R. J. Q.British Politics and Foreign Policy in the Age of Appeasement, 1935–1939(1993)
• Albrecht-Carrie, Rene.A Diplomatic History of Europe since the Congress of Vienna(1958), passimonline
• Anderson, Pauline Relyea.The background of anti-English feeling in Germany, 1890–1902(1939).onlineArchived25 July 2018 at theWayback Machine
• Aydelotte, William Osgood. "The First German Colony and Its Diplomatic Consequences."Cambridge Historical Journal5#3 (1937): 291–313.online,South-West Africa
• Bartlett, C. J.British Foreign Policy in the Twentieth Century(1989)
• Brandenburg, Erich.From Bismarck to the World War: A History of German Foreign Policy 1870–1914(1928)online
• Carroll, E. Malcolm.Germany and the great powers, 1866–1914: a study in public opinion and foreign policy(1938), 855pp; highly detailed diplomatic history
• Dunn, J.S.The Crowe Memorandum: Sir Eyre Crowe and Foreign Office Perceptions of Germany, 1918–1925(2012).excerptArchived1 August 2020 at theWayback Machine,on British policy toward Germany
• Faber, David.Munich, 1938: Appeasement and World War II(2009)excerpt and text search
• Frederick, Suzanne Y. "The Anglo-German Rivalry, 1890–1914," pp 306–336 in William R. Thompson, ed.Great power rivalries(1999)online
• Geppert, Dominik, and Robert Gerwarth, eds.Wilhelmine Germany and Edwardian Britain: Essays on Cultural Affinity(2009)
• Gifford, Prosser and William Roger Louis.Britain and Germany in Africa: Imperial rivalry and colonial rule(1967).
• Görtemaker, Manfred.Britain and Germany in the Twentieth Century(2005).
• Hale, Oron James.Publicity and Diplomacy: With special reference to England and Germany, 1890–1914(1940)online.
• Harris, David. "Bismarck's Advance to England, January, 1876."Journal of Modern History3.3 1931): 441–456.online
• Hilderbrand, Klaus.German Foreign Policy from Bismarck to Adenauer(1989; reprint 2013), 272pp
• Hoerber, Thomas. "Prevail or perish: Anglo-German naval competition at the beginning of the twentieth century,"European Security(2011) 20#1, pp. 65–79.
• Horn, David Bayne.Great Britain and Europe in the eighteenth century(1967) covers 1603–1702; pp 144–77 for Prussia; pp 178–200 for other Germany; 111-43 for Austria
• Kennedy, Paul M. "Idealists and realists: British views of Germany, 1864–1939,"Transactions of the Royal Historical Society25 (1975) pp: 137–56; compares the views of idealists (pro-German) and realists (anti-German)
• Kennedy, Paul.The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism 1860–1914(London, 1980)excerpt and text search;influential synthesis; 600pp
• Kennedy, Paul.The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers(1987), pp 194–260.online free to borrow
• Kennedy, Paul.The Rise and Fall of British Naval mastery(1976) pp 205–38.
• Kennedy, Paul M. "Idealists and realists: British views of Germany, 1864–1939."Transactions of the Royal Historical Society25 (1975): 137–156.online
• Lambi, I.The navy and German power politics, 1862–1914(1984).
• Langer William L.European Alliances and Alignments: 1871–1890(2nd ed. 1956)online
• Langer William L.The Diplomacy Of Imperialism (1890–1902)(1960)online
• Major, Patrick. "Britain and Germany: A Love-Hate Relationship?"German History,October 2008, Vol. 26 Issue 4, pp. 457–468.
• Massie, Robert K.Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War(1991); popular history
• Milton, Richard.Best of Enemies: Britain and Germany: 100 Years of Truth and Lies(2004), popular history covers 1845–1945 focusing on public opinion and propaganda; 368ppexcerpt and text search
• Mowat, R.B.A History Of European Diplomacy 1914–1925(1927)online
• Neilson, Francis. "Bismarck's Relations With England."American Journal of Economics and Sociology9.3 (1950): 293–306.online
• Neville P.Hitler and Appeasement: The British Attempt to Prevent the Second World War(2005).
• Oltermann, Philip.Keeping Up With the Germans: A History of Anglo-German Encounters(2012)excerpt;explores historical encounters between prominent Britons and Germans to show the contrasting approaches to topics from language and politics to sex and sport.
• Otte, Thomas G. "'The Winston of Germany': The British Foreign Policy Élite and the Last German Emperor."Canadian Journal of History36.3 (2001): 471–504. Negative views on Kaiser Wilhelm's mental stability.
• Padfield, PeterThe Great Naval Race: Anglo-German Naval Rivalry 1900–1914(2005)
• Palmer, Alan.Crowned Cousins: The Anglo-German Royal Connection(London, 1985).
• Ramsden, John.Don’t Mention the War: The British and the Germans since 1890(London, 2006).
• Reinermann, Lothar. "Fleet Street and the Kaiser: British public opinion and Wilhelm II."German History26.4 (2008): 469–485.
• Reynolds, David.Britannia Overruled: British Policy and World Power in the Twentieth Century(2nd ed. 2000)excerpt and text search,major survey of British foreign policy
• Rich, Norman.Great Power Diplomacy, 1814–1914(1992), passim.
• Rüger, Jan.The Great Naval Game: Britain and Germany in the Age of Empire(Cambridge, 2007).
• Rüger, Jan. "Revisiting the Anglo-German Antagonism,"Journal of Modern History(2011) 83#3, pp. 579–617in JSTOR
• Schmitt, Bernadotte E.England and Germany, 1740–1914(1918)online.
• Scully, Richard.British Images of Germany: Admiration, Antagonism, and Ambivalence, 1860–1914(Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) 375pp
• Seton-Watson, R. W.Britain in Europe, 1789–1914.(1938); comprehensive historyonline
• Sontag, Raymond James.Germany and England: background of conflict, 1848–1898(1938)online free to borrow
• Sontag, Raymond James.European Diplomatic History 1871–1932(1933)online
• Taylor, A. J. P.Struggle for Mastery of Europe: 1848–1918(1954), comprehensive survey of diplomacy
• Urbach, Karina.Bismarck's Favourite Englishman: Lord Odo Russell's Mission to Berlin(1999)excerpt and text search
• Weinberg, Gerhard L.The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany(2 vols. (1980)
• Willis, Edward F.Prince Lichnowsky, ambassador of peace; a study of prewar diplomacy, 1912–1914(1942)online

Primary sources

• Dugdale, E.T.S. edGerman Diplomatic Documents 1871–1914(4 vol 1928–31), English translation of major German diplomatic documentsvol 1,primary sources, Germany and Britain 1870–1890. vol 2 1890sonline
• Gooch, G. P., and Harold Temperley, eds.British Documents on the Origins of the War, Vol. 6: Anglo-German Tension: Armaments and Negotiation, 1907–12(1930) pp 666–761.online
• Temperley, Harold and L.M. Penson, eds.Foundations of British Foreign Policy: From Pitt (1792) to Salisbury (1902)(1938)online,608pp of primary sources

Post 1941

• Bark, Dennis L., and David R. Gress.A History of West Germany. Vol. 1: From Shadow to Substance, 1945–1963. Vol. 2: Democracy and Its Discontents, 1963–1991(1993), the standard scholarly history
• Berger, Stefan, and Norman LaPorte, eds.The Other Germany: Perceptions and Influences in British-East German Relations, 1945–1990(Augsburg, 2005).
• Berger, Stefan, and Norman LaPorte, eds.Friendly Enemies: Britain and the GDR, 1949–1990(2010)online review
• Deighton, Anne.The Impossible Peace: Britain, the Division of Germany and the Origins of the Cold War(Oxford, 1993)
• Dockrill, Saki.Britain's Policy for West German Rearmament, 1950–1955(1991) 209pp
• Glees, Anthony.The Stasi files: East Germany's secret operations against Britain(2004)
• Hanrieder, Wolfram F.Germany, America, Europe: Forty Years of German Foreign Policy(1991)
• Heuser, Beatrice.NATO, Britain, France & the FRG: Nuclear Strategies & Forces for Europe, 1949–2000(1997) 256pp
• Noakes, Jeremy et al.Britain and Germany in Europe, 1949–1990* Macintyre, Terry.Anglo-German Relations during the Labour Governments, 1964–70: NATO Strategy, Détente and European Integration(2008)
• Mawby, Spencer.Containing Germany: Britain & the Arming of the Federal Republic(1999), p. 1. 244p.
• Smith, Gordon et al.Developments in German Politics(1992), pp. 137–86, on foreign policy
• Turner, Ian D., ed.Reconstruction in Postwar Germany: British Occupation Policy and the Western Zones, 1945–1955(Oxford, 1992), 421pp.
• Zimmermann, Hubert.Money and Security: Troops, Monetary Policy & West Germany's Relations with the United States and Britain, 1950–1971(2002) 275pp

External links

• Anglo-German Relations: Paul Joyce, University of PortsmouthArchived10 October 2011 at theWayback Machine
• Anglo-German Club in Hamburg
• Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft in Berlin
• Anglo-German Foundation
• British-German Association
• German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce in London
• German Industry in the UKArchived23 January 2009 at theWayback Machine
• UK-German Connection
• British Embassy in BerlinArchived18 September 2008 at theWayback Machine
• German Embassy in London
• Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations
• News BBC – 'Thatcher's fight against German unity'
• German Association for the Study of British History and PoliticsArchived31 August 2018 at theWayback Machine