Tim Schmalz

Happy to collaborate with Haus der Geschichte Österreich in Vienna by contributing to their digital museum: Encyclopedia of Contemporary Austrian History! Up first, the 1934 'Austria in London' exhibition, an innovative form of cultural diplomacy as the Nazi threat loomed. hdgoe.at/austria_in_l...

Founded at @cam.ac.uk in 1933 after Nazi decrees that dismissed scholars from their posts on political or antisemitic grounds, the Academic Assistance Council provided humanitarian support to Austrian and German scholars, helping them find refuge in the UK and abroad. hdgoe.at/academic_ass...

It pays to pause and recognise the history around you. ‘Giro’ was the pet dog of Leopold von Hoesch, the German ambassador to London 1932 (that’s pre-Nazis) to 1936. @uk.diplo.de @ghilondon.bsky.social @germanhistsoc.bsky.social

Hoesch was critical of Hitler’s foreign policy and sparked a feud over Germany’s re-militarisation of the Rhineland in March 1936. His untimely death the following month enabled Hitler to appoint a more sympathetic agent - Joachim von Ribbentrop - to London. @uk.diplo.de @germanhistsoc.bsky.social

It pays to pause and recognise the history around you. ‘Giro’ was the pet dog of Leopold von Hoesch, the German ambassador to London 1932 (that’s pre-Nazis) to 1936. @uk.diplo.de @ghilondon.bsky.social @germanhistsoc.bsky.social

It might surprise you to see the swastika flag of the Nazi Party draped over von Hoesch’s casket in 1936 coming on to Pall Mall in central London, but remember that Britain would not go to war with Nazi Germany for over three years. @uk.diplo.de @germanhistsoc.bsky.social @ghilondon.bsky.social

What's the connection between Sir Walford Selby and Bellatrix Lestrange? 🤔 For 2.5 years during my PhD I worked on a riddle that concerns @austriainuk.bsky.social and the British Embassy in Vienna, and resulted in an unexpected link to #HarryPotter! Read on to follow my discovery! 👇

Bonham Carter was a crucial intermediary between Selby & those in London with similar sympathies for beleaguered Austria. She promised Selby that she 'would leave no stone unturned' to help enable him in his mission to protect Austria & used her network to try to rally support. #IfAustriaPerishes

What's the connection between Sir Walford Selby and Bellatrix Lestrange? 🤔 For 2.5 years during my PhD I worked on a riddle that concerns @austriainuk.bsky.social and the British Embassy in Vienna, and resulted in an unexpected link to #HarryPotter! Read on to follow my discovery! 👇

On the top of the backside of one of the letters there was some writing that was written sideways in the upper margin. I tilted my computer screen to read what was scribbled, and there it was at last...Violet Bonham Carter! 🤩 'VBC' wasn't a 'he' - 'VBC' was a *she*! 🤯🙌 #IfAustriaPerishes

What's the connection between Sir Walford Selby and Bellatrix Lestrange? 🤔 For 2.5 years during my PhD I worked on a riddle that concerns @austriainuk.bsky.social and the British Embassy in Vienna, and resulted in an unexpected link to #HarryPotter! Read on to follow my discovery! 👇

'VBC' certainly moved in important circles. In 1 letter alone, 'VBC' mentions having dinner/drinks/parties with 2 Prime Ministers, PUS of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden (who later became PM) & @austriainuk.bsky.social's Baron Franckenstein (the Austrian Ambassador) - who *was* he?!

What's the connection between Sir Walford Selby and Bellatrix Lestrange? 🤔 For 2.5 years during my PhD I worked on a riddle that concerns @austriainuk.bsky.social and the British Embassy in Vienna, and resulted in an unexpected link to #HarryPotter! Read on to follow my discovery! 👇

Early in his tenure in Vienna, Selby struck up a series of correspondence with a mysterious friend, 'VBC', with whom he confided his fears and hopes about Austria's future. Now, 'VBC' is the vital link to 'the boy who lived'. Dozens and dozens of letters were exchanged...but I needed a *name*! 🙃

What's the connection between Sir Walford Selby and Bellatrix Lestrange? 🤔 For 2.5 years during my PhD I worked on a riddle that concerns @austriainuk.bsky.social and the British Embassy in Vienna, and resulted in an unexpected link to #HarryPotter! Read on to follow my discovery! 👇

Fun to contribute thoughts on the history of the Austrian First Republic and its problematic depiction in 'The Sound of Music' to Histoflick, a new @sheffielduni.bsky.social initiative! @botstiberinstitute.bsky.social @cas-umn.bsky.social @ahy-history.bsky.social histoflick.com/2026/06/02/e...

On Thursday, I'm speaking with Robert Lackner of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute (@lbg.ac.at) on Consequences of War about his work on 'Austrian Refugees in the British Army' during the Nazi regime at the Austrian Cultural Forum in London. Read more and register 👇 www.acflondon.org/events/talk-...

Incredibly exciting news out of @bmeia.gv.at! A new research project investigating members of the Austrian Foreign Ministry during the Nazi era, 1938-45, and after. Did they resist, or take up a Nazi commission? Were they persecuted, or persecutors? www.bmeia.gv.at/ministerium/...

As we approach the 90th anniversary of Anschluss in 2028, this is timely work, and an important interrogation into a significant Austrian institution's history - an overdue reckoning with a chequered past. www.diepresse.com/19589983/oes...

My review of 'Sir Orme Sargent and British Policy towards Europe, 1926-1949' by Adam Richardson ( @routledgehistory.bsky.social ) was published by MBHjournal.bsky.social. @mybisa.bsky.social