British-German Association

Bavarian Ball in aid of The Lord Mayor's Appeal
2024-06-13 18:30 - 23:00 (Europe/London) | Mansion House, Walbrook, London, EC4N 8BH
The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli and the Lady Mayoress Elisabeth Mainelli, are delighted to host a Bavarian Ball at The Mansion House on Thursday 13 June 2024 from 6.30pm-11.30pm in aid of The Lord Mayor’s Appeal. This unique Bavarian inspired event will reflect the heritage of the Lady Mayoress and will include a Beer and Champagne reception, a mouthwatering Bavarian feast, live auction, silent auction, five piece roaming band and plenty of foot stomping, singing, swaying and cheering! Up to 270 guests will be attending including senior members of City based companies, City institutions, livery companies and friends and supporters of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. Dress code: black tie or national dress. The event will be raising money for The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, supporting three inspirational charities – MQ Mental Health Research, Homewards: A Royal Foundation programme and National Numeracy. They are delivering ground breaking programmes to bring solutions to some of London’s most pressing societal issues.
Tickets are available at £300 per person. To place a booking please complete the online booking form at www.thelordmayorsappeal.org/bavarianball2024 or email events@thelordmayorsappeal.org.
This is a third-party event and the BGA is not involved in the organisation. Please address any queries to events@thelordmayorsappeal.org.

The NATO at 75: reflections on a changing security landscape for Germany and the UK
2024-07-08 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual Event
In 2024, the NATO is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Since its creation in 1949, it has grown from 12 founding members to 32 member countries. Its changing political initiatives, military operations, and burgeoning membership reflect its enduring significance. What does this mean for the UK and Germany? On Monday, 8 July 2024, Edward Arnold from RUSI and Dr Aylin Matlé from the German Council of Foreign Relations (DGAP) will be discussing the future of this military alliance and the UK’s and Germany’s role within it from 6.30pm to 7.30pm BST on Zoom.
Ed Arnold is a Senior Research Fellow for European Security within the International Security department at RUSI. His experience covers defence, intelligence, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency, within the public and private sector. Ed has a particular interest in UK National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Reviews. He joined RUSI from the private sector where he was a strategy Director within the defence and security sector.
Dr Aylin Matlé has been a research fellow in DGAP’s Center for Security and Defence since March 2022. Previously, she worked as deputy head of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s Israel office in Jerusalem. Prior to that, she was a research associate for the chair of international relations and European politics at the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg.
The event will be chaired by Dr Sorana Jude, lecturer in Defence Studies at King’s College London.
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

Annual General Meeting 2024
2024-07-15 18:30 - 20:00 | Virtual Event
The BGA’s Annual General Meeting will take place on Zoom on Monday 15 July at 6:30pm.
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.
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date, or contact us.

Tour at Mansion House and meet-and-greet with the Lady Mayoress
2024-07-19 15:15 - 16:30 | Mansion House, Walbrook, London, EC4N 8BH
On Friday 19 July from 3.15pm BST onwards members have the opportunity to meet the current Lady Mayoress at Mansion House for a meet-and-greet and will be given a tour of Mansion House. The event concludes with tea and coffee where members will have the opportunity to ask questions.
The current Lady Mayoress, Elisabeth Mainelli, was born in Germany and is wife of Michael Mainelli, 695th Lord Mayor of the City of London.
This event is now fully booked. Please get in touch at office@britishgermanassociation.org if you would like to be put on our waiting list.

Katja Hoyer at the National Liberal Club
2024-09-02 18:30 - 19:45 | National Liberal Club
The National Liberal Club invites BGA members to join them for an audience with historian Katja Hoyer on Monday, 2 September 2024, 6:30pm to 7:45pm in the Lady Violet Room. This event is free, but places are limited. Please register to attend on the NLC website.
Members and guests are invited to make use of the NLC Bar prior to the meeting and to make a post-event dinner reservation. If the latter is of interest, please contact office@britishgermanassociation.org.

Regional elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg - What to expect?
2024-09-04 17:00 - 18:00 | Virtual Event
On 4 September 2024 at 5pm BST, the International Association for the Studies of German Politics and the BGA are jointly hosting an online discussion on Zoom to look at the German regional elections in Saxony and Thuringia (both on 1 September) and Brandenburg (on 22 September) this Autumn. In the light of growing worries about the strength of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), these elections are particularly significant.
We are delighted to welcome Jasmin Riedl, a researcher at the Universität der Bundeswehr on party politics, (digital) campaigning and far right populism, and Christian Stecker from the TU Darmstadt with a research focus on the design of democracies, federal systems, minority governance and populist parties in parliaments. The event will be chaired by Ed Turner from Aston University, a leading expert on German politics with an interest in comparative politics, notably in the areas of political parties, federalism and public policy.
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

BGA Parliamentary Day Lunch 2024
2024-09-05 12:00 - 14:30 | House of Lords
Booking for our traditional Parliamentary Day Lunch on 5 September 2024 has now closed. Get in touch with office@britishgermanassociation.org if you have any questions.
This year’s distinguished guest speaker will be Simon Gerard McDonald, Baron McDonald of Salford, GCMG, KCVO, who will also host the event.
Drinks will be available on the Cholmondeley Room Terrace from 12.15pm. Lunch will be served at 12.45pm in the Cholmondeley Room. The event will end at 2.30pm.
Simon McDonald was born and educated in Salford, and read History at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he is now an Honorary Fellow.
He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1982 and, early in his career, served in Jeddah, Riyadh, Bonn and Washington, D.C. He was British Ambassador to Israel (2003-2006) and to Germany (2010-15). In September 2015 Simon became Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCO and Head of the Diplomatic Service. After leaving the FCO in Autumn 2020, he was appointed a life peer, taking his seat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher in February 2021.
Simon is a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) and Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO).
His first book – Leadership: Lessons from a Life in Diplomacy– was published in November 2022 and his second – Beyond Britannia: Reshaping UK Foreign Policy – in November 2023. If you would like to get the books ahead of the event, please use the code PARLIAMENTARYDAY30 at checkout for a 30% discount.
Simon became the 39th Master of Christ’s College in Cambridge on 1 September 2022.

Freundship Oktoberfest with Hannoversch-Britische Gesellschaft
2024-10-10 18:30 - 20:30
On Thursday 10 October, members of the Hannoversch-Britische Gesellschaft (HBG) will be visiting London and we are hosting a Freundship Oktoberfest at Stein’s in Kensington. Get your Lederhos’n and Dirndl ready to mark the occasion. Doors will open from 6.30pm.
BGA Member Ticket: £45.00 per person.
Non-Member / Member’s Guest Ticket: £55.00 per person.
Each ticket includes a drink (beer, wine or a soft drink of your choice) as well as food from the large Bavarian-style buffet, including Obatzda, Schnitzel, pan fried potatoes, Sauerkraut, and Apfelstrudel (vegetarian/vegan versions are available too).
You can find out more about the HBG here: https://www.hannoverschbritischegesellschaft.org/
Booking for this event is now closed. Please get in touch at office@britishgermanassociation.org if you have any questions.

Kafka: Making of an Icon - Curator-led exhibition visit
2024-10-18 15:30 - 17:00 | Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BG
On Friday 18 October 2024 from 3.30pm to 5pm BST our members will have the opportunity to attend a curator-led tour of Kafka: Making of an Icon at Weston Library (part of the Bodleian Libraries) in Oxford. Opening in May 2024, Kafka: Making of an Icon marks the 100th anniversary of the author’s death, celebrating not only his achievements and creativity but also how he continues to inspire new literary, theatrical and cinematic creations around the world.
The exhibition features materials from the archives of the Bodleian Libraries, which hold the majority of Franz Kafka’s papers, including literary notebooks, drawings, diaries, letters, postcards, glossaries, and photographs. Notably, the notebooks in the archive include the original manuscripts of two of Kafka’s unfinished novels, Das Schloss (The Castle) and Der Verschollene (America), as well as a number of short stories.
The exhibition will be introduced by Professor Katrin Kohl, a co-curator, and you are then welcome to explore on your own and ask questions.. Katrin is a Fellow and Tutor in German at Jesus College, and Professor of German Literature at the University of Oxford, and the event will be followed by a small drinks reception at Jesus College.
This event is now fully booked. Please get in touch with office@britishgermanassociation.org, if you would like a place on the waiting list.

Private visit of Deutsche Bank Art Collection
2024-11-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Deutsche Bank London, 21 Moorfields, London, EC2Y 9DB
On 13 November from 6pm GMT BGA members will have the opportunity for a private visit of the Deutsche Bank Art Collection in London.
Deutsche Bank opened its London office in 1973. Now there are 100 conference rooms in the bank’s London buildings named after artists from around the globe. In each room a wall plaque provides a short biography of the artist alongside their work. Floors and corridors are also hung with the Collection, making sure art is a continuous part of everyone’s though process.
The reception area of the London headquarters features large artworks by Keith Tyson and Susan Derges as well as major sculptures by Anish Kapoor and Tony Cragg however the vast majority of the art in the Deutsche Bank Collection is on a modest scale, focusing on works on paper.
If attendees wish to do so, they can join us for a drink in a nearby pub afterwards.
This event is now fully booked. If you wish to be placed on our waiting list, please get in touch at office@britishgermanassociation.org.

Visit of St George's Chapel in Windsor followed by reception
2024-11-19 17:00 - 19:45 | St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Parking Lots, 2 The Cloisters, Windsor, SL4 1NJ, United Kingdom
Following the kind invitation of the Dean of Windsor, Reverend Christopher Cocksworth, BGA members are invited to an exclusive tour of St George’s Chapel.
There is the option to attend Evensong (doors open 5pm, all seated by 5.10pm, Service at 5.15pm). The chapel tour will commence at 5.50pm to 6.50pm and BGA members will have the chapel for themselves, i.e. there will be no other tours at the time. The event will conclude with drinks and nibbles from 6.50pm until 7.45pm and the Dean of Windsor will be in attendance.
This event is now fully booked. Please email us at office@britishgermanassociation.org, if you would like a place on the waiting list.

The UK, Germany and the US Elections 2024
2024-11-26 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual Event
On Tuesday, 26 November 2024 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm GMT on Zoom, Dr Linda Yueh CBE and Dr Liana Fix will be discussing the US elections and what the results will mean for the UK, Germany and their relationship to the US.
Linda Yueh is an economist, writer and broadcaster. She is a Fellow in Economics at St Edmunds Hall, Oxford University, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School. She is an Associate Fellow (U.S. and the Americas Programme) at Chatham House and was awarded CBE for Services to Economics in the 2023 New Year Honours List.
Liana Fix is a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She is a historian and political scientist, with expertise in German and European foreign and security policy, European security, transatlantic relations, Russia, Eastern Europe, and European China policy.
The event will be moderated by Steven Erlanger, the chief diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times, covering Europe.
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

75 years of Basic Law in Germany: constitutional highlights and challenges
2024-12-04 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual Event
This year, the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) is 75 years old. It is the foundation of Germany’s democratic constitutional state. After the peaceful revolution in the GDR in 1989, the Basic Law became the common constitution of a reunified Germany on 3 October 1990. On 4 December 2024 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm, Dr Stefan Theil, Associate Professor in Public Law at Cambridge University, Prof. Dr. Johannes Masing, former Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, and Lord Mance, former Deputy President of the Supreme Court, will be discussing highlights and challenges to the constitution on Zoom, using prominent law cases as examples.
Dr Stefan Theil is Assistant Professor in Public Law and a Fellow and Director of Studies at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge. His research interests are broadly in the field of public and constitutional law, as well as human rights and legal methodology.
Prof Dr Johannes Masing has been a professor of constitutional law at the University of Freiburg since 2007 and was appointed as a judge to the German Constitutional Court in April 2008, where he served until June 2020.
Lord Mance was Deputy President of the Supreme Court. He sat from 1993 to 1999 as a Commercial Judge, was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1999, and to the House of Lords in 2005 where he spent four years as a Law Lord before becoming a Justice of the Supreme Court on its formation in 2009 and its Deputy President in 2017-2018.
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

Carols and Readings 2024
2024-12-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Christuskirche
The BGA’s traditional Carols and Readings with the Christuskirche Knightsbridge will take place on Thursday, 12 December. BGA members and their guests are invited to join us in this joyful celebration of Christmas with Fever Pitch choir followed by a reception with traditional Stollen, Weihnachtsgebäck (gingerbread biscuits) and a warming glass of Glühwein.
The Carols and Readings will begin at 7pm GMT and will be led by Pastor Uwe Vetter. The reception will end at around 9pm GMT.
Musical Director and Organist: Bernard Barker.
Readings, carols and anthems will be in English and in German.

Perspectives on the upcoming German elections
2025-01-08 17:00 - 18:00 | Virtual Event
Germans will head to the ballot box on 23 February 2025 for a federal election, following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition government in November. On 8 January 2025, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM GMT, join Tom Nuttall of The Economist and Dr. Lisa H. Anders, DAAD Lecturer in German & European Politics, for an online discussion about the upcoming elections and their implications for Germany, the UK, and broader Europe. The event will take place on Zoom and is organized in collaboration with the International Association for the Study of German Politics (IASGP).
Tom Nuttall is The Economist’s Chief Germany Correspondent and head of the Berlin bureau. He previously served as Charlemagne columnist, correspondent in California, and senior editor on the paper’s digital desk. Before joining The Economist, he was an editor at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a senior editor at Prospect magazine.
Dr. Lisa H. Anders is a Lecturer in German & European Politics and DAAD Fachlektorin. Her research focuses on the German political system, EU responses to democratic backsliding in member states, European (dis)integration, and the politicization of the EU
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

Electronic Music in Germany and the UK
2025-01-15 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual Event
On Wednesday, 15 January 2025, we are delighted to welcome musician Thomas Burhorn from MEUTE for an online discussion on electronic music in Germany and the UK ahead of their tour with concerts in London and Manchester. The event will be held on Zoom from 6.30pm to 7.30pm GMT.
MEUTE is a Techno Marching Band – eleven drummers and horn players from Hamburg / Germany. The conglomerate of brass and drums creates a new genre by combining hypnotic driving techno and expressive brass band music. Ahead of their tour (with dates in Manchester and London), Thomas has agreed to join us for an evening, and will be in discussion with Marcello Ruggiu, a British-Italian music producer and sound engineer.
The event will be moderated by Dr Henry Ivry.
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

BGA Stammtisch at Katzenjammers
2025-01-22 18:30 - 20:30 | Katzenjammers, The Hop Exchange, 24 Southwark St, London, SE1 1TY, United Kingdom
On Wednesday 22 January at 6.30pm BST, the BGA will be hosting another Stammtisch at Katzenjammers together with the Civil Service Network for German. The German concept of a Stammtisch is a regular informal get-together, typically over a beer.
The Stammtisch is now fully booked. If you would like to attend, please send an email to office@britishgermanassociation.org and we will let you know closer to the date if a space has become available.

BGA Reception for young professionals under 35 at NORD/LB
2025-02-06 18:30 - 20:30 | Nord/LB
Join us for an exclusive networking opportunity at our BGA Reception for young professionals under 35 at NORD/LB!
Date: 6 February 2025
Time: 6.30 to 9.30pm
Location: NORD/LB, One Wood Street, London EC2V 7WT
You will be joined by young professionals from the different Landesbanken in London. Connect with fellow young leaders, enjoy refreshments, and learn more about NORD/LB. This is a great opportunity to network and share ideas. Drinks and nibbles will be served.
The sale for this event has now ended. Please do get in touch with office@britishgermanassociation.org, if you still would like to join.

German Treasures at the British Library with Susan Reed
2025-02-13 14:00 - 15:00 | British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
On Thursday 13 February 2025 from 2pm to 3pm, Susan Reed, the Lead Curator of the Germanic Collections at the British Library in London, will do a show and tell session for BGA members on literature in the British Library featuring themes of Anglo-German relations and Germans in the UK followed by a Q&A. If attendees are interested, we can have coffee after the event in one of the restaurants at the Library.
Susan is currently Head of Germanic Collections at the British Library, and has worked with the Library’s German collections in various capacities for over 30 years. Her research interests include printed ephemera from the 1848 revolutions in Berlin and Vienna, and the history of German-language publishing and printing in nineteenth-century Britain. She has also co-curated major British Library exhibitions on the early twentieth-century European Avant-Garde, the Russian Revolution, and Fantasy, as well as smaller displays on Schiller, Luther, and Stefan Zweig.
This event is now fully booked. Please email us at office@britishgermanassociation.org if you have any questions or would like to have a place on our waiting list.

Hermann Beck - Online Book Talk
2025-02-20 19:00 - 20:00
On Thursday, 20 February 2025 from 7pm to 8pm, BGA members are invited to an online book talk with Herman Beck on Before the Holocaust: Antisemitic Violence and the Reaction of German Elites and Institutions during the Nazi Takeover.
Hermann Beck is Professor of History at the University of Miami. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles after studying History and Literature at German universities (Mannheim, Freiburg, and Berlin), the London School of Economics, and the Sorbonne. He has been a Fulbright Scholar and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. His publications include books on nineteenth-century Germany, The Origins of the Authoritarian Welfare State in Prussia, and the late Weimar and Nazi periods, The Fateful Alliance: German Conservatives and Nazis in 1933, and (co-editor), From Weimar to Hitler: Studies on the Dissolution of Weimar Democracy and the Establishment of the Third Reich, 1932-34 (with Larry Jones), as well as articles on conservatism, socialism, the Prussian bureaucracy, antisemitism, and the early Nazi period. These were published in British, German, and American journals and in edited collections.
For more information and ways to register, please follow this link: https://www.lbilondon.ac.uk/events/special-events/holocaust-antisemitic-violence-and-reaction-german-elites-and-institutions

Kaput! The End of the German Miracle - In conversation with Wolfgang Münchau
2025-02-25 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual Event
On Tuesday 25 February 2025 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm GMT on Zoom, join Wolfgang Münchau, director of EuroIntelligence, and Rhian Chilcott, Senior Advisor at Berlin Global Advisors for their conversation on Wolfgang’s book Kaput: The End of the German Miracle.
Until recently, Germany appeared to be a paragon of economic and political success. Angela Merkel was widely seen as the true ‘leader of the free world’, and Germany’s export-driven economic model seemed to deliver prosperity. But recent events – from Germany’s dependence on Russian gas to its car industry’s delays in the race to electric – have undermined this view.
In Kaput, Wolfgang Münchau argues that the weaknesses of Germany’s economy have, in fact, been brewing for decades. The neo-mercantilist policies of the German state, driven by close connections between the country’s industrial and political elite, have left Germany technologically behind over-reliant on authoritarian Russia and China – and with little sign of being able to adapt to the digital realities of the 21st century. It is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of Europe’s biggest economy.
Wolfgang Münchau is a journalist and commentator who focuses on the European economy and the European Union. He is director of leading news service Eurointelligence and a columnist for the New Statesman. Prior to this, he worked for the Financial Times, where he wrote a weekly column about the European Union and the European economy.
Rhian Chilcott relocated to Berlin and joined Berlin Global Advisors in September 2023. She also worked for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) for over 15 years where she was the Director General before moving to Washington DC to open the CBI’s first international office.
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

2025 LSE German Symposium
2025-03-03 - 2025-03-08 | London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom
As in previous years, BGA members are warmly invited to attend the LSE’s prestigious German Symposium held from 3-8 March 2025. 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 24th time in 2025 under the motto “Transforming Tomorrow”.
Featuring a wide variety of events ranging from keynote speeches by and discussion panels to intimate coffee chats with world-class speakers, the LSE offers time and space for rigorous political debate.
Booking is available from 17 February, 6pm, via this link: https://lsesu.native.fm/event/lse-german-symposium-2025/249270.

German elections - what's next?
2025-03-20 18:30 - 20:30 | Mile End Institute / Queen Mary University, Bancroft Rd, London, E1 4DG
Join us on Thursday, 20 March 2025 or an engaging in-person panel discussion at Queen Mary University on the German elections held on 23 February. This event will be held in the Maths Lecture Theatre in the Mathematical Sciences Building, which is number 4 on this map of Queen Mary’s Mile End campus. Its What3Words locator is: https://w3w.co/roses.cove.wiping. Doors will open at 6.10pm and we aim to start at 6.30pm sharp. Queen Mary’s campus is equidistant between Mile End and Stepney Green Tube stations. Buses 25, 205 and 339 all stop near or outside the campus.
The speakers will delve into the new political landscape and the potential implications of the election results for Germany and Europe. Whether you’re a political enthusiast or just curious about the election results, this is a great opportunity to deepen your understanding of German politics and its global significance.

Speakers:

Annette Dittert is a writer, columnist, filmmaker and reporter, who is the Bureau Chief and Senior Correspondent in London for the German television channel ARD. She is one of Germany and Britain’s most prominent commentators on German politics and was awarded ‘Political Journalist of the Year’ in 2019 for her reporting on Brexit.
Dr Canan Atilgan has been Head of the United Kingdom and Ireland Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung since October 2024. Prior to this, she has headed the Middle East and North Africa Division in the European and International Cooperation Department from May 2020.
Professor Dan Hough is Professor of Politics at the University of Sussex. He is an expert in German politics, Die Linke and the legacy of the GDR. He is the co-author of The Left Party in Contemporary German Politics (2007) and The Politics of the New Germany (2011), and regularly contributes to British and international media outlets.

The event will be chaired by Dr Sofia Collignon, the Director of the Mile End Institute and an expert in the study of candidates, elections, political parties and gendered violence against political elites. Sofia is a Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Queen Mary and acted as an official election observer during the German Federal Election in February 2025.

This is a free event for our members and their guests, but please note that registration is necessary. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the registration link below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

Booking page: https://britishgermanassociation.org/event/booking-page-german-elections-whats-next/

BGA Stammtisch at Munich Cricket Club
2025-04-02 18:30 - 21:00
On Wednesday 2 April starting from 6.30pm, we are hosting another Stammtisch together with the civil service network for German. The Stammtisch will be held at Munich Cricket Club Victoria close to Westminster and St James’s Park. Everybody is welcome, you don’t have to speak German to attend.
Please log in to your account before accessing the booking page linked below. If you are still unable to access the page after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date, or contact us.
Booking page: https://britishgermanassociation.org/event/booking-page-stammtisch-at-munich-cricket-club/

Wahnfried - The Birth of the Wagner Cult
2025-04-29 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual Event
On 29 April 2025 at 6.30pm, we are honoured to welcome Polly Graham, the Artistic Director of Longborough Festival Opera, for a virtual fireside chat on her artistic practice and the upcoming production of “Wahnfried: The Birth of the Wagner Cult” which will be running from 27 May to 14 June 2025. Polly will be in discussion Prof. Richard Bell from the University of Nottingham.

What happens to an artist’s work after their death? Who controls the narrative?
This major new opera by Avner Dorman, with a libretto by acclaimed playwrights Lutz Hübner and Sarah Nemitz, begins with the death of Richard Wagner and spans forty years of history. Opera goers will witness the Wagner family’s determination to construct the myth of the composer, their brutal infighting and their disturbing political affiliations. It will receive its UK premiere at Longborough in 2025. The world premiere was presented alongside the Karlsruhe Ring in 2017 and was nominated for a prestigious International Opera Award in the Best New Opera category.

As Artistic Director of Longborough Festival Opera, Polly has played a key role in redefining the festival, making it more engaging and accessible while introducing new talent and fresh approaches. Under her leadership, the festival has produced works that connect with modern audiences while respecting opera’s classical roots.

Polly Graham made her debut at the Vienna State Opera in 2019, directing the world premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s “Orlando”. Her recent projects include “Il Piccolo Principe” at La Scala, “Così fan tutte” for Irish National Opera, “The Fairy Queen” for Longborough Festival Opera, and “The Rake’s Progress” for English Touring Opera.

Richard Bell is Professor at the University of Nottingham in the Department of Philosophy. Richard is investigating the theological, ethical, and artistic interests of the composer Richard Wagner. He has just completed a two-volume work exploring the theology of the Ring cycle, Wagner’s work and its relationship to Christianity.

Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us. This event is a virtual fire side chat where attendees can leave their cameras on if they wish and participate in the discussion directly.

Germany’s New Government in an Era of Global Challenges
2025-04-30 18:30 - 19:30 | Virtual Event
Join us on Wednesday, 30 April 2025, from 6:30 to 7:30pm for an online event on Zoom with Dr. Nicolai von Ondarza and Dr. Matthias Dilling as they discuss Germany’s evolving political landscape following the coalition-building process. Our moderator is Prof. Louise K. Davidson-Schmich from the University of Miami. This event is a collaboration with the International Association for the Study of German Politics (IASGP). Germany’s conservative Christian Democrat-led bloc has secured 208 out of 630 seats in the Bundestag (the lower house of parliament) and is currently engaged in complex coalition negotiations with the social democrats, the SPD, to form a majority. With Friedrich Merz positioned as the likely new Chancellor, a coalition between the two parties will establish a narrow 52% majority in parliament with the opposition composed of the AfD (Alternative for Germany, 152 seats), Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (The Green Party, 85 seats), and Die Linke (The Left, 64 seats). Key questions the new government will face are around taxes and finance, social policy, and migration.
Nicolai von Ondarza is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and the Head of the EU/Europe Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. His research focuses on Germany’s role in Europe, EU politics and institutions, EU–UK relations as well as democracy in Europe. As part of his work, he has consulted the German Government, the Bundestag, the UK government, the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Matthias Dilling is an assistant professor in political science and qualitative methods at Trinity College Dublin. His research is on the emergence and resilience of democratic institutions, political parties, and the far right. He is particularly interested in how political parties change and adapt to new challenges and what this means for the future of democracy.
Louise Davidson-Schmich is Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami. Her research interests include gender and politics as well as politics in long-term democracies.
Please note that registration is necessary for the event. Only logged-in members of the BGA will be able to see the Zoom registration link (starting https://) below. Once you have logged in to your BGA account, please navigate back to this page via the “Events” tab on the menu bar and register below. If you are still unable to see the Zoom registration link after logging in, please check your membership is up-to-date or contact us.

Insights in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
2025-05-01 13:00 - 14:00 | Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Following our popular tour of the FCDO last year, we are delighted to offering this event again this year. On Thursday 1 May 2025, BGA members are invited to a tour at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). The tour will commence at 1pm BST and last for approximately one hour. The tour will start in the Quad, leading through the old India Office and round to the old Foreign Office. It finishes with a look through the gates at No 10’s door and questions of all kind are welcome at any time.
This event is now fully booked. Please contact us if you would like a place on the waiting list.

Introducing the Warburg Institute
2025-05-21 16:30 - 18:00 | Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, London, WC1H 0AB
On 21 May 2025 from 4.30pm to 6.00pm, BGA members are invited to a visit to the Warburg Institute . The Warburg Institute is one of the world’s leading centres for the study of art and culture. Its collections, courses and programmes are dedicated to the study of global cultural history and the role of images in society. Founded in Hamburg at the turn of the twentieth century by historian Aby Warburg (1866-1929), the Institute was established to trace the roots of the Renaissance in ancient civilisations and ended up changing the way we see the world around us. There will be a tour of its newly refurbished premises and its director, Professor Bill Sherman, and his colleagues will introduce the institute’s work and its history. The Institute is named after its founder Aby Warburg. In 1913 Warburg was joined by Fritz Saxl (1890-1948) who, in 1921, turned the library into a research institute. The Institute was exiled to London when the Nazis came to power in 1933 and became part of the University of London in 1944.
This event is now fully booked. If you wish to have a place on the waiting list, please email Tamara at office@britishgermanassociation.org.

Spargelabend at the NLC
2025-05-21 19:00 - 21:00 | National Liberal Club
The National Liberal Club invites BGA members to their Weisser Spargelabend which will take place on Wednesday 21 May. The evening will run as follows:

7pm – Maibowle drinks reception in Smoking Room;
Short music recital
Three course asparagus dinner in David Lloyd George Room accompanied by German wines.
The evening will conclude with a glass of Schnapps.

Tickets are £89.00.

Please email events@nlc.org.uk or louisa.pooley@nlc.org.uk to book your space. Alternatively, you can call 020 7930 9871.

BGA members are also warmly invited to the Stammtisch beforehand from 6pm to 7pm in the Smoking Room.

BGA Parliamentary Day Lunch 2025
2025-06-25 12:00 - 15:00 | House of Lords
On 25 June 2025 we will be hosting our traditional Parliamentary Day Lunch. This year’s distinguished guest speaker will be The Rt Hon. the Baroness Ashton of Upholland LG GCMG.
Drinks will be available on the Cholmondeley Room Terrace from 12.15pm. Lunch will be served at 12.45pm in the Cholmondeley Room. The event will end at 2.30pm.
Booking for this event has now closed. Please get in touch with Tamara Aberle at office@britishgermanassociation.org if you have any questions.
More information on our Guest of Honour can be found below:
The Right Honourable Baroness Catherine Ashton served as the European Union’s first High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy from 2009 to 2014. She earned wide praise as a negotiator, leading the P5+1 talks on Iran’s nuclear program and galvanizing agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. She is the author of ‘And Then What?: Despatches From the Heart of 21st-Century Diplomacy, From Kosovo to Kiev‘ (2023)- a book that chronicles her extensive experience as a high level diplomacy and policy maker. Serving as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council in Gordon Brown’s cabinet in 2007, she was instrumental in ensuring the passage of the Treaty of Lisbon through the UK parliament. This accomplishment paved the way for her tenure as the British European Commissioner and subsequently as the Commissioner for Trade for the European Commission in 2008.
In recognition of her experience and contributions, she was made a Life Peer in the House of Lords in 1999. Her political journey began with an appointment as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Education and Skills in 2001, followed by a position in the Ministry of Justice in 2004. By May 2006, she was named a Privy Councillor, and in June 2007, she ascended to the position of Leader of the House of Lords.
Further cementing her legacy in academia, in January 2017, Baroness Ashton became the first female chancellor at the University of Warwick.
