News

** On February 19 the British-German Association in London hosted a talk between two leading German historians with the title Out of Hitler's Shadow. The subject was the little known London Debt Agreement of 1953, under which most of West Germany's reparations and debt obligations were eradicated or at least postponed indefinitely. Given that West German debts at the time were 10 times the size of its GDP, this was a monumental step in the recovery of West Germany and indeed Western Europe, and one that was to prove as important in its way as the Marshall Plan to economic recovery. Tobias...

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** Congratulations to RISE Youth Dance in achieving a successful application with the Cultural Bridge fund (www.https://www.cultural-bridge.info). RISE has secured funding for Letters From Home, a Bristol–Hannover youth-led dance and storytelling exchange running from April–October 2026. The project focuses on inclusive, community-based activity with young people and local residents in both cities, building on the long-standing Bristol–Hannover relationship. BHC Chair Ian Turner comments: “We are thrilled to get this news. RISE Dance has been one of our real success stories in recent...

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** On Tuesday, January 20, BHC and BAGS held a joint talk about the Bridges of Bristol and the Koenigsberg Problem. The talk was given by Jeff Lucas a local author who has written a book on the subject. Koenigsberg(the present day Russian exclave of Kaliningrad) was a vibrant centre of intellectual study in medieval Germany. The German city was built on two islands created by a river with several crossings between the islands and the surrounding country. It became a diverting pastime for the citizens to see if they could walk across all the bridges but only once. The problem 'went' viral...

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----We welcome the state visit this week of the President of the Federal Republic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and his wife Elke Budenbender. This is the first state visit of the German head of state to Britain since 1998. It follows the state visit of King Charles to Germany in 2023, when he famously addressed the Bundestag in German, and the visit earlier this year of the new German chancellor Friedrich Merz when a new bi-lateral agreement of cooperation was signed at Kensington Palace. In October this year in Bristol we celebrated 35 years of German reunification and were able to look back...

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---- This is how our Hannover friends  reflected on their latest visit to Bristol in their latest newsletter: Our trip to Bristol with 13 people from August 6-11 was a complete success. Many thanks to our friends in Bristol for the fantastic preparation! Unfortunately, four other participants had to cancel at short notice due to illness; otherwise, we would have been 17. On Thursday, August 7, we were welcomed by the Lord Mayor, the Lord Lieutenant, and the members of Bristol Hannover Council at Council House. After the welcome at the town hall, the Joint Board Meeting took place, where, in addition...

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----German and Austrian citizens in Bristol have celebrated St Martin's Day [November 11] again with a lantern parade in Redland. The German Saturday School Bristol has been organising lantern walks around St Martin's Day for years, followed by a play about St Martin sharing his coat with a beggar (an important scene from his life). We also enjoyed traditional Weckmänner at the event. Throughout Germany and Austria, similar processions of children with lanterns (Laternelaufen) are often led by a man dressed as a Roman soldier, representing St Martin. The German Saturday Schools offer...

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** A group of BHC members paid a visit to the Hauser and Wirth Gallery in Bruton Somerset on Saturday to view an exhibition of the work of Niki de Saint Phalle and her husband Jean Tingueley. Pictured below is the group next to the famous nanas, well known to us from visits to Hannover. IAN TURNER ####  

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---- Some 16 visitors from Hannover, representing different civic societies and youth associations, arrived this past week as part of the ‘Multiplier Visit’. Zoe Gibbons, Bristol’s International Twinning Officer, had travelled to Hannover last September, then contacted Bristol groups and organisations who she believed to share a similar ethos or offer a visiting counterpart. The aim of this week’s visit was for the Hannover delegation to visit their Bristol equivalents to create new links, facilitate shared learning, new projects and exchanges. The visit was scheduled between...

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It is a great pleasure, only shortly after taking up my post in London, to send you warm greetings on the occasion of your Bristolian event to mark 35 years of German unity. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany were defining moments of the 20th century – not only for Germans, but for Europe as a whole. Against the backdrop of a multitude of crises that we are witnessing in today’s world, they remind us of the immense value of peace, freedom, and solidarity – values that continue to unite the United Kingdom and Germany as close partners today. Cities and communities...

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** Around 90 people gathered at Bristol University on Thursday, October 2, to celebrate 35 years of German Unification. The event was jointly organised by the Bristol Hannover Council, Bristol Anglo German Society and the German Department of the University of Bristol. An inspiring message of support from the new German ambassador Susanne Baumann was read out by Mark Allison, the chair of BAGS who orchestrated the whole event. A series of reflections on recent history followed. Contributions included a piece on changing UK perceptions of the German economic model over the years by BHC chairman...

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