Franco-German Society
The German-French Society (DFG) was an association for the renewal and improvement of Franco-German relations in the interwar period. It was founded in 1928 by Otto Grautoff and dissolved in 1934.
history
From a historical perspective, the Franco-German Society was founded in the period after the Locarno Treaties (1925), which left behind a rather positive political climate between the European states. Initially, the publicist and lecturer in art history, Otto Grautoff (1876–1937), wanted to publish a “German-French Review”, which was intended to re-establish relations between the two countries. In 1926 he founded the “Society of the Franco-German Rundschau” for this purpose. Grautoff did not manage to secure the financial means for the project within two years, which is why the company dissolved again.
In 1928 he tried his hand at an association: the Franco-German Society was founded in Berlin. Grautoff wanted to manage to publish the desired magazine through civil society work. The statute of the association of January 12, 1928 says: “The German-French Society eV Berlin wants to raise and deepen the understanding of France in Germany. By taking stock of the French intellectual property, through profound knowledge of our neighbors, she wants to contribute to a relaxation between the two countries and build bridges between France and Germany while preserving the national feeling of the two nations. "
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In addition to the parent company in Berlin, other local groups were founded in many other German cities. The DFG published the German journal for France, organized lectures and events as well as school and student exchanges. The supporters and members of the societies included Thomas Mann , Otto Dix , André Gide , Georges Duhamel , Albert Einstein and Konrad Adenauer .
After the National Socialists came to power, the DFG was broken up in 1934 at the instigation of Otto Abetz , France expert in the Ribbentrop foreign policy department - despite attempts by the French ambassador André François-Poncet to maintain the association. Grautoff had emigrated to France in 1933. A company of the same name, which was newly founded in October 1935 with the managing director Otto Abetz, had nothing in common with the company founded in 1928.
heritage
After the end of the Second World War, the idea of a Franco-German society experienced a renaissance. Numerous companies have been founded throughout Germany through private initiatives supported by French authorities on site or in the vicinity and political officials. By 1951, around 47 DFGs were created in the British and American zones . Particular attention was paid to the re-establishment of the Berlin DFG, the actual successor to the Grautoff association. It was brought back to life on September 8, 1949. The goals and activities remained roughly the same. From 1950 up to and including June 1991 it had its headquarters and an event room in the Maison de France on Kurfürstendamm.
The DFGs today belong to the umbrella organization Association of German-French Societies for Europe .
literature
- Hans Manfred Bock : Otto Grautoff and the Berlin German-French Society , in: Hans Manfred Bock (ed.): French culture in the Berlin of the Weimar Republic. Cultural exchange and diplomatic relations. Tübingen 2005, pp. 69-100.
- Hans Manfred Bock: The German-French Society 1926 to 1934. A contribution to the social history of German-French relations in the interwar period , in: Francia 17/3, 1990, pp. 57-100.
Web links
- Website of the German-French Society Berlin
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bock, 2005: p. 78.
- ^ Website of the DFG Berlin, on the history
- ↑ Speech by VDFG Vice President Dr. M. Mehdorn. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: VDFG. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016 ; accessed on August 28, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Over 80 years of the German-French Society in Berlin - a look back. In: DFG Berlin. Retrieved August 28, 2016 .
