British-German relations in the twentieth century have been characterized by a remarkable dichotomy of friendship and hostility--even simultaneously. What started as a family affair with Kaiser Wilhelm II, the grandson of Queen Victoria, and his admiration for the British Navy, turned into a struggle for superiority in Europe. After 1945 the British and the Germans became allies, if not friends, again. But, on Germany's reunification, Prime Minister Thatcher warned that history might repeat itself--referring to the creation of the German Reich as the starting-point of the European tragedy. This volume looks at the evolution of British-German relations: the rivalry at sea before World War I, appeasement in the 1930s, the post-World War II period of occupation, and the British attitude toward the reunited Germany.