Exile Governments, Academics, and Activists in the Capital of Free Europe, 1940–1945
As I delved into my doctoral project, I found myself frequently reflecting on the influence of London and its exilic infrastructure on shaping my research pursuits. While my conclusions continue to evolve, I have...
Examining financial and economic experts during the London Moment, as I intend to do in my dissertation project , is a challenging endeavor. During the time in exile, numerous working groups, committees, and panels...
In March 2023, I had the fantastic opportunity to spend a month conducting archival research in London with a scholarship from the German Historical Institute. As a follow-up to this research stay, I wrote...
Printing several tonnes of paper money in British exile, storing it there temporarily and shipping it back home after the end of the war – this may seem very bizarre at first. On closer...
With “mon cher ami” Paul van Zeeland, Belgian foreign politician, began a letter to the Polish political advisor Józef Retinger in 1946, in which he proposed an initial meeting to establish an association for...
by Finlay McCracken One of our goals of the London Moment project is to observe the interactions between various governments groups (governments-in-exile, academics, activists, and others) cooperating in London during the Second World War. ...
During the “London Moment”, the central banks of the occupied countries were essential[1]: on one hand, they helped the national governments-in-exile to achieve financial security, on the other, they facilitated the exchange of knowledge...
I am a PhD student at the Institute for Franconian Regional History at the Universities of Bamberg and Bayreuth and a member of the research project “The London Moment”. After completing my Bachelor’s degree...
Thanking his voters in a tweet on the night of his re-election on December 12, 2019, Boris Johnson hailed the United Kingdom as “the greatest democracy in the world”.[1] In a similar vein, the...
The Anglo-Czechoslovak relationship stretches through centuries of religious, institutional and personal connections. Its ties could have been in a scope similar to those Britain built with France, Germany or the Netherlands, but were impeded...
Opening Scene: A heated debate is raging in the British Parliament: Clement Attlee, head of the opposition Labour Party, explains to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain what he thinks of his appeasement policy and explains his condition for a coalition government: His condition is called Winston Churchill. (Not Lord Halifax, as favoured by the Conservatives.) Thus, Churchill is present in the film before he even appears for the first time.
From 1940 onwards, European exiles increasingly populated London. The general attitude towards them changed quickly: After fearing a wave of penniless migrants, the British public slowly warmed to those European exiles who made it...
On Whitehall in Westminster, London’s government district, the cenotaph commemorates the British soldiers killed in the First World War. Until today, it is at the centre of Remembrance Day service, taking place on the...
Christmas in London still exemplifies the experience of European governments-in-exile in London: Since 1947, every year, the large Christmas tree on Trafalgar Square is presented to the people of London by the city of...
In 1944, the Polish Home Army rose up against the German occupant, trying to liberate the Polish capital before the approaching Soviet forces reached the city. The Warsaw Uprising was tragically and cruelly crushed...
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"Capital of Europe" is a blog following the Freigeist research project "The London Moment. Transnational Collaboration of Governments-in-exile during the Second World War and its Impact on European History". The project, coordinated by Dr. Julia Eichenberg, the Principle Investigator, is based at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and funded by the Volkswagen-Stiftung.
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