by Eve Mason (English and Modern Languages – German, 2017) and Marte van der Graaf (Modern Languages – German, 2017)
Marte and I graduated from Queen’s in 2021, having both studied German there, and both of our career paths have taken us to Berlin — one of us an environmental lobbyist for greener technology within the aviation sector, the other working in a German literary agency on fiction and film rights. For both of us, Oxford usually feels like a world away, a very specific time in our life that no other place is similar to. Receiving the invitation for a Queen’s alumni event in Berlin was a real surprise and we didn’t know what to expect.
We all gathered at the Ambassador’s Residence in the Grunewald on 24 April 2025 — a beautiful area on the outskirts of Berlin surrounded by lakes — and I was immediately struck by how varied the guests were. I knew that Queen’s has always had a very strong connection with Germany, but had forgotten how many German students have attended Queen’s over the years who would be attending. I had assumed most people there would have studied languages, but of course German students drawn to Queen’s had read all manner of subjects — one of the most memorable conversations of the evening was with a man who had studied Zoology at Queen’s in the 1980s, and gone on to spend 12 years living in the Serengeti studying the matriarchal social systems of hyenas and their sexual dynamics. He also remarked on the high quality of the vegetarian menu we were treated to compared to the difficulties of being vegetarian in Oxford in the 1980s!
The evening started with a panel on Germany’s current moment of unprecedented political change. Professor Karen Leeder, currently an Einstein Visiting Fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin, deftly moderated a conversation between current HM Ambassador to Germany, Andrew Mitchell (Modern Languages, 1986), former ambassador and Queen’s Honorary Fellow Sir Paul Lever (Literae Humaniores, 1962), and the well-known journalist and public commentator John Kampfner (Modern History and Russian, 1981), also author of seven books, including Why the Germans Do it Better.
The panellists were all in agreement that Friedrich Merz and his new government face momentous challenges. Perhaps the most discussed one was the rise of the AfD (Germany’s far right party, recently classified as a right wing extremist party by German intelligence), especially in the most recent elections. The panellists encouraged a lively debate by asking those in the room to raise their hands if they believed Germany’s mainstream parties should continue to uphold their ‘firewall’, which prevents cooperation with the far right. The panellists also highlighted that Trump’s presidency presents a fundamental shift to the way in which Germany can approach its foreign policy. With Russia’s military threat looming, Germany faces historical decisions on its security and defence spending.
It was hard to stay optimistic in a conversation recognising the sheer magnitude of these upheavals and the difficulty Europe faces within these times, but more optimism came later over dinner, as the wide-ranging discussions seemed to demonstrate the great potential of mutual support and cooperation between Britain and Germany post-Brexit. In a conversation with John Kampfner over dinner, he remarked on the number of Brits who call Berlin a home and have found ways to get residency here despite the challenges of Brexit, and only days after the dinner, we read news about the UK and EU moving closer to a deal to allow 12-month work visas for 18- to 30-year olds to travel and work freely within the EU.
The evening ended with an Old Member’s wonderful surprise rendition of a song apparently sung by Queen’s students in the ’70s about burning Florey down. While the alumni that attended may not have studied similar subjects or shared the same politics, we do have one shared experience: the joys of complaining about living in Florey!
A wonderful symposium, framed as it was by an extremely convivial atmosphere and superb setting. The lively, well-informed and constructive way in which the panelists handled the timely topic – each in their own individual way – was highly stimulating and provided much food for thought.
Peter Marsden (Modern Languages – French and German, 1962)
