{"id":3558,"date":"2017-12-14T18:08:23","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T17:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live.debrige.org\/2017\/12\/14\/geschichte-der-deutsch-britischen-gesellschaft\/"},"modified":"2018-03-19T16:08:28","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T15:08:28","slug":"history-of-the-german-british-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/2017\/12\/14\/history-of-the-german-british-society\/","title":{"rendered":"History of the German-British Society"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>The Gesellschaft&#8217;s Founding in Postwar Germany<\/h3>\n<p>The Deutsch-Englische Gesellschaft (German-English Society) was founded in 1949 upon the initiative of Lilo Milchsack and six other dedicated citizens of Dusseldorf. The Gesellschaft&#8217;s aim was to restore good relations with neighbouring peoples, lead Germany back into the circle of western democracies and establish respectful rapport with the former war adversary.<\/p>\n<h3>Other Founding Members<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Theo Albeck (Adult Educator in Dusseldorf)<\/li>\n<li>Anne Franken (School Principal in Dusseldorf)<\/li>\n<li>Prof. Dr Haas (Teacher at the PH (Pedagogical College) Essen)<\/li>\n<li>Prof. Dr Emil Lehnartz (Professor of Medicine in Munster)<\/li>\n<li>Georg Muche (Director of the Art College in Krefeld)<\/li>\n<li>Dr Dietrich Stein (Attorney, Dusseldorf)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>The First K\u00f6nigswinter Conferences<\/h3>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4504\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/2017\/12\/14\/history-of-the-german-british-society\/lilo-milchsack-robert-birl\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Lilo-Milchsack-Robert-Birl.jpg?fit=800%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,586\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Lilo-Milchsack,-Robert-Birl\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Lilo-Milchsack-Robert-Birl.jpg?fit=300%2C220&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Lilo-Milchsack-Robert-Birl.jpg?fit=800%2C586&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-4504\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Lilo-Milchsack-Robert-Birl.jpg?resize=300%2C220&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Lilo Milchsack und Robert Birl\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Lilo-Milchsack-Robert-Birl.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Lilo-Milchsack-Robert-Birl.jpg?resize=300%2C220&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Lilo-Milchsack-Robert-Birl.jpg?resize=768%2C563&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> During the Third Reich the Milchsack Family retreated into so-called &#8220;inner emigration&#8221; which after the war facilitated their establishing good relations with the British Occupation Authorities, especially with Sir Robert Birley, the Military Government&#8217;s Educational Adviser. This good relationship enabled the Milchsacks in 1950 to organise the first German-English Talks in K\u00f6nigswinter. The Military Government helped provide suitable contacts to Members of Parliament, government officials, academics, businesspeople, industrialists and cultural figures.<\/p>\n<p>The K\u00f6nigswinter Conference became an annual event. It first took place in Britain in the 1960s, and since 1975 it is organised on a regular basis alternately in Germany and Britain. It has developed into a high-profile forum for decision-makers from both countries. To this day, the K\u00f6nigswinter Conference is the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft&#8217;s central project. <a href=\"\/en\/2017\/12\/19\/koenigswinter-conferenz\/\">More about the K\u00f6nigswinter Conference.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2689\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/10-jahre-deg.jpg?resize=800%2C576&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/10-jahre-deg.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/10-jahre-deg.jpg?resize=300%2C216&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/10-jahre-deg.jpg?resize=768%2C553&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><br \/>\n<em>By 1959 there were 14 regional branches<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>English Language Lectures in Dusseldorf and Other Cities.<\/h3>\n<p>Another branch of activities developed parallel to the Conference \u2013 organisation of nationwide public lectures and discussions by and with British people as a contribution to promoting German-English understanding in the German population at large. After years of isolation from international influence, Germans had a strong desire for intercultural exchange. As K\u00f6nigswinter Conference themes touched upon international issues of the day they were relevant for many politically interested citizens. A logical extension of the Conference was to invite speakers to lecture on their chosen topics before a wider audience, an invitation which many conference participants gladly accepted.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4508\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/2017\/12\/14\/history-of-the-german-british-society\/08p_dbg_gehoert_grossbritan\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/08p_dbg_gehoert_grossbritan.jpg?fit=500%2C349&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"500,349\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"08p_dbg_gehoert_grossbritan\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/08p_dbg_gehoert_grossbritan.jpg?fit=300%2C209&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/08p_dbg_gehoert_grossbritan.jpg?fit=500%2C349&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/08p_dbg_gehoert_grossbritan.jpg?resize=300%2C209&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"209\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/08p_dbg_gehoert_grossbritan.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/08p_dbg_gehoert_grossbritan.jpg?resize=300%2C209&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> The structures established in Dusseldorf soon found positive feedback in other parts of Germany, too. Many interested Anglophiles were happy to join activities promoting German-English understanding. Under the guidance of the Head Office in Dusseldorf (later located in Bonn, now in Berlin), several regional branches were formed. Today there are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/network\/\">13 networks<\/a> throughout Germany.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years 120 annual events are organised nationwide. In 2001, the members\u2019 assembly passed a resolution to change the original name Deutsch-Englische to Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V. in order to reflect the new political realities of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>On our timeline you can see some important milestones in the history of the German-British Society so far.<br \/>\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-4498\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/zeitleiste-vorschau.jpg?resize=900%2C193&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/zeitleiste-vorschau.jpg?w=1067&amp;ssl=1 1067w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/zeitleiste-vorschau.jpg?resize=300%2C64&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/zeitleiste-vorschau.jpg?resize=768%2C165&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/zeitleiste-vorschau.jpg?resize=1024%2C220&amp;ssl=1 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Please <a href=\"\/en\/publications\/\">click here<\/a> for a list of all speakers since 1949, recent Conference reports and other important documents on the history of the Gesellschaft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Gesellschaft&#8217;s Founding in Postwar Germany The Deutsch-Englische Gesellschaft (German-English Society) was founded in 1949 upon the initiative of Lilo Milchsack and six\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/2017\/12\/14\/history-of-the-german-british-society\/\" class=\"arrow\">Weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[294],"tags":[300],"class_list":["post-3558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-us","tag-history"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.debrige.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/10-jahre-deg.jpg?fit=800%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9sXiX-Vo","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3558"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4551,"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3558\/revisions\/4551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debrige.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}