The Embassy of Germany in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

is located at

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces fo ...

, in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a danger ...

. It occupies three of the original terraced houses in Belgrave Square and a late 20th-century extension.

History

The Prussian Consul-General was housed at 9 Carlton House Terrace in the so-called ''Prussia House''. During Hans Wesemann's 1936 trial over the kidnapping of pacifist writer Berthold Jacob from

Basel, Switzerland , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...

, Wesemann admitted that the German Embassy in London had been used as a base for the activities of the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

, the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

secret State police. In 1937, Ambassador

Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...

hosted 1,000 people, including

Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince George, Duke of Kent, (George Edward Alexander Edmund; 20 December 1902 – 25 August 1942) was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and Geo ...

and his wife, Maria, Duchess of Kent, at the reopening of the Embassy at Carlton House Terrace which had undergone a £100,000 renovation. In September 1939, the German Embassy burned its files following the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Post World War II

After

Prussia House was requisitioned as enemy property, furniture and the works of art were sold in separate auctions. The

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

moved its consulate and diplomatic operations to Belgrave Square, still operating as a

consulate general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

. The consulate became a fully functional embassy in June 1951, the FRG leasing the building for 99 years in 1953. In the 1960s, the West German Embassy was the site of Jewish War veterans who were protesting signs in Germany of a revival of anti-Semitism. In the 1970s, office space in the embassy was tight so an extension was erected at

Chesham Place Chesham Place is a street in Belgravia, London UK, running between Belgrave Square and Pont Street. It is home to several embassies and has had many distinguished residents. It was first laid out in 1831, and includes a number of listed building ...

, inaugurated in 1978. It won the

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

prize for architecture. In 1990, after

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

embassy building at 34 Belgrave Square became part of the German embassy.

List of German ambassadors to the United Kingdom

Gallery

File:Plaque of German foreign missions.svg, Coat of Arms of German Foreign Missions File:Embassy of Germany in London 2.jpg, The embassy seen from Chesham Place File:German Embassy London.jpg, The Residence at Belgrave Square File:DtBotschaftGB.jpg, The Chancery around the corner on Chesham Place

References

External links

Official site

German Foreign Office
{{Diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom

Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Germany–United Kingdom relations Belgravia