10 Gebote für die deutsch-britische Zusammenarbeit

“I get by with a little help from my friends” or

“We can work it out”

David Marsh Berlin, 12 September 2019

100 year commemorative ceremony 1919-2019

A star rises in Wilmersdorf, 1918

Deutsch-britischer Gipfel: Marlene & The Fab Four, 1963

John Lennon: “I grew up in Hamburg”

Iconic UK-German relationship: Astrid Kirchherr, star photographer

- I - Learn the lessons

of history

‘Yesterday’

I – Learn the lessons of history

“The English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.” - George Bernard Shaw

“ Die Deutschen sind ein spekulatives Volk, Ideologen, Vor-

und Nachdenker, Träumer, die nur in der Vergangenheit und in

der Zukunft leben und keine Gegenwart haben.“

- Heinrich Heine

“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away

Now it looks as though they're here to stay

Oh, I believe in yesterday.”

- II - Keep your feet on

the ground

‘Let it be’

II– Keep your feet on the ground

“Die Kirche im Dorf lassen!”

“Der Ball war drin!“

- Heinrich Lübke, 1966

“Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.”

- III - Practise reciprocity

‘Please please me’

III – Practise reciprocity

“ Was du nicht willst, dass man dir tut, das füg auch keinem andren zu.“ – “Do as you would be done by.“

“I want the Germans to become more assertive – as

long as they always agree with us.“

-- British Foreign Office minister, 1990

“Last night I said these words to my girl:

Please please me, whoa yeah, like I please you.”

- IV - Honour diversity

‘Get back’

IV – Honour diversity

“Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” - Donald Trump, 2019

“ Wir schaffen das!“

- Angela Merkel, 2015

“Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona

For some California grass …

Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged.”

- V- Recognise

complementarity

‘Michelle’

V – Recognise complementarity: Deutscher Michel & John Bull

“Es schlagen nicht nur in Deutschland die zwei Seelen in der

eigenen Brust. Wir Briten stellen die beiden Seiten zur Schau : der

rationale, kühl kalkulierende, ökonomisch denkende Teil unserer

Psychologie sowie das romantische, abenteuerlustige Segment

des nationalen Gehirns.“

“Michelle, ma belle: These are words that go together well

I need to make you see, Oh, what you mean to me

Until I do, I'm hoping you will know what I mean.”

“Hitlers come and go, but Germany and the German people remain.” - Joseph Stalin, 1942

- VI - Tackle misgivings

‘If I fell’

VI – Tackle misgivings

“No one has serious misgivings about present leaders…

but what about 10, 15 or 20 years from now? Could some

of the unhappy characteristics of the past re-emerge?”

- Margaret Thatcher, seminar on Germany, 1990

“If I fell in love with you

Would you promise to be true

And help me understand?”

“Je mehr Rechte Deutschland an die EG überträgt, desto weniger wirklich erscheint das Gespenst eines Vierten Reiches.“ - Helmut Kohl, 1990

- VII - Be patient - then expect things to happen quickly

‘The long and winding road’

VII - Be patient – then expect things to happen quickly

“The long and winding road, that leads to your door

Will never disappear, I've seen that road before

It always leads me here, leads me to your door.”

“A crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” - Rüdiger Dornbusch

“Die Mauer wird in 50 und auch in 100 Jahren noch bestehen bleiben, wenn die dazu vorhandenen Gründe nicht beseitigt werden.“ - Erich Honecker, 1989

- VIII - Show sensitivity

‘She’s leaving home’

VIII – Show sensitivity

“She underestimated the strength of German national feeling.

Helmut Kohl surfed the wave of German nationalism with great

skill, and Margaret Thatcher got left behind.”

- Charles Powell, Thatcher’s foreign policy adviser

“Daddy, our baby's gone.

Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly?

How could she do this to me?"

“Post Brexit a UK-German deal would include free access for their cars and industrial goods, in exchange for a deal on everything else.” - David Davis, British secretary for exiting the EU, 2016

- IX - Seek long-term

solutions

‘We can work it out’

IX – Seek long-term solutions

“Try to see it my way: Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on?

While you see it your way

Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone.

We can work it out. We can work it out.”

“This is not the only Germany that we shall live to see – but we have to consider that at present two or three men have that wonderful, scientific, intelligent, docile, valiant people in their grip.” - Winston Churchill, 1934

“France has a certain hesitancy and caution regarding Germany’s economic strength, as it does not wish to be inundated by German industry. That is the nature of Germany, that is the German reality.” - Charles de Gaulle, 1969

- X - Know where your

interests lie

‘You’ve really got a hold on me’

X – Know where your interests lie

“We have no eternal allies, and we have no permanent enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.” - Lord Palmerston, 1848

“You treat me badly

I love you madly

You've really got a hold on me.”

“Die Deutschen haben keine Eigeninteressen.” - Helmut Kohl, 1989

I

Learn the lessons of history II

Keep your feet on the ground III

Practise reciprocity IV

Honour diversity V

Recognise complementarity

VI

Tackle misgivings

VII

Be patient – then expect things to

happen quickly

VIII

Show sensitivity

IX

Seek long-term solutions

X

Know where your interests lie

The Ten Commandments

Zusammenfassung: We can work it out!