What's left of German London?

The German Gymnasium

One of the nicest aspects of my job is that it often involves breaking bread with people. Publishing, broadcasting and even journalism are remarkably old-school fields that employ many people who’d rather invite you for coffee or a meal to discuss a project than have a video call or an office meeting.

Another great thing is that being German is one of those nationalities about which nobody feels awkward. People feel free to banter you about it, and they love taking you to German (or Austrian) bars or restaurants for meetings. That’s how I know a fair few of them by now in London.

I’ve discussed tunnels under the Berlin Wall over schitzel and cucumber salad at The Delaunay near Covent Garden. I’ve talked about Second World War oral history at the Munich Cricket Club near Victoria Station. I’ve sat in a completely deserted Bermondsey Bierkeller to sketch out an article on German current affairs with the editor. And the Goethe Institute often invites people involved in their events around to Stein's Berlin next door, which does a great Apfelstrudel.

As of this Monday, I can add a new venue to my German culinary map of London. This time, I was invited to the German Gymnasium at King’s Cross to discuss my upcoming book WEIMAR (out in May next year, more soon!). Naturally, I arrived earlier than everyone else – stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason – which gave me time to have a good look around. From the outside, the place looked interesting enough: yellow brick, large, elaborate windows, a round tower around the back. But it was the inside that was truly impressive.

Now run as a Grand Café, the cavernous space has a huge, open ceiling supported by massive wood trusses. “Was this actually once a gym?” I wondered, having never been there before. I sat down, ordered a Metropolis cocktail (named after the 1927 film by Franz Lang) and waited for my companions.

As I’ve found out since, the building was indeed opened as a German sports hall in 1865. It was also the first purpose-built sports facility of its kind in England. Gymnastics was big in the German-speaking areas of Europe at the time and closely intertwined with liberal nationalism as well as the workers’ movements. So, it doesn’t surprise me that Germans built gymnasiums wherever they went. What did surprise me was finding out how large the German community was in London in the 19th century.

Back of the German Gymnasium. Img: Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0

I had an inkling that there must have been a few. Famously, Karl Marx spent the last 34 years of his life in London, having been exiled from 1849. I knew there was a network into which he was quickly integrated, but I had never really thought about why that was. When he first arrived, he stayed at the “German Hotel” near Leicester Square, just as other exiles did during the revolution that swept across central Europe.

Plaque for Karl Marx in London. Img: John Yugin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Approximately 1,000 German refugees arrived in London at that time. Some of these exiles were waiting for ships to take them to America, but others, like Marx, stayed. There was a German Workers’ Educational Society, which met at the Red Lion pub at 20 Great Windmill Street, also the home of the local branch of the Communist League.

Not all the Germans in London were radical thinkers. There were several vast waves of emigration out of the German-speaking lands in the 19th century, making Germans one of the largest immigrant groups to the United States at the time, but large numbers also found a home in London. They settled right into the existing social divisions of the town: Jews and poorer Germans in the East End, wealthier ones in the West End. Strong hubs began to emerge in Soho, Whitechapel, Clerkenwell, Islington and St. Pancras.

The German Hospital, Dalston, London, 1864. Img: Wellcome Collection, ICV No 13702

A German Hospital was established in Dalston, which offered free and German-speaking treatment to newcomers. German societies, churches, schools, newspapers, and clubs were set up. However, on the whole, 19th-century Germans were eager to integrate and became involved in existing communities, where their skills were often appreciated, particularly in fields such as baking, carpentry, or architecture.

The German Gymnasium is a prime example of this blend of retaining one’s culture while contributing to the community. While serving as a sports centre, it also brought a bit of the German obsession with physical fitness, discipline, and community spirit to London.

The architecture itself was ahead of its time, with a striking iron roof and a layout that made it ideal for gymnastics, fencing, and even concerts and social gatherings. Appreciating the unique venue, the British National Olympian Association began to use it, and it became one of the settings for the first ever games in 1866.

I suspect the reason I didn’t know any of this is that the thriving German-London community took a serious hit during the First World War. As people began to call their German Shepherd Dogs “Alsatians” and the Royal Family decided “Windsor” was a better name than “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha”, German London, too, fell out of fashion. Many German-run businesses changed their names or closed, and families that had lived in London for generations suddenly found themselves viewed with suspicion.

Sports at the German Gymnasium came to an end, and the building was used for other purposes. Staff at the German Hospital were interned during the Second World War, after which the place was integrated into the NHS before being closed altogether. Arguably as a legacy of the terrible 20th century, today’s Germans in London live largely under the radar, despite being a larger group than many people realise. According to the 2021 census, over 250,000 German-born people live in England. I would imagine a sizeable number of them in London.

There is a British-German Association, a German School, the Goethe Institute and various clubs. I’ve given a talk to the German Circle at the National Liberal Club before, and you can find such sub-sections in other institutions as well, but you have to look for them.

German networks are more obvious in clusters where many expats live, like Richmond, for instance, where the school is. When I meet newcomers at the German Embassy, they often laugh and say they moved to Richmond because it was easiest, since there is a ready-made community there. German London still exists in some form, but I doubt that you’ll see something as loud, big and beautiful as the German Gymnasium built anytime soon.

Now that I know that there is a hidden German London, I shall take a closer look on future visits to the city and think of my many ancestors who came here and liked what they found just as I have.