British-German Association

Under 35 Knotentanz
2020-03-08 | Protected: Subscription – Apr 02, 2023 @ 12:15 PM
The British-German Association invites our young members (35 and under) and their guests to our next Knotentanz workshop led by Vincent Matuschka. Knotentanz (literally “knot dancing”) is a German form of rock and roll and will make you look like a pro on the dance floor in no time.
Please wear comfortable, breathable clothing, and flat shoes with leather or suede soles (not trainers) and bring water and any refreshments you may need, including lunch for a break in the afternoon.
The Knotentanz workshop will take place on Sunday 8 March between 12pm and 5pm.
As tickets are limited, we advise early booking to avoid disappointment. Tickets are available at the following prices:
BGA Members (35 and under): £30
BGA Guests/Non-Members (35 and under): £40
Book your tickets here.

POSTPONED - Discussion between Charles Grant, Charles Moore and Helene von Bismarck on the run-up to German reunification in 1990
2020-03-24
Due to the rapidly evolving situation surrounding the coronavirus, the BGA is postponing the discussion between Charles Grant, Charles Moore and Helene von Bismarck to a later date. We will be refunding members in full for their tickets.
Event information:
Charles Grant is Director of the Centre for European Reform, which he helped found in 1996. He works on, among other subjects, EU foreign and defence policy, Russia, China, the euro and Britain’s relationship with the EU. During the time of German reunification in 1990 he was bureau chief of The Economist in Brussels.
Charles Moore is a former editor of The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator and The Sunday Telegraph. He is best known for his authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher, published in three volumes.
Helene von Bismarck is a historian, writer and public speaker. Her main interest is Britain’s role in international relations during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. She is currently working on a new research project about Margaret Thatcher and Jacques Delors.
Together, they will discuss the run-up to German reunification in 1990. This event will be for BGA members and members’ guests only.
There will be an opportunity to join the speakers for dinner in the dining room at the Travellers Club after the discussion concludes.
Ticket prices for the discussion:
BGA Under 25 Member: £10
BGA Under 35 Member: £15
BGA Member: £20
BGA Member’s Guest: £25
MEMBERS’ TICKETS

POSTPONED - Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Natural History Museum
2020-03-31 | Protected: Auto Draft
Due to the rapidly evolving situation surrounding the coronavirus, the BGA is postponing the backstage tour of the Natural History Museum to a later date. We will be refunding members in full for their tickets.
Event information:
Join us for a backstage tour of the Natural History Museum!
This will be an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour with curators and scientists from the Natural History Museum. We will be treated to seeing treasures, such as the stunning Blaschka glass models. More than 10,000 were created by the German father-and-son team Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the nineteenth century. Then we will be shown the spirit collection with specimens collected by Charles Darwin himself, the rare books library and the museum’s mineral collection, which is one of the most important and comprehensive collections of its type in the world.
The tour will be followed by drinks at Stein’s, for those who would like to stay on for a Q&A with the curators.
This event is for BGA members only.
Please note that we will be meeting at the entrance on Exhibition Road.
MEMBERS’ TICKETS

POSTPONED - Sir Frank Roberts Memorial Trust Lecture given by Dr Norbert Röttgen MdB
2020-05-18 | Protected: Order – September 26, 2022 @ 01:25 PM
On 18th May, the Chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee will give a lecture on the future of British-German relations. Dr Norbert Röttgen MdB is a former German federal Minister, an influential member of the CDU, and a renowned thinker on European and international issues. The lecture will take place in the Locarno Suite at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and will be delivered in English. This event will be for BGA members only. Booking details will be announced closer to the date.

Photo copyright: Steffen Roth

POSTPONED - Parliamentary Day Lunch in House of Lords
2020-06-08 | Protected: Subscription – Mar 24, 2022 @ 07:55 PM
Our traditional Parliamentary Day lunch will take place on 8th June in the Cholmondeley Room in the House of Lords. Booking details and our guest speaker will be announced closer to the date. This event will be for BGA members and BGA members’ guests.

The German Constitutional Court and the European Central Bank: earthquake or tremor?
2020-06-25
The German Constitutional Court’s decision on PSPP: constitutional earthquake?
In its judgment pronounced on 5 May, the Second Senate of the German Federal Constitutional Court granted several constitutional complaints directed against the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) of the European Central Bank (ECB).
We are joined by three panellists to consider how the decision fits with the other major European Monetary Union decisions and ongoing questions concerning the role of the European Central Bank; the broader economic implications of the German Federal Constitutional Court’s decision for the ECB’s independence and for the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme; as well as other constitutional questions such as the relationship between the German Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice, including the role of judicial dialogue in the EU constitutional order.
Professor Catherine Barnard, who will chair the discussion, is a Professor of EU law and Employment Law, a Senior Tutor at Trinity College, Cambridge, and a senior fellow at UK in a Changing Europe.
Professor Michael Waibel is a Professor of International Law at the University of Vienna. He worked at the European Central Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Dr Markus Gehring is an Expert in the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS), Fellow and Director of Studies in Law at Hughes Hall, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law.
There will be the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
You can watch the event video here:

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Pathways to a Green Recovery
2020-07-02
The BGA warmly invites you to attend an online event hosted by the German Embassy and organised jointly by the German and French embassies and the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom, in cooperation with the British Government and E3G.

The COVID-19 crisis has posed unprecedented challenges to economies around the globe. It has profoundly disrupted daily lives, communities and the global economy and requires an unparalleled response. If anything, COVID-19 has once again highlighted the need for international and European cooperation during crises and beyond. Major economies, particularly in Europe, bear a responsibility to keep climate action at the heart of a COVID-19 recovery ahead of COP26.
This stakeholder event is organised by the German and French embassies and the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom, in cooperation with the British Government. It will be hosted by the German Embassy and E3G during E3G’s virtual London Climate Action Week and will bring together a wide range of perspectives on what a green recovery means at EU and domestic levels in Germany, France and the UK.
This webinar is part of the virtual London Climate Action Week hosted by E3G. Due to COVID-19 London Climate Action Week 2020 will take place in two instalments across the year. London Climate Action Week Digital will run from 1-3 July. It will convene climate leadership across London to deliberate the climate policy response to COVID-19. London Climate Action Week 2020 will run from 16-22 November. LCAW 2020 will bring together climate leadership from across London to generate and scale-up solutions to the climate emergency.
This event will take place on Thursday 2nd July at 09:30-11.00 (BST). The event will take place online using Zoom, which can be accessed via internet or phone line. A link to join the webinar will be shared with you following registration.
Welcoming Remarks & Introduction:
Introduction and Moderated by Nick Mabey, Chief Executive, E3G
H.E. Andreas Michaelis – Ambassador of Germany to the United Kingdom
H.E. Catherine Colonna – Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom
H.E. João Vale de Almeida – Ambassador of the European Union to the United Kingdom
Panellists:

Jacob Werksman, Principal Advisor at DG CLIMA, European Commission and Head of EU Delegation to UNFCCC
Emmanuel Massé, Chief of the Macroeconomic and European Affairs Department at the French Treasury
Michaela Spaeth, Director for Energy and Climate Policy, Economic Affairs and Human Rights, International Labour Rights and Issues at the German Federal Foreign Office
Nick Bridge, Special Representative for Climate Change, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, United Kingdom

MEMBERS’ REGISTRATION

Register now - AGM 2020
2020-07-06
The BGA’s Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday 6 July at 6:30pm online.
At the AGM, we will be reporting on the activities of the Association and sharing details of our plans for the year ahead. We will be electing the Officers and Executive Committee members for the coming year. It is also an opportunity for you to ask questions.
You can watch the event video here:

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Beethoven: Classic or Contrarian?
2020-07-30
Beethoven: Classic or Contrarian?
How should Beethoven be celebrated in the 21st century?
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. Join the BGA on Zoom on Thursday 30 July at 6pm BST to mark this special occasion together with the Royal College of Music!
How far does Beethoven’s work reflect the Viennese classical tradition, and how far does it challenge established norms? How should the composer be celebrated in the 21st century?
Malte Boecker will give a talk on Beethoven’s life and legacy. Mr Boecker is the Director of the Beethoven Haus in Bonn, Germany and Artistic Director of the Beethoven Anniversary Society, which is in charge of coordinating and marketing Beethoven’s 250th anniversary in 2020 on behalf of the German Federal Government, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Rhein-Sieg Kreis and the city of Bonn. Previously Mr Boecker worked for the Bertelsmann Foundation and for the artistic directorship of the 1999 European Capital of Culture (Weimar). In this context, he helped found the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, initiated by Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said.
The event will be chaired by Caterina Grewe, a German-Japanese Pianist and Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music, London. Ms Grewe has performed to great critical acclaim throughout the UK, continental Europe and Asia as a Steinway Artist. She has given recitals in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Steinway Hall London and Hamburg, and at venues in Dublin, Barcelona, and Moscow amongst others. Ms Grewe has also given recitals which were broadcast by the BBC, the NDR in Hamburg and France Musique in Paris. She has won numerous prizes at world-renowned piano competitions such as the Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona and the Dublin International Piano Competition.
There will be the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
You can watch the event video here:

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Does Germany do it Better? John Kampfner in conversation with Prof Rüdiger Görner
2020-09-08
Does Germany do it Better?
Award-winning author, commentator, broadcaster and cultural leader John Kampfner will be talking to the BGA about his new book, Why the Germans do it Better (out on 27 August).
John began his journalistic career as a foreign correspondent with the Daily Telegraph, first in East Berlin where he reported on the fall of the Wall and unification of Germany, and then in Moscow at the time of the collapse of Soviet Communism.
He went on to become Chief Political Correspondent at the FT and political commentator for the BBC’s Today programme and Newsnight. As Editor of the New Statesman from 2005 to 2008, he took the magazine to 30-year circulation highs. He was Society of Magazine Editors Current Affairs Editor of the Year in 2006.
John established the Creative Industries Federation to much acclaim in 2014, providing a single voice for the UK’s creative sector. For eight years he was founder Chair of Turner Contemporary, one of the country’s most successful art galleries. He is now Chair of the House of Illustration. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his services to the arts by Bath Spa University in 2019.
He now writes weekly for the Times and appears regularly in other newspapers such as the FT, Guardian and New European. He frequently appears on the BBC and Sky. He has made a number of programmes for BBC Radio 4.
Fluent in German and Russian, he regularly speaks at political conferences and cultural festivals around the world.
The discussion will be chaired by Rüdiger Görner, Professor of German with Comparative Literature at Queen Mary University of London and Founding Director of the Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations. Between 1999 and 2004 he was Director of the Institute of Germanic Studies where he founded the Ingeborg Bachmann Centre for Austrian Literature. He has published studies on Hölderlin’s poetics, the Goethezeit, Austrian literature from Stifter to Thomas Bernhard, on Rainer Maria Rilke and Thomas Mann and his notion of finality in culture as well as studies on literary aesthetics.
Rüdiger is a Visiting Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and held Visiting Professorships at the Universities of Mainz, Hanover, Heidelberg, Vienna and Salzburg. He is a member of various advisory boards of cultural institutions, publishing houses and academic journals. As a literary critic he writes for some of the leading journals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, including Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Presse and Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
In 2017 he received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz) in recognition of his achievements in developing Anglo-German Relations.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
You can watch the event video here:

Ernest Bevin and the founding of the German Federal Republic
2020-09-16
Ernest Bevin and the founding of the German Federal Republic
Ernest Bevin was the towering Foreign Secretary of the postwar Labour Government. In this event hosted by the BGA and the German History Society, Lord Adonis, himself a former Labour Cabinet Minister, debates Bevin‘s enduring influence on modern Germany with fellow Bevin expert Professor Anne Deighton.
Lord Adonis is a Labour peer and formerly Secretary of State for Transport, Minister for Schools, Head of the No.10 Policy Unit, and senior No. 10 adviser on education, public services and constitutional reform. He pioneered key public service reforms including the Academy programme, Teach First, and the plan to develop a high-speed rail line from London to northern England and Scotland.
Lord Adonis’ biography Ernest Bevin: Labour’s Churchill looks at Bevin’s central role in the creation of many of the international institutions which shape our world today.
Anne Deighton is Emeritus Professor of European International Politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford and a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. Professor Deighton works on a number of themes relating to the contemporary history and political integration of Europe. A new research project relates to cultural activities and political power in postwar Britain.
On more contemporary issues, Professor Deighton has published on European security institutions; the genesis of human rights issues; and the use, and abuse, of military force in the contemporary world.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
You can watch the event video here:

Oktoberfest
2020-09-25
After a most successful party last year we are returning to the Octoberfest Pub in Fulham to enjoy the authentic Bavarian atmosphere – with traditional food, beer and oompah-music. BGA members will have priority booking for this event, and can book tickets for guests. Ticket prices will be announced closer to the date.

The road to 1990: German reunification
2020-09-28
Online event – A discussion with Timothy Garton Ash, Charles Grant and Helene von Bismarck on the run-up to German reunification in 1990
Timothy Garton Ash is the author of ten books of political writing or ‘history of the present’ which have charted the transformation of Europe over the last half century. He is Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford, Isaiah Berlin Professorial Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. His essays appear regularly in the New York Review of Books and he writes a column on international affairs in the Guardian which is widely syndicated in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Charles Grant is Director of the Centre for European Reform, which he helped found in 1996. He works on, among other subjects, EU foreign and defence policy, Russia, China, the euro and Britain’s relationship with the EU. During the time of German reunification in 1990 he was bureau chief of The Economist in Brussels.
Helene von Bismarck is a historian, writer and commentator. She has published a book about British foreign policy in the Persian Gulf during the 1960s, as well as a History of the Anglo-German Königswinter Conferences. Her political commentary has featured in The Times, Die Zeit, Foreign Policy, and the BBC. She is now researching Margaret Thatcher‘s European policy.
Together, they will discuss the run-up to German reunification in 1990.
You can watch the event video here:

Reflecting on German reunification 30 years on
2020-10-06
Joint Zoom event between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the British-German Association
MEMBERS’ REGISTRATION
Join Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas Wendy Morton MP, German Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andreas Michaelis, former Cabinet Minister Lord Waldegrave, and Senior Editor at The Economist Anne McElvoy at a virtual event organised jointly by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the British-German Association. We will take this opportunity to celebrate and reflect upon the momentous events of 1990, where the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic were reunited following the 2+4 talks in which the UK was an important partner.
The event is from 12.30pm in London (1.30pm in Berlin) on Tuesday 6th October and will last one hour.
Speakers:
Wendy Morton MP, Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas (Chair)
Andreas Michaelis (Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Kingdom)
William Waldegrave (Lord Waldegrave of North Hill, Minister for Europe at the time of German reunification)
Anne McElvoy (The Economist, Berlin correspondent for The Times at the time of reunification)
You can watch the event video here:

Lecture by Professor Margaret MacMillan
2020-10-14
Total War and European Society

How war and conflict shaped human society in Britain, Germany and Europe
A lecture by Professor Margaret MacMillan
Margaret MacMillan is Professor of History at the University of Toronto and Emeritus Professor of International History at the University of Oxford. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, University of Toronto, and Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, St Hilda’s College and St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford. Margaret is also a Trustee of the Central European University in Budapest and the Imperial War Museum and sits on the editorial boards of International History and First World War Studies.
Her published works include The War that Ended Peace (2014), a New York Times Notable Book; The Uses and Abuses of History (2008); and the international bestsellers Seize the Hour: When Nixon Met Mao (2006) and Peacemakers: The Paris Conference 1919 and its Attempt to End the War (2001), which won the 2002 Samuel Johnson Prize, the 2002 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize, and the 2001 Duff Cooper Prize and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions after the lecture.
The BGA is delighted to be co-hosting this event with the German Historical Institute London.

You can watch the event video here:

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The COVID pandemic in the UK and Germany: comparing responses
2020-11-12
COVID-19 has had a far-reaching impact on public health, the economy, politics, and society. Globally, countries are still learning to deal with and control the pandemic.
At this BGA event, Professor Matthew Flinders and Professor Anna Holzscheiter will examine the UK’s and Germany’s comparative responses to the COVID crisis. The discussion will be chaired by Stefanie Bolzen.
Professor Flinders is Professor of Politics and Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics. He is also President of the Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom and a board member of the Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Holzscheiter is Chair of Political Science with a focus on International Politics at the TU Dresden. Parallel to her professorship at the TU Dresden she heads the research group ‘Governance for Global Health’ at the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB).
Stefanie Bolzen is the UK and Ireland Correspondent for German WELT and Sunday edition WELT am Sonntag. Until 2013, she worked as WELT’s Europe Correspondent in Brussels, covering EU and NATO affairs.
You can watch the event video here:

The House by the Lake: Thomas Harding in conversation with Nick Viner
2020-11-24
Join the BGA for a discussion between bestselling author Thomas Harding and Chair of the Jewish Museum London Nick Viner to mark the publication of the picture book adaptation of Harding’s Costa-shortlisted biography, The House by the Lake.
The House by the Lake tells the astonishing true story of a wooden cottage on the shore of a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. Over the course of a century, this little house played host to a loving Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, wartime refugees and a Stasi informant; in that time, a world war came and went, and the Berlin Wall was built a stone’s throw from the cottage’s back door.
Thomas Harding is a bestselling author and journalist who has written for the Financial Times, The Sunday Times (London), The Washington Post, and The Guardian, among other publications. He cofounded a television station in Oxford and for many years was an award-winning documentary maker. He also ran a local newspaper in West Virginia, winning the West Virginia Association of Justice’s Journalist of the Year Award, before moving back to England in 2011, where he lives with his family.
Nick Viner is Chair of the Jewish Museum London and Founder and Director of Circle Sq., a destination for interesting and dynamic people over 50. After many years working as a senior partner of The Boston Consulting Group, Nick moved into the non-profit sector, setting up, building and leading JW3, a ground-breaking, community and cultural centre in North London that brings together a quarter of a million people every year.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
You can watch the event video here:
https://vimeo.com/486039844/8c5f4142c8

LSE Online Event - Discussion with Tom Tugendhat, David McAllister and Lord Kinnoull
2020-12-07
The LSE German Society has offered BGA members the opportunity to join the following online event:
On Monday 7 December at 6pm GMT, Tom Tugendhat MP, David McAllister MEP and Lord Kinnoull will discuss the future of the relationship between the United Kingdom and European Union. The discussion will be chaired by Professor Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey FBA.
Tom Tugendhat is Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee. He focusses on Britain’s foreign policy priorities after Brexit and the rising influence of China. Since 2015, he represents Tonbridge, Edenbridge and Malling as Member of Parliament. Before becoming an MP, Tom Tugendhat was in the British Army and served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
David McAllister is Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and Chair of the European Parliament’s UK Coordination Group which monitors the EU-UK negotiations. He also serves as Vice President of the European People’s Party. Previously, he held office as Minister-President of Lower Saxony. David McAllister holds British and German citizenships.
Lord Kinnoull is a Non-affiliated Excepted Hereditary peer who has sat under this title in the Lords since February 2015. He is Chair of the House of Lords European Union Committee.
Professor Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey is Head of the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Fellow of the British Academy. Her areas of research comprise the politics of trade and finance as well as parliamentary committees.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
Please note that registration is necessary in order to join the event. The dial-in details will be sent to you upon registration.
Click here to register.

Carols and Readings at the Christuskirche, Knightsbridge
2020-12-10 | Protected:
On 10th December, the BGA will be hosting our popular Christmas Carols and Readings with the Christuskirche, Knightsbridge. There will be readings by representatives of the German Embassy, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the BGA. Members will have priority booking for this event, and can book tickets for guests. Booking details will be announced closer to the time.

BGA Christmas Quiz
2020-12-16
Get ready for some British-German festive fun with the BGA’s 2020 Christmas Quiz!
On Wednesday 16 December at 6.30pm GMT, we will be hosting an exciting quiz on Zoom.
Our Christmas Quiz is divided into 5 sections of 10 questions each and includes a stellar line-up of quiz masters:
HE Jill Gallard, British Ambassador to Germany
HE Andreas Michaelis, German Ambassador to the UK
Susie Dent, Countdown star, lexicographer and author
Sophie Hermann, Made in Chelsea star and fashion designer
Axel Scheffler, award-winning illustrator of The Gruffalo and other favourite children’s books
Make sure you register quickly for what is bound to be a memorable evening – and feel free to bring along your own Glühwein!
Please note that this is a members-only event. You can purchase BGA membership here. Membership subscriptions are valid for 12 months from the date of joining and renew automatically unless cancelled.
You can watch the event video here:
https://vimeo.com/492602082

Susie Dent Photo © Alan Strutt
Axel Scheffler Photo © Liam Jackson

Online New Year's Reception
2021-01-28
Join us for an evening of virtual drinks and networking on Remo. This event is for BGA members only.
Please click on the Members’ Registration red icon below to register for the reception. You will be asked to log in to your BGA account before accessing the registration page.
MEMBERS’ REGISTRATION

LSE German Symposium
2021-02-01 - 2021-03-25
20th LSE German Symposium: New Beginnings
Initiated in 1998 by German LSE students, the German Symposium has become an important date in the LSE’s calendar and will be hosted for the 20th time in 2021. To mark this occasion, the Symposium in 2021 will take place over two months commencing with the opening Conference Week from 1st to 5th February. In the subsequent weeks until 25th March, students, academics, and BGA members will have the opportunity to participate in additional keynotes and panel discussions to intensify the debate on the issues that are relevant to Germany and Britain.
Join the 20th LSE German Symposium and discuss the challenges of today and tomorrow with Ursula von der Leyen, Tony Blair, and many more.
Click here to see the Symposium agenda, and here to register.

Online Young Members Social Event
2021-02-26
Join us for an evening of virtual drinks and networking on Zoom.
BGA Under-35 Members only.
Click the Members’ Registration red icon below to register. You will be asked to log in to you BGA account before accessing the registration page:
MEMBERS’ REGISTRATION

Germany 1871-1918: An Empire of Blood and Iron? Katja Hoyer in conversation with Giles MacDonogh
2021-03-02
Join us on 2 March 2021 at 6.30pm GMT for a discussion between Katja Hoyer and Giles MacDonogh on Hoyer’s new book, Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871–1918. The event will take place on Zoom.
Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian specialising in Modern German History. Her debut book Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871–1918 has been well-received by critics and academics alike. She was born in (East) Germany and read history at the Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena where she graduated with a Master-level degree with distinction. She is a member of the Royal Historical Society and has written for History Today, BBC History Extra and CulturAll among other history outlets. Katja has also worked with TV presenter Dan Snow for History Hit and collaborated on a variety of podcasts. She is based in Sussex, UK.
Giles MacDonogh is an acclaimed historian and food, wine and travel writer. He is the author of fifteen books, including biographies of Frederick the Great and the last Kaiser, histories of Berlin and Prussia, and a bestselling book on the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. MacDonogh has written for major newspapers in Britain and Europe such as the Financial Times, the Guardian, the Times and FT Deutschland. He lives in London.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
You can watch the event video here:
https://vimeo.com/538613822
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The life and work of Albrecht Dürer: Celebrating the 550th anniversary of the artist’s birth
2021-04-20
Join us on 20 April 2021 at 6.30pm BST for a discussion between Philip Hoare and Dr Susan Foister on the life and work of German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. The event will take place on Zoom.
Philip Hoare is a British author, presenter, and curator. His book, Leviathan or, The Whale, won the 2009 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize. Hoare wrote and presented the BBC Arena film The Hunt for Moby-Dick, and directed three short films for BBC’s Whale Night. He is a regular contributor to The Guardian, New Statesman, Literary Review, and Sunday Telegraph, and is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Southampton.
In his latest book, Albert and the Whale, Hoare sets out to discover why Albrecht Dürer’s art endures. With its wild and watery adventures, its witty accounts of amazing cultural lives and its delight in the fragile beauty of the natural world, Albert & the Whale offers glorious, inspiring insights into a great artist, and his unerring, sometimes disturbing gaze.
Dr Susan Foister is Deputy Director and Curator of Early Netherlandish and German Painting at the National Gallery. She has curated and co-curated a number of exhibitions at the National Gallery on early Northern and British painting, on subjects ranging from Van Eyck, Dürer, Gossaert and German stained glass to Gainsborough, Stubbs, the Pre-Raphaelites and Landseer. She is a joint author of numerous publications on Renaissance artists, including Giotto to Dürer (Yale University Press, 1991) and Dürer to Veronese (Yale University Press, 1999). Her book, Holbein and England (Yale University Press, 2004), was nominated for the Berger Prize for British Art History.
Foister is the curator of the upcoming Credit Suisse Exhibition at the National Gallery, Dürer’s Journeys: Travels of a Renaissance Artist, the first major UK exhibition of Dürer in nearly 20 years. Through paintings, drawings, prints, and letters, this exhibition follows Dürer’s travels across Europe, bringing to life the artist himself, and the people and places he visited.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
You can watch the event video here:
https://vimeo.com/539632207/0ad026d367

The Future of Cities: Shaping Sustainable Urban Environments
2021-04-29
Join us on 29 April at 5pm BST/6pm CET on Zoom for a discussion between Almut Möller, Representative of the City of Hamburg to the Federal Republic of Germany, and Frank Rogers, Chief Executive of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, on Shaping Sustainable Urban Environments. The discussion will be moderated by Nina Gillespie, Centre Manager at the Hoffmann Centre for Sustainable Resource Economy at Chatham House.
Further information on the speakers can be found here. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
This event is the first in our British-German Climate Action Event Series 2021, organised jointly by the British-German Association (BGA) and the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft.
You can watch the event video here:
https://vimeo.com/547471615

BCCG SHeconomy Virtual Talk with Heide Baumann
2021-05-07
The British Chamber of Commerce in Germany (BCCG) has kindly given BGA members the opportunity to join their upcoming SHeconomy Virtual Talk with former BGA Trustee and Executive Committee Member Dr Heide Baumann. The talk will take place on Friday 7 May from 11am to 12.15noon BST.
Dr Heide Baumann joined the Vodafone Germany Executive Committee on 1 April 2021 to lead Commercial Operations and champion customer excellence. Prior to joining Vodafone, Heide was Chief Transformation Officer at Microsoft Deutschland, leading cultural change across the German sales and marketing organisation for greater customer focus. Before that, she was responsible for the customer experience transformation, enterprise revenue growth and the integration of mergers & acquisitions at Liberty Global. Between 2004 and 2015 Heide held a broad range of leadership roles at British Telecom, where she led customer service teams across 17 countries and the transformation of the Group’s operating model. Before that, Heide Baumann was a management consultant for innovation and digital strategies at Arthur D. Little. As a non-executive, Heide is a Council Member of the international affairs think tank Chatham House.
Heide grew up in the Baden region of Germany. She studied engineering in Leipzig and completed her BSc at Hertfordshire University, followed by MAs in media from the Royal College of Art, London and TU Berlin as well as an MA in Psychology from De Montfort University, Leicester. Most recently, Heide completed a PhD on the discourses of female corporate leadership at the University of Cambridge. In this talk, she will share some of her research, comparing narratives about women in corporate leadership in Germany and the UK.

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The Goethe-Institut London and the British Council Germany in conversation
2021-05-11
Join us on 11 May at 6.30pm BST/7.30pm CET on Zoom for a conversation between Dr Katharina von Ruckteschell-Katte, Director of the Goethe-Institut London, and Paul Smith OBE, Director of the British Council Germany. We will be exploring the role of both organisations in fostering British-German relations.
Further information on the speakers can be found here.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers after the discussion.
You can watch the event video here:
https://vimeo.com/548438271

Interview with HE Andreas Michaelis, German Ambassador to the UK
2021-06-01
Join us on 1 June 2021 at 5pm BST for an online interview with HE Andreas Michaelis, German Ambassador to the UK, ahead of the 2021 G7 Summit.
HE Andreas Michaelis studied political sciences, philosophy, English, and economics. He joined the German Foreign Service in 1989. After working as Private Secretary to Helmut Schäfer, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, he took over the position as First Secretary Political Affairs at the German Embassy in Tel Aviv. He worked as UN Director-General and as Spokesperson of the Federal Foreign Office before he became German Ambassador to Singapore from 2002 to 2006. He was appointed Director for Asia and the Pacific and later Director for Near and Middle Eastern Affairs and the Maghreb. After serving as German Ambassador in Tel Aviv, he became Political Director in July 2015. From 2018 to 2020, he was Permanent Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office. Since May 2020, Andreas Michaelis has been German Ambassador to the Court of St James’s.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions after the interview.
You can watch the event video here:
https://vimeo.com/561854699

LSE German Society & BGA viewing of EURO 2020 England vs. Germany game
2021-06-29 | Introducing the German Business Hub
The LSE German Society and the BGA are pleased to invite you to join us in watching the last 16 round match of the EURO 2020: England vs. Germany.
We look forward to the game as a way of bringing together two great sporting countries in their shared love of football.
The event will take place at the Munich Cricket Club in Victoria and will start at 4.30pm for a 5pm kick-off.
Limited space available – make sure you register quickly in order to get a seat!
Tickets are free but a £10 charge will apply for no-shows.
Please note that registration is necessary in order to join the event. You can register by clicking on the Members’ Registration red icon below. You will be asked to log in to your BGA account before accessing the registration page.

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