The Embassy of Germany in London is the diplomatic mission of Germany in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located at Belgrave Square, in Belgravia. 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 Hans Wesemann (27 November 1895, Nienburg on the Weser – 23 October 1971, Caracas) was a German journalist and Gestapo agent. Early life Wesemann was born into the family of Fritz Wesemann and his wife Margarethe Hars. He lived with them and hi ...

's 1936 trial over the kidnapping of pacifist writer

Berthold Jacob Berthold Jacob (12 December 1898 in Berlin – 26 February 1944 in Berlin) was a German journalist and pacifist during the Interwar period. Biography Jacob was born into a Jewish family in Berlin, on 12 December 1898, the son of art salesman an ...

from Basel, Switzerland, Wesemann admitted that the German Embassy in London had been used as a base for the activities of the Gestapo, the Nazi 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 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.

Post World War II

After World War II Prussia House was requisitioned as enemy property, furniture and the works of art were sold in separate auctions. The Federal Republic of Germany moved its consulate and diplomatic operations to Belgrave Square, still operating as a consulate general. 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 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 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 London Germany Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Germany–United Kingdom relations Belgravia