I‘ve spent this week in London because I am writing a short history of the Anglo-German #Königswinter Conference from 1949-2019. A story of Anglo-German dialogue and reconciliation. To be published&distributed at this year‘s conference in April. Here are a few spoilers.Thread

History of #Königswinter @SMcDonaldFCO @CWilsonFCO @buchsteiner @BGALondon @GregHands @ClaudMajor @NvOndarza @annemcelvoy @annakatrein @NikGowing @GiselaStuart @n_roettgen @KishwerFalkner @tom_nuttall @vickyford @GregClarkMP @SeemaMalhotra1 @simon_green @simon @RobinNiblett

Königswinter was originally conceived by the German private citizen and wife of an industrialist Lilo Milchsack (later made a dame), with the help of Sir Robert Birley, educational advisor to the British Control Commission in Germany after WWII. 1

Milchsack’s motivation: „I blamed my parents in the early 1930s for not taking a more active stand against Hitler. I did not want my own 2 children to ever accuse me of having stood on the sidelines, of not having contributed to the preservation of peace.“ 2

Birley and Milchsack first met in his house in Bielefeld, where he over the weekends often invited Germans known to have opposed the Nazis and/or determined to contribute actively to German democratization. 3

In cooperation with the FO, he facilitated a journey Milchsack made to England in 1948 with 9 other German women, at a time when regular Germans were still not allowed to travel abroad. They stayed in private houses to have a real exchange with English people. 4

Milchsack was overwhelmed by the kindness, sensitivity & tact of her British hosts, so shortly after ww2. „Even though I had personally been opposed to Hitler, I acutely felt the shame attached to my country.“ She was deeply grateful to the British for seeing the distinction. 5

In 1949 Milchsack founded the Deutsch-Englische Gesellschaft, today‘s @debrige_berlin , to promote understanding between the two countries. The first conference with German and British participants took place in 1950. Milchsack and her husband paid for it themselves. 6

Milchsack wanted #Königswinter to be the window through which British elites would see Germany. They should see its dark sides as much as its virtues. She believed appeasement would never have occurred in the 1930s if British elites had been better informed about Hitler. 7

Within 2 years, the conference attracted the interest of elites from the Foreign Service of both countries, businesspeople, journalists and intellectuals. In the late 1960s, the conference was first held in . Since 1974, & have taken turns to host it. 8

Milchsack & her British counterpart, the #Königswinter Steering Committee, created in the 1960s, have fiercely defended the conference‘s independence,as have the people following in her footsteps. The FCO and @AuswaertigesAmt have contributed financially, but only in part. 9

Guests have been invited from across the political spectrum, here a few well-known examples: Richard Crossman, Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins, Edward Heath, Lord Dahrendorf, Marion Dönhoff, Margaret Thatcher, Lord Watson, Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl, Boris Johnson, Dominic Grieve. 10

The whole point of the conference has been to provide an informal forum for open dialogue, without the pressure of having to issue a joint communiqué. People should freely chat under Chatham House rules and get to know each other. 11

This week busy people here in have been extremely generous and welcoming to discuss #Königswinter & share memories at a time when everyone is v.worried about #Brexit complications. It shows how valued the relationship with is in this country, no matter what. Thank you. 12

PS: This is an ongoing research project. If you have Königswinter stories to share, please get in touch. 13. /ends