Anglo-German Fellowship

The Anglo-German Fellowship was a group which existed from 1935 to 1939 and aimed to build up friendship between the United Kingdom and Germany; it was widely perceived as being allied to Nazism. Previous groups in Britain with the same aims had been wound up when Adolf Hitler came to power.

In a 1935 speech the Prince of Wales had called for a closer understanding of Germany in order to safeguard peace in Europe and in response Conservative Party Member of Parliament Sir Thomas Moore, Bt suggested setting up a study group of pro-German MPs. From this idea the AGF was established in September 1935 with Lord Mount Temple as chairman and historian Philip Conwell-Evans and merchant banker Ernest Tennant as secretaries. Tennant was a friend of Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Ambassador to Britain. The group's stated aims were to foster political, professional, commercial and sporting links with Germany although Mount Temple stated publicly that membership of the society did not assume support for Nazism or anti-Semitism.

The organisation was aimed at the influential in society, and the membership was dominated by businessmen keen to promote commercial links. Members included Bank of England director Frank Cyril Tiarks, Admiral Sir Barry Domvile, Prince von Bismarck, Governor of the Bank of England Montagu Norman, Geoffrey Dawson editor of The Times. "Corporate membership" was also available for leading companies who wished to show their support for co-operation with Germany and this was taken out by such leading organisations as Price Waterhouse, Unilever, Dunlop Rubber, Thomas Cook & Son, the Midland Bank and Lazard Brothers amongst others.

...
Wikipedia