## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 01/07/2024 Period start date To 30/06/2025**
## **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 £34/year for general
membership and £4/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,
language training, 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, EDI 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 small 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 2024, the Society’s annual conference was held at
Loughborough University from 4–6 September. The
conference included around 65 participants (speakers,
chairs,
discussants)
from
across
the
globe,
representing
researchers
at
all
levels
from
postgraduates and early career researchers to
established senior scholars. Plenary keynote lectures
were given by professors Lyndal Roper (University of
Oxford), Paul Nolte (FU Berlin), and James Brophy
(University of Delaware).
Members and non-members alike were able to attend
the conference and broaden their knowledge of
German history and culture.
**Other Events**
On 4 September 2024, prior to the GHS annual
conference, a workshop was held for Postgraduates
and Early Career Researchers on effective grant-
writing and submitting publications – this was well-
attended.
The GHS also provided support through its Impact and
Outreach grant to fund the planning of a digital
exhibition on Britain's response to the persecution of
Jews under Nazism. Additionally,_Tanks on the Streets:_
_The Uprising of 17 June 1953 in East Germany_, a free
exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of the
first Cold War uprising in Germany, was presented at
the University of Chester. Some films and artworks
were also shown at the Storyhouse Cultural Centre in
Chester during the summer of 2023.|
## **Membership**
In May 2025, the Society had 180 members (98 waged and 82 unwaged). The high number of unwaged members suggests that the Society is accessible to them. The expanded use of multiple social media channels has played a significant role in this achievement.
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 to the internationally-acclaimed journal _German History_ , which is published four times a year on behalf of the Society by Oxford University Press.
## **Grants**
|Grant applications in most areas are high, which is|
|---|
|encouraging. The decision to extend the definition of|
|early career researchers from two to five years—|
|reflecting
the
increasing
challenges
faced
by|
|postgraduates and ECRs—has been well received,|
|enabling more precariously placed or early-stage|
|scholars to undertake more ambitious work.|
|For a full financial breakdown of expenditure on grants|
|and bursaries, see the Financial Review section below.|
|**GHS Postgraduate awards 2024–5**|
|Small grants and bursaries:|
|**Small Grants:**|
|£5,084.60 was awarded to 10 applicants in August|
|2024 (x 8 conference attendance, x2 research|
|support)|
|£6,500 was awarded to 5 applicants in January 2025|
|(x 4 workshop/conference organisation, x1 conference|
|travel)|
|£2,450 was awarded to 3 applicants in April 2025 (x1|
|workshop organisation, x 2 conference travel)|
|Up to £1,500 is available to applicants to fund|
|research or conference travel or workshop/conference|
|organisation.|
|**Postgraduate Bursaries:**|
|£11,880 was awarded to 6 applicants in April 2024.|
|Up to £2,500 is available to applicants to fund|
|---|
|language courses, archive study trips, fees or general|
|maintenance.|
|**Hardship Funding:**|
|£500 was awarded to 1 applicant in August 2024.|
|Applications are offered for up to three grants of up to|
|£500 each annually to support historians who are|
|experiencing difficulties in carrying out their research|
|owing to unexpected financial hardship.|
|**GHS – DAAD Language Grant:**|
|€850 was awarded, divided between the GHS and|
|DAAD, to 1 applicant in April 2025 to attend a German|
|language course.|
|**Exhibition and OutreachFunding Scheme**|
|The existing Exhibition Funding Scheme was expanded|
|to include outreach activities and renamed Exhibtion|
|and Outreach Funding Scheme. During this reporting|
|period, £6,452 was awarded and disbursed.|
|To highlight these initiatives at the annual conference,|
|a dedicated panel for awardees was introduced. The|
|application process has also been moved to a rolling|
|basis to accommodate projects that do not align with|
|the previous fixed April deadline.|
|Funding supported the launch of_The Wandering Jew_|
|travelling exhibition (Parkes Institute for the Study of|
|Jewish/non-Jewish
Relations,
University
of|
|Southampton), presented during Inter Faith Week as|
|part of a literary, artistic, and historical programme. The|
|exhibition explores how the legend has been|
|reimagined as a vehicle for interfaith tolerance and as|
|a motif of Jewish resilience and cultural richness.|
|Additional funding was awarded for A Place of Refuge,|
|a portable exhibition on Jewish refugee academics who|
|fled Nazi Germany and later built scholarly careers at|
|the University of Southampton. It was displayed at the|
|university’s annual Hands-on Humanities Day in|
|autumn 2024.|
|Further support was granted to Mercy Squad, a|
|cooperative, in-person educational game to be|
|implemented at New College Lanarkshire, Scotland.|
|Aimed at Scottish Highers students—and suitable for|
|A-level students across the UK—it examines the roles|
|of perpetrators and rescuers in the Third Reich.|
**Prizes**
GHS Postgraduate Essay prize
|The GHS Postgraduate Essay Prize recognises|
|---|
|outstanding research by postgraduate students in the|
|field of German history and 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.|
|In 2025, the prize was advertised through a range of|
|academic channels, and six submissions were|
|received. Following review of the submissions, first|
|prize was awarded to Anja Segmüller (University of|
|Cambridge)
for
‘Body,
Art,
Collective:|
|Künstlerinnengruppe Erfurt and Feminist Performance|
|Art in the GDR and Beyond’, and second prize to Emma|
|Paterson (University of Cambridge) for ‘German-|
|Jewish Family History Research, c.1900–1945’.|
|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. Runner-up prizes of £100 each may|
|also be offered at the judges’ discretion.|
|The prizes were awarded as follows:|
|1stPrize: Alexander Beard, ‘‘Migration according to|
|plan’: A cultural history of Vietnamese contract labour|
|in East Germany, 1980-1990.’|
|Runner-Up: Eleanor Vincent, ‘Representations of the|
|body in the works of Mechthild of Magdeburg and|
|Gertrude of Helfta, c. 1250-1302.’ (University of|
|Cambridge)|
|With the aim of making their research more accessible|
|to a wider public and enhancing these students’|
|visibility, we have reinvigorated the blog section of our|
|website, where awardees contribute a post.|
|Rethinking German History Prize|
|The German History Society launched a new prize to|
|recognise critical interventions in debates on gender,|
|minorities, migration, ethnicity, and equality, as well as|
|transnational and comparative history. The prize|
|welcomes work engaging with critical race studies,|
|LGBTQ+ and queer studies, and disability studies, in|
|relation to any aspect of the history of Germany and the|
|German-speaking world in its broadest global context.|
|The first_Rethinking German History Prize_, worth £500,|
|was awarded to Miguel Gaete Cáceres for ‘A New|
|Moral World Order: Carl Alexander Simon and the|
|German Colonization of Southern Chile’ which was|
published in the Society’s journal _German History_ in December 2024. _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 was Joachim C Häberlen, whose article ‘“Democracy at Play: Adventure Playgrounds in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1967–1984’ and will be published at the end of 2025.
|**Journal**|
|---|
|The journal continues to receive a steady flow of|
|submissions, largely from early-career scholars based|
|in the UK, the US and Germany, though regular|
|contributions from further afield attest to its global|
|reach. During this reporting period, a special issue on|
|_Anglo-German_
_Empire_
_between_
_Nationalist_|
|_Antagonism and Transimperial Cooperation, 1895–_|
|_1925_was published, alongside another titled_Houses of_|
|_Worship in Times of War_. Further special issues are in|
|the pipeline, spanning a wide chronological range from|
|early modern to contemporary history. Publication slots|
|are currently filled until early 2027.|
|While most submissions come from early-career|
|scholars, there is also a consistent stream of articles|
|from more senior academics. In terms of subject matter,|
|submissions cover the full sweep of German history,|
|from the early Middle Ages to the present. The journal|
|thus continues to fulfil its aim of serving as a leading|
|English-language forum for German history and of|
|maintaining a strong international reputation, including|
|within the German-speaking world.|
|**Book Series**|
|The German History Society has 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 long-|
|standing mission to promote the best scholarship in the|
|broad field of German historyand 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. The series has now published a total of fifteen books, including one that appeared during the reporting period: _Emergency Powers and the Home Fronts in Britain and Germany during the First World War_ by André Keil, published in April 2025. At the time of reporting, three additional books had been accepted and were in the pipeline. Our contract with OUP commits us to publishing between two and four books per calendar year. The editorial board changed during this reporting period to bring in new perspectives and give space to new voices, contributing to the renewal of the field, supporting the aims of the series, and extending knowledge of German history. **Outreach** Caroline Sharples has been continuing work on our two main outreach projects, both of which are ongoing. 1. Glimpses of German History: Filming was completed for a second series of short films by GHS members, each focusing on a specific object from German history and aimed at an audience of secondary school students and their teachers. The film series continues to cover a wide chronology (medieval, early modern, modern) of German history topics, and showcases a rich array of artefacts. The most recent videos, for instance, encompasses the reliquary of St Oswald, stained glass windows, a samovar and a denazification questionnaire. In the process, the GHS continues to forge collaborative relationships with museums, archives and other educational institutions who make it possible for us to
film within their collections. The new series will be launched on the GHS website and YouTube channel in September 2025. 2. The Creative Research Competition: This is a competition for secondary school students in the UK and Ireland, designed to foster interest in German history, language and culture and linked closely to the Glimpses of German History film series. This year, after consultation with several school teachers, it was decided to delay the opening of the competition until the start of the new school year (September 2025). This enables schools to have a longer lead-in time for planning their responses, and potentially organise related talks and workshops with GHS members. Participants are invited to submit a creative research project inspired by themes from our film series. The winner receives £250, with an additional £250 awarded to their school to support the teaching of German history. We continue to encourage collaboration between GHS members and the Wiener Holocaust Library in London to run talks and workshops for students and teachers, and we are discussing similar opportunities for collaboration on school events with the Association for German Studies.
## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Achievements against
objectives set Para 1.41
Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set Para 1.41
**----- End of picture text -----**
|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|We continue to experience the longer impact
of the pandemic. Some projects, conferences,
postgraduate research plans involving travel,
as well as the language courses that we
support had been postponed, cancelled, or
took place online, and we continued to support
these projects if applicants wished to see the
money transferred into a new financial cycle.
We are proactively seeking to spend our
reserves and have this year (2023/24)
increased the value of the postgraduate
bursaries we dispense from £2,000 to £2,500
and significantly expanded the eligibility
criterion from within 2 years of passing the
PhD to within 5 years. We fund a very high
proportion of the applications for funding we
receive and continue to explore how to
increase the future volume of 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
clauses 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.|
||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
Other
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **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 Professor Mark Hewitson (GHS Chair)
European and International Social and Political Studies,
University College London,
Gower Street,
London WC1E 6BT|
|||
## **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)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Mark Hewitson**|Chair|||
||**Marina Perez de**
**Arcos**|Secretary|||
||**Craig Griffiths**|Treasurer|||
||**Emily Steinhauer**|German Historical Institute
Representative|||
||**Edmund**
**Wareham**
**Watnitzek**|Postgraduate Officer|||
||**Anna Ross**|Journal Editor|||
||**Benjamin**
**Ziemann**|Journal Editor|||
||**Tim Grady**|Book Series Editor|||
||**Bridget Heal**|Book Series Editor|||
||**Caroline Sharples**|Schools and Outreach Officer|||
||**Joseph Cronin**|Postgraduate Prize Officer|||
||**Róisín Watson**|Undergraduate Prize|||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
– 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)**
|**Type of**|**Name**|**Address**|
|---|---|---|
|**adviser**|||
**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**|||
|---|---|---|
||Marina Pérez de Arcos|Mark Hewitson|
||
Secretary|Chair|
||28 April 2026||
||28 April 2026||