2021-06-30-accounts - The German History Society

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

Trustees’ Annual Report for the period

From 01/07/2020 Period start date To 30/06/2021

Charity name: The German History Society

Charity registration number: 1182341

Objectives and Activities

	SORP reference
Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document	Para 1.17	The German History Society (“the Society”) 1. Objects The Objects of the Society are, for the public benefit in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland: 1.1 To advance education in, and promote the study of, German history, including the history of German-speaking lands, in particular but not exclusively by: 1.1.1 Organising public conferences, lectures and events on topics relating to German history; 1.1.2 Creating and fostering links between academics, students, scholarly bodies and other individuals and organisations engaged with or interested in German history; 1.1.3 Producing and disseminating publications, online resources and other media to provide information relating to the subject and study of German history; and 1.1.4 Providing grants and bursaries for study or research into German history, and awarding prizes for exceptional academic work relating to German history, in particular but not exclusively to students and early career scholars. 1.2 Nothing in this Constitution shall authorise an application of the property of the Society for purposes which are not charitable in accordance with section 7 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005

		and section 2 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.
Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts.	Para 1.17 and 1.19	The Society promotes learning in the history of Germany and the German-speaking world. It does this, broadly, through events, publication/dissemination of print and online information, awarding grants for study/research and fostering a network of academics, students and other individuals and organisations interested in the discipline. The Society exists to benefit the public at large and many benefits are accessible to all. However, the Society encourages those with an interest in German history to become members and membership confers additional benefits. Membership is easy to obtain and affordable: the cost is £25/year for general membership and £8/year for student membership, which is a lower fee than that charged by many other membership organisations. Members of the Society can access various benefits, which are designed to promote their learning, including automatic subscription to the Society's own journal, eligibility to apply for bursaries/grants and free attendance at the Society’s annual conference and various other events. The Society’s journal,German History, includes articles/research and other information relevant the field and represents an excellent educational resource. In addition, the Society’s website includes a comprehensive list of links to relevant study and research resources, to assist students, scholars and other interested parties to develop their learning in the area. The Society’s annual conference and other events provide a platform for leading speakers in German history to showcase their work and educate attendees. These events also facilitate networking between those working, studying or interested in the discipline, thereby providing opportunities to advance education through the sharing of knowledge and ideas. Bursaries and grants allow students and early career scholars to fund items that otherwise may have been unaffordable to them, including study fees, research trips, attending or putting on conferences/events, amongst other things. These awards therefore broaden access to the field and promote learning. The Society also awards various prizes for outstanding work in the field of German history, including a postgraduate essay prize and undergraduate dissertation prize, which are open to students at UK and Irish universities, and a prize for the best article published each year in_German_ _History_journal. The Society exists to advance education in the history of Germany and the German-speaking world and is

		committed to activities that enable the public at large to become engaged in this discipline. Non-members can subscribe to the German History journal and attend the Society’s annual conference and other events, subject to payment of a fee. Therefore, many of the benefits enjoyed by members are available more widely at cost, and therefore contribute to the Society’s aims of advancing education in German history for the benefit of the public at large. Furthermore, membership of the Society is open to any person who is studying, teaching or researching German history, or who supports the aims of the Society or is simply interested in the topic. There is no limit on membership numbers. Therefore although members gain benefits by virtue of their membership, anyone with an interest in the area can become a member and therefore enjoy these benefits.
Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit	Para 1.18	The trustees, in making decisions, have had due regard to the commission's public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

SORP reference Para 1.38 Policy on grant making Para 1.38 Policy on social investment including program related investment Para 1.38 Contribution made by volunteers

Other

Achievements and Performance

	SORP reference
Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole.	Para 1.20		Annual Conference In 2020, the Society’s annual conference was held online from 2-3 September. The conference included around 50 participants (speakers, chairs, discussants) from across the globe,representing researchers at all levels from postgraduates and early career researchers to established senior scholars. Due to the virtual format, plenary lectures were not held this year. Members and non-members alike were able to attend the conference and broaden their knowledge of German history and culture. Other Events Virtual Book Launch An online book launch took place on August 25 2020 for the recently published_Furnace and Fugue: A_ Digital Edition of Michael Maier's "Atalanta fugiens" (1618) with Scholarly Commentary. This open-acess digital book was co-edited by Donna Bilak and Tara Nummedal, and was published with the University of Virginia Press as part of their Studies in Early Modern German History series. Webinar for Sixth Form Teachers: 82nd Anniversary of Kristallnacht, 9 November 2020 The GHS, in conjunction with The Wiener Holocaust Library, hosted a webinar to mark the 82nd anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom in Germany. This event was aimed at Sixth Form History teachers and participation was free for all registrants. This webinar worked with eye-witness testimonies held in The Wiener Holocaust Library, to offer both a commemoration of the Kristallnacht event and an opportunity to discuss how such sources might be used in A-level and equivalent teaching. The webinar was well attended by teachers from English and Scottish schools.

Membership In May 2021, the Society had 220 members (148 waged, 72 unwaged). The Society’s expanded use of social media had an appreciable impact in this regard. Members of the Society are able to attend the annual conference without paying a fee, and are eligible for the Society’s prizes, grants, and bursaries. Membership of the Society also includes a subscription at significantly discounted rates to the internationally-acclaimed journal German History , which is published four times a year on behalf of the Society by Oxford University Press. Grants The Society received a smaller number of applications than usual for its grants and bursary schemes, given the disruption to research and travel due to COVID. The pandemic had a deleterious impact upon applicants’ ability to take up language study grants, and also affected applications to the postgraduate grant schemes in general. For a full financial breakdown of expenditure on grants and bursaries, see the Financial Review section below. GHS Postgraduate awards 2020 GHS/DAAD language course awards (850 Euro each, paid half by GHS, half by DAAD): Normally students attend language courses over the summer months (often linking their courses to research trips). However, disruption caused by COVID-19 in 2020-21 meant that most courses had been cancelled/put online/rescheduled to a later date.. The awards made in 2019-20 had been postponed, and one new application was received and awarded. Small research grants (of up to £1000 each): Two applications had been received and awarded. Major Bursaries (£2000 each) We had 8 applications and made 4 awards. Exhibition Funding Scheme – Roland Clark and Tim Grady’s exhibition “This Fascist Life: European Fascist Movements, 1918-1939” was awarded £1,850. Conference funding scheme – no awards were made this year, due to the pandemic.

Prizes RHS/GHS Postgraduate Essay prize The German History Society awards a prize of £500 to the winner of this annual essay competition. In addition, the essays are considered for publication in German History journal. The winner of the 2020 Postgraduate Essay Prize offered jointly by The German History Society and The Royal Historical Society was Anna Parker (Cambridge) for her work entitled ‘Fashionable Men at the Court and in the City of Renaissance Prague’. The Society was also able to award a runner-up prize. The recipient of this prize was Annalisa Martin (Birkbeck). GHS Undergraduate Essay Prize The German History Society offers an annual prize of £300 for the best undergraduate dissertation on German History written by a student of history (single or joint honours, or in a cognate discipline) at a UK or Irish university. The prizes were awarded to: Wilhelm Emmrich (University of Cambridge), 'German Memory Politics and the 2016 Parliamentary Resolution on the Armenian Genocide' and Adam Millward (University of Kent), 'A Critical Review of the Contemporary Legacy of National Socialist German Language'. German History Article Prize Each year German History 's editorial board awards a prize on the behalf of The German History Society for the best article published in the journal. The prize is intended to showcase outstanding work from scholars of German history whatever their career stage, and the winner is invited to receive their award at the annual meeting of the German History Society in September. The prize is worth £500, with an additional £250 of books provided by OUP. Oxford Journals makes the prize-winning articles freely available online. The winner of the prize in 2020 was Oliver Volckart, whose article ‘The Dear Old Holy Roman Realm, How Does it Hold Together?’ Monetary Policies, Crosscutting Cleavages and Political Cohesion in the Age of Reformation’, was published in German History 38(3), September 2020, pp. 365-86.

Journal

The journal continues to experience a strong flow of submissions, largely from scholars based in the UK, US and Germany, although the regular submission of articles from further afield attests to the journal’s global reach. Three special issues were in development, one each on early modern, modern and contemporary history, covering a diverse range of topics. Publication slots are currently filled until summer 2023. The majority of articles submitted are by early-career scholars but there is also a regular flow of submissions by more senior scholars. In terms of subjects, the articles submitted cover the full range of German history from the early Middle Ages to the present. The journal thus continues to fulfil its mission to be the pre-eminent English-language journal for German history and to command respect throughout the world, including the German-speaking lands. Book Series

During this period, The German History Society established its own book series, Studies in German History, in collaboration with its long-standing publishing partner Oxford University Press. The series reflects the German History Society’s longstanding mission to promote the best scholarship in the broad field of German history, and seeks to build on the innovative directions established by the Society’s journal in recent years. Taking an open, expansive view of what German History is and where that history has been played out, it envisions a broad chronological and geographic scope that encompasses topics from the medieval period to the present day; it seeks to go beyond the traditional confines of German history by adopting a comparative approach or exploring themes that entwine the history of the German-speaking lands with that of other parts of the world; it aims to solicit titles that are intellectually ambitious, whether in their engagement with novel paradigms or their use of concepts and methods from other disciplines; and it seeks to publish work that reaches a readership beyond immediate specialists in a particular field. Above all, it seeks to publish work that engages with historical questions of wider relevance across German and other histories. This has been an excellent year for the series, which is now fully established, with a total of seven books having appeared by the end of the reporting period. Since the last report four further books have been published:

Craig Griffiths (Manchester Metropolitan), The Ambivalence of Gay Liberation. Male Homosexual Politics in 1970s West Germany (February 2021) Jamie Page (Durham) Prostitution and Subjectivity in Late Medieval Germany (April 2021) Jean-Michel Johnston (Cambridge) Networks of Modernity: Germany in The Age of the Telegraph, 1830-1880 (May 2021) Martin Christ (Erfurt), Biographies of a Reformation. Religious Change and Confessional Co-Existence (May 2021) We remain pleased with the distribution of topics, periods, and sub-disciplines. In keeping with the ethos of the GHS, these are widely distributed across all fields from medieval to modern. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the flow of proposals and manuscripts has slowed slightly over period concerned. Equally understandably, it has taken longer to solicit readers’ reports in many instances. Another book is scheduled for late 2021. We currently have one further book under contract which is likely to appear in the next 12 months, but expect the flow to pick up again a little after that as the pandemic eases. Since our arrangement with OUP is to publish 2-4 books a year we do not see this as a problem. During the reporting year Professor Bridget Heal (St Andrews) replaced Professor Len Scales (Durham) on as series co-editor. Outreach In April 2020-April 2021 the then Outreach Officer, Matthew Stibbe, arranged more of the HA podcasts with colleagues mentioned in the previous report. For examples, see https://germanhistorysociety.org/resources/. He and Stefan Manz, his equivalent in the UK-based Association of German Studies, made contact with colleagues from the US-based Association of German Studies who were putting together a new website of resources for German history and cultural studies – the German Studies Collaboratory – in order to discuss common interest. Manz and Stibbe subsequently wrote a blog for the German Studies Collaboratory: see ‘German Studies and the Challenge of Outreach to Schools and School Teachers: A UK Perspective’, 20 November 2020, - https://germanstudiescollaboratory.com/german studies-and-the-challenge-of-outreach-to-schools-andschool-teachers-a-uk-perspective/.

Finally, also in November 2020, to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht , Stibbe and then then Secretary of the GHS, Paul Moore, ran an online seminar-cum-commemorative event aimed at school teachers, in collaboration with the Wiener Library London. Around twenty-five teachers attended, including five from Scotland. The four papers (three by members of the GHS, one from a colleague at the Wiener Library pointing to its new resources) was followed by a two-way discussion between the organisers and the teachers on the challenges of delivering German history and Holocaust teaching within the current A-level curriculum in England and its equivalent in Scotland.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

Achievements against objectives set	Para 1.41
Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set	Para 1.41
Investment performance against objectives	Para 1.41
Other

Financial Review

Financial Review
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period	Para 1.21	Please find the detailed end of year financial statement on the following pages.
Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held	Para 1.22	This is due to the impact of the pandemic. Some projects, conferences, postgraduate research plans involving travel, as well as the language courses that we support were postponed, cancelled, or took place online. We had earmarked the difference from previous year’s spendings for projects carried into the future, as well as for future applications, last year. In comparison to last year, we spent £8,126 more – which shows that the impact of the pandemic gets smaller. We continue to financially support projects carried on due to the impact of the pandemic, as well as future applications.
Amount of reserves held	Para 1.22	See attached report.
Reasons for holding zero reserves	Para 1.22	N/A
Details of fund materially in deficit	Para 1.24	N/A
Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern	Para 1.23	N/A

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:


The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising)	Para 1.47
Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted	Para 1.46

A description of the principal risks facing the charity Para 1.46 Other

Structure, Governance and Management

Description of charity’s trusts:
Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter)	Para 1.25	Constitution
How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO)	Para 1.25	Learned Society
Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees	Para 1.25	2. Appointment of Trustees 2.1 For the purposes of this clause, a “year” shall mean a complete period of service between two AGMs. 2.2 The Trustees in office on the date of adoption of this Constitution shall remain in post until the expiry of their term of office as determined under the previous constitution (adopted on 1 September 2017), after which the provisions of this Constitution shall apply. 2.3 Officerships 2.3.1 The Members at AGM shall elect individuals to the Fixed Officerships and Further Officerships described in clausesError! Reference source not found. and Error! Reference source not found.of the Constitution each for a non-renewable term of three years. 2.3.2 After expiry of this three-year term, the Fixed Officerships and Further Officerships shall retire from these positions and shall not be eligible for re- election to them, provided that they shall be eligible for election to other Officerships or otherwise as Trustees, subject to the time limits on Trustee service under sub- clause 2.6. 2.3.3 The terms of office of the Chairperson and the

	Secretary shall not normally
	be co-terminous.
2.4	Ex-officio trustees
	2.4.1 The Editors of the GHS
	Journal and the Series
	Editors of Studies in German
	History for the time being
	(“the Ex-Officio Trustees”)
	shall automatically, by virtue
	of holding those offices, be
	trustees.
	2.4.2 If unwilling to act as a trustee,
	an Ex-Officio Trustee may:
	(a) before accepting
	appointment as a
	Trustee, give notice in
	writing to the Trustees
	of his or her
	unwillingness to act in
	that capacity; or
	(b) after accepting
	appointment as a
	Trustee, resign under
	the provisions
	contained in
	Constitution sub-
	clause Error!
	Reference source
	not found..
	2.4.3 The office of that Ex-Officio
	Trustee will then remain
	vacant until the office holder
	ceases to hold office.
2.5	If there are more
	applications/nominations for the role
	of Trustee than there are vacant
	Trustee positions, the Secretary shall
	prepare ballot papers for secret
	elections at the AGM and shall act as
	returning officer for the elections.
	Each Member returning a ballot
	paper at the AGM shall have as many
	votes as there are vacancies.
2.6	Except for the Ex-Officio Trustees, no
	Trustee shall serve for a period of
	more than nine years except where
	the Trustees determine that
	exceptional circumstances apply.
	Service accrued prior to the adoption
	of this Constitution shall not count for
	the purposes of this sub-clause 2.6.

2.7	The Trustees and the Members shall
	have regard to maintaining broad
	representation of the various
	chronological periods of German
	history in electing Trustees to the
	Committee.
2.8	Every Trustee after appointment or
	reappointment must sign a
	declaration of willingness to act as a
	charity trustee of the Society before
	he or she may act as a Trustee.
2.9	A technical defect in the appointment
	of a Trustee of which the Trustees are
	unaware at the time does not
	invalidate decisions taken at a
	meeting.

Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:

----- Start of picture text -----
Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction
and training of trustees Para 1.51
The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the Para 1.51
charity works
Relationship with any related
parties Para 1.51
----- End of picture text -----

Other

Reference and Administrative details

Charity name	The German History Society
Other name the charity uses	N/A
Registered charity number	1182341
Charity’s principal address	c/o Dr. Helen Roche (GHS Secretary) Department of History Durham University 43 North Bailey Durham DH1 3EX

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any)
	Karin Friedrich	Chair
	Helen Roche	Secretary
	Stefan Hanss	Treasurer
	Sina Steglich	German Historical Institute Representative
	Kat Hill	Postgraduate Officer
	Nicholas Stargardt	Journal Editor
	Joachim Whaley	Journal Editor
	Neil Gregor	Book Series Editor
	Bridget Heal	Book Series Editor
	Jeff Bowersox	Schools and Outreach Officer
	Mark Jones
	Laura Kounine

– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved

Director name

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity

Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year

Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others

Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets

Additional information (optional)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)	Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of adviser Name Address




Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Exemptions from disclosure

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details

Other optional information

Declarations

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Date
	Helen Barbara Elizabeth Roche	Karin Friedrich
	Secretary	Chair
	25thApril 2022
	25thApril 2022

GERMAN HISTORY SOCIETY

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2021

PEACOCK ACCOUNTANCY 233 REGUS HOUSE HERONSWAY CHESTER BUSINESS PARK CHESTER CH4 9QR

GERMAN HISTORY SOCIETY

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2021

INCOME Main funding subscriptions & royalties Oxford University Press German History Journal grants Oxford University Press GHS/DAAD language grants Miscellaneous receipt Bank interest EXPENDITURE Annual conference & AGM Graduate Assistance Scheme Post graduate bursaries - Major Post graduate bursaries - Small GHIL lecture GHS/DAAD language stipends Essay prizes Conference funding Exhibition funding Journal costs Admininstration Committee travelling expenses Website & domain costs Professional fees Accountancy fee bank charges Misc expenses Profit before tax Corporation Tax 30/06/2021 (DEFICIT)/ SURLPUS FOR THE YEAR		2021
	- 1,268 - 540 -

GERMAN HISTORY SOCIETY

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30TH JUNE 2021

£ 165,544 1,593 10,768 2	£ 126,628 5,680 13,214 2	£ 145,521 3,622 020
3,083 539 -	3,083 539 -
127,691 - 31,485	104,985 - 22,706
		141,899
		127,691 14,208
14,208 899	12,655 1,553

		141,899

I have prepared, without audit, the foregoing accounts from the books and records of the Society and from the information and explanations given to me. In my opinion they give a true and fair view of the Societys affairs at 30th June 2021

Peacock Accountancy