#DonnerstagDelights: At our Literary Connections event in Oxford last week, we saw a whole array of fascinating books and pieces collected by the Taylor Institution Library and Bodleian Library - including this original menu of the Deutsche Wohltätigkeits-Gesellschaft’s 92nd Anniversary in 1910!

#WordyWednesday: this week’s German word is ‘veilchen’. It’s an endearing name for a lovely spring flower that is popping up all over Germany and Britain at the moment! ‘Das Vielchen’ is also the title of a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, famously then later set to music by Mozart in 1785 🎶

Join us this Thursday for our online event: "A New World Order". Prof. Richard G. Whitman, an expert in International Relations at the University of Kent, will be in conversation with Evie Aspinall, Director of the British Foreign Policy Group. (1/3)

#FunFactFriday: you can look right into a 1920s Frankfurt kitchen in East London! At the V&A East Storehouse you can imagine what it would have been like using one of Margarete Schütte-Lihotzsky’s fitted kitchens from 1926. It’s worth visiting to see the gadgets that made this kitchen a revelation.

Join us for our Spring Stammtisch at the Munich Cricket Club, Victoria from 6:30pm on 21st April! It’s a great evening to meet like-minded people and chat about all things German. (1/2)

This week’s #WordyWednesday is ‘Marienkäfer’! Known as ladybird in English, the German name gives a nod to ‘die Jungfrau Maria’, also known as the Virgin Mary or Lady Mary. They are also a symbol of luck in the country! Next time you see one on your spring walk, think of it as a good luck charm…

#FunFactFriday: Germany is one of Europe’s most forested countries, with roughly 11.4 million hectares! In a 2021 study by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) it was found that over 90% of Germans spend time in these forests on a regular basis. (1/2)

#WordyWednesday: In 🇬🇧 we talk about April’s (typically rainy) weather as a blessing in disguise, helping along the beautiful May flowers soon to bloom! And in Germany, they really highlight the unexpected weather that the month entails, translating to “April, April, it does whatever it wants”. 🌦️

Join us on 17 April at 3pm for a rare behind-the-scenes journey into Oxford’s German literary heritage! Explore remarkable collections at the Taylor Institution Library and the Bodleian Library, and uncover the deep cultural exchange between Britain and the German-speaking world.

Frohe Ostern! The BGA team wants to wish you all a very happy Easter weekend 🐰

We would love for you to join us, and become a part of our dynamic Association! Head on over to our website to find out more: www.britishgermanassociation.org

📚 Two German authors have been shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize. Shida Bazyar's 'The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran' was translated from German by Ruth Martin. 'The Director' by Daniel Kehlmann (translated by Ross Benjamin) marks his second time to be shortlisted.

We’re very excited to announce that our new free Associate membership is live! Exclusively for teachers and students of German, you’ll have access to our free online events with UK-German experts from the worlds of business, culture, and academia. (1/3)

Interested in our Public Policy role? Easter Monday 6th April is the deadline! It's an exciting opportunity to become the BGA’s source of expertise on bilateral policy issues, to convene expert roundtable discussions, and to represent the Association on bilateral bodies. (1/2)

As we are now deep into March, let’s have a look at some hare-themed German phrases for this week’s #WordyWednesday! There seems to be a great variety of sayings that all touch on different situations. Do you have a particular favourite, or maybe even some more that you may know?

For this week’s #TwinningTuesday, we’re putting a spotlight on an exciting joint concert between Luton Choral Society and Bergisch Gladbach’s KonzertChor, coming up on 18th April! (1/3)

Spring has sprung in Germany just in time for this week's spring equinox. 🌸

Make sure not to miss an exciting production of Tamerlano, part of the London Handel Festival next Friday. For BGA members, the evening offers an exclusive area of the bar to gather during the interval and opportunity to meet a member of the opera’s creative team. (1/2)

⚽ The new away kit for the 🇩🇪 men’s national team has been revealed ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It is the team's first-ever navy blue jersey. The home kit, unveiled last year, draws inspiration from the 1994 design, worn when the USA hosted the World Cup for the first time.

#WordyWednesday: with spring underway, a familiar little flower is popping up everywhere: the daisy! In German, the most common word for it is Gänseblümchen... a “little goose flower.” This endearing name likely comes from the way these flowers grow in meadows where geese graze.

This Thursday, we are delighted to partner with the @lbilondon.bsky.social on an event on Kindertransport in British Memory and Culture. The online event will be chaired by Dr Joseph Cronin with speakers Dr Amy Williams, Dr Monja Stahlberger and Howard Falksohn. (1/3)

The Bundestag’s ratification of the Kensington Treaty happened last week! Signed in July 2025, the treaty aims to boost cooperation on security, defence, economic growth, climate, tech, and more. It also proposes restoring visa-free travel for school groups to make student exchanges easier. 🇩🇪🤝🇬🇧

This week’s #WordyWednesday: a great word that perfectly captures that moment when the ideal joke or comeback finally pops into your head, but only when it’s far too late to use it. You can even picture it: you're on your way out down the stairs, and only then does that line come to you!

#WhyLearnGerman? Because you can study a language with a unique letter that no other language uses: the ‘ß’! It’s called the Eszett (and pronounced like 'ss'), and it’s one of the coolest quirks of the German language. It’s seen in words like 'Straße' (street) and 'Spaß' (fun).

The Winter Paralympic Games are starting today in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Around 665 athletes will be competing for 79 medals in 6 disciplines. A total of 40 athletes and eight guides will represent 🇩🇪. Viel Erfolg, Team Germany!

The Leo Baeck Institute London and the British-German Association are pleased to invite you to KINDERTRANSPORT IN BRITISH MEMORY AND CULTURE: A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION Please join us online only on Thursday, 19 March 2026, 7.00 – 8.00 PM (GMT) Book now: www.lbilondon.ac.uk/kindertransp...

Our Regions, Partnerships and Schools Read, Rafe Courage, welcomed the UK Parliamentary Group from North Rhine-Westphalia’s Landtag to London this week. Great discussions on NRW’s upcoming 80th anniversary, UK-German educational exchanges, and the future of town twinning. 🇩🇪🤝🇬🇧 @uk.diplo.de

The ground-breaking 🇩🇪🇬🇧 #KensingtonTreaty is a key contribution towards security & prosperity in Europe, while also fostering people-to-people exchanges. 🇩🇪 Bundestag approved the law on the friendship treaty with a big majority today. More important than ever to stand together.

A nod to St David’s Day! We’re celebrating one of the first true signs that spring has sprung: the daffodil. In true German style, daffodil becomes a wonderfully descriptive compound noun - Osterglocke. Literally ‘Easter’ and ‘bell’. It captures both the flower’s shape and the season it ‘rings’ in!

The German History Society is proud to release the call for papers for our 2026 Annual Conference, held this year at the University of Stirling! The deadline for papers is the 14 April 2026. For more information check our website here: www.germanhistorysociety.org/conference/

#FunFactFriday: Bread is so beloved and important in Germany, that it was included in the UNESCO list of the world’s most ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’? According to the German Institute for Bread there are now over 3200 different types! Do you have a particular favourite?

Spring is in the air, so why not add a bit of Lüften into your routine? The German habit of opening windows for 5-15min daily helps replace stale air, prevent mould, and boost wellbeing. It’s done year-round, without fail. Try it in your ‘spring clean’ routine! 💨

The 2nd 🇩🇪🇬🇧 podium for Skeleton this past week! What a moment. If you missed it, it’s well worth a watch to catch the wonderful support and sportsmanship between the national teams. It’s been an exciting #WinterOlympics for both teams this year. Any moments that’ve stayed with you?

#WordyWednesday: Celebrating #LunarNewYear and Year of the Horse with some horse-themed German sayings 🐴🏮 We have ‘hold your horses’ and ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’ - but German horse idioms often paint very different pictures! Know any other German horse-themed sayings?

Last week, our Edinburgh Rep, Ross McEwen, spoke on behalf of the BGA at the Cross Party Group on Germany at the Scottish Parliament. After giving an insight into BGA's aims and ambitions, an encouraging discussion followed on German language learning and UK-German twinning in Scotland. (1/2)

Germany’s ‘fifth season’ celebrations are underway! #Karneval parades jam-packed with colourful outfits, masks and music will take centre-stage in many German cities and towns in the next few days. Have you got any fond memories of #Karneval celebrations? We’d love to hear about them!

Following on from our post about ‘Glückspilz’, we’re highlighting some more luck-themed expressions in German for this week’s #WordyWednesday! Are there any other German expressions or symbols associated with luck you know of, that mirror or differ from British culture?

#WhyLearnGerman? To appreciate the unique ways the language and culture expresses luck! In German, a lucky person might be called a ‘Glückspilz’, or lucky mushroom. It reflects how luck has found them as quickly as mushrooms appear from the ground. It’s even inspired this sweet garden decoration!

#FunFactFriday 🚂 Did you know Hamburg is home to the world’s largest model railway? Miniatur Wunderland recreates global scenes in stunning miniature detail, with over 15.4km of track! It’s consistently one of Germany’s top tourist attractions. #visitgermany #miniaturwunderland #hamburg

#WordyWednesday: Managed to find a recent bargain? Instead of using the typical English sayings like ‘for a song’, ‘for peanuts’ or ‘as cheap as chips’, why not mix it up and use the German equivalents? Funnily enough, they also have links to food…

Our U35 event, co-organised with Chatham House’s QEII Academy! We were honoured to have Jill Gallard, former UK Ambassador to Germany, speak on diplomacy held at Deutsche Bank’s London HQ. Thank you to our attendees, Deutsche Bank and of course Jill Gallard for an exciting and inspiring evening! 🇩🇪🇬🇧

#FunFactFriday: Germany is home to the world's narrowest street! The almost 300-year old street in Reutlingen is a popular tourist attraction... Spreuerhofstraße is in fact only 31cm at its narrowest, narrowly (pun intended) beating Parliament Street in Exeter for the Guinness World Record!

This week’s #WordyWednesday is embracing the wintry feel... Have you heard of “Schnee von Gestern”? It’s a great way to say that something is old news. It can even be used in a way that matches the English saying ‘water under the bridge’, depending on the context of conversation! #ShoutOutForGerman

Happy #ShoutOutForGerman week! Learning #German has lots of benefits, it’s fun and not as hard as some may think: theconversation.com/learning-ger... @uk.theconversation.com @goethe-institut-uk.bsky.social @daad-uk-ireland.bsky.social @uk.diplo.de @ags-gbi.bsky.social @britgerassoc.bsky.social

Thank you Deutsches Institut für Gutes Leben, Dr Rob Keeling, Dr Jurgen Grotz & Prof Bryony Hoskins for a great collaboration 🙌 The BGA was delighted to join this event at the RSA on citizen education, democracy & the future of volunteering.

#WordyWednesday: we’re diving back into German’s amazing one-worders! There’s something special about capturing a fleeting feeling into a single word, and German really does it best. What word mash-up would you create as an English equivalent?

#FunFactFriday: 🇩🇪 has more zoos than any other country in Europe, and is 2nd 🌍. Berlin Zoo even welcomed 3.85m visitors in 2023, and was interestingly inspired by London’s Zoological Garden before opening in 1844. Have you managed to visit? And do you remember the iconic polar bear, Knut? 🐻‍❄️

#WordyWednesday 🥣 German has a great phrase for “to beat around the bush”: um den heißen Brei herumreden, literally meaning “to talk around the hot porridge.” Same meaning but with a nice wintry feel to it!

Watching Dinner for One: “the same procedure every year!”🍾 This 🇬🇧 sketch has become a NYE's tradition in 🇩🇪 - up to half of the population tune in each year. It’s usually shown without subtitles, relying purely on its physical comedy. Some fans even recreate Sophie’s meal!👇

A lively and fulfilling year for the BGA, marked by inspiring events, thoughtful discussions, and meaningful connections. From panels to cultural gatherings, we brought people together to strengthen 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 ties. Grateful to our members and partners for their support.