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The founders of the Foreign Affairs Association, who all had Bavarian roots, were already working for international peace and understanding, mainly in Berlin, in the days of the Weimar Republic. These efforts proved to be in vain, however, and were brought to an end by the Third Reich. Friedrich von Prittwitz und Gaffron resigned from his post as the ambassador in Washington. Thomas Dehler resigned from his position on the board of the German Democratic Party, and was imprisoned. Waldemar von Knoeringen escaped to exile via Prague. Hilde Heilmann, a niece of Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, and Otto Lenz, were arrested. Otto Schniewind survived internment in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.
Even more determined after these personal experiences and in the wake of the catastrophe of the Second World War, these individuals - von Knoeringen/SPD, von Prittwitz/CSU, Dehler/FDP, Lenz/CDU - founded the Foreign Affairs Association (Gesellschaft für Aussenpolitik) in Munich on June 17, 1948.
In the words of the founders, "... the mission of the Association will be the study of international affairs, and in particular of international law.... (and) the Association will be comprised of personalities with a particularly strong interest in these matters, formed on a strictly non-partisan basis… The Association will make the results of its studies available to the public, thus fostering the idea of international understanding and cooperation."
This mission remains in effect today. To achieve it, the Association is organizing up to 20 discussions, panel and lectures per year. With more than 700 members, it can provide an interesting audience for the invited foreign speakers. The Young Forum, with approximately 100 student members, offers its own special program.
Since it was founded, the Association has received substantial support from the Bavarian state government - with the Minister President serving as the honorary chairman - the German federal government, represented by the Foreign Office, and not least of all from its individual and institutional members.
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