Dr Peter Speiser
I joined the University of Westminster's History Team in 2006 as a visiting lecturer and became a permanent member of staff in 2013 after teaching at other London higher education institutions. I hold a first-class BA Honours degree in Modern History from the University of Westminster (2005), an MA in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics (2006) and a PhD in History from the University of Westminster (2013). The title of my PhD thesis was 'The British Army of the Rhine and the Germans, 1948-1957'.
My research interests include Anglo-German relations in the nineteenth and twentieth century, the British Army of the Rhine and the history of London.
My research interests include The British Army of the Rhine, Anglo-German political, cultural and social relations since 1945 and the history of London. My most recent publication on the history of London is 'Soho - the Heart of Bohemian London' with British Library Publishing which focuses on the history of the area's people, businesses and entertainment in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with a particular focus on immigration and Soho's nightlife.
My interest in Anglo-German relations focuses particularly on the post-1945 period and the political relations between London and Bonn as well as British media perceptions and cultural representations of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the context of this wider field of research, I have produced a number of publications on the British Army of the Rhine which investigate the professional and personal relations between British service personnel and German authorities and civilians in the post-war period.
My recent research conference papers include:
'Out with the English'? The Germans and the British Army of the Rhine, 1948-1957, History Research Seminar Series, University of Westminster (May 2013)
'Don't mention the war?' - Public opinion and the portrayal of Germany in British films and literature (1948-1957), Institute of Contemporary British History, King's College (November 2015)
'Turning Nazi Enemies into Cold War Partners', Briten in Westfalen Konferenz, Universitaet Paderborn, Germany (March 2017)
'Obstacles to Rapprochement'- British Strategies to improve relations with the German population, Wissenschaftliche Jahrestagung des Brauweiler Kreises, Vogelsang, Germany (March 2018)
'Panzers Welcome'? Britische Reaktionen auf die Schiessuebungen in Wales, 1961, Internationale Tagung Militärgeschichte (ITMG) 2019, Potsdam, Germany (September 2019)
Publications:
Books:
Soho: The Heart of Bohemian London, British Library Publishing, London, 2017.
The British Army of the Rhine: Turning Nazi Enemies into Cold War Partners, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 2016.
Chapters:
'Botschafter in Uniform? Die Beziehungen der Britischen Rheinarmee zur deutschen Zivilbevölkerung 1948–1957', in: Geschichte im Westen 33/2018, Klartext Verlag, Essen.
'The British Army of the Rhine and the Germans in Westphalia (1948-1957). Obstacles to Rapprochement', in: Peter E. Faessler, Andreas Neuwoehner, Florian Staffel (eds.), Briten in Westfalen (1945-2017): Besatzer, Verbuendete, Freunde?, Ferdinand Schoeningh, Paderborn, 2019.
''Panzers Welcome?' Britische Reaktionen auf die Schiessuebungen der Bundeswehr in Wales 1961', in: Joerg Echternkamp, Christoph Nuebel (eds.), Deutsche Militaergeschichte in Europa 1945-1990, Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin, 2022.