Wilton Park
Wilton Park
7 May, 2025
News

Steyning's Wilton Park at 80: rebuilding from the rubble of war

Karl Freudenstein was still at high school in Germany when people around the world celebrated victory in Europe. Five years later, he travelled to England to report on some of the earliest Wilton Park sessions, aimed at educating European citizens on the British way of life and democracy. Now in his nineties, he shared his story and reflected on the lessons of World War 2 we must not forget.

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As crowds celebrated VE Day in 1945, the idea for Steyning's Wilton Park was already taking shape.

Amid the post-war destruction that engulfed Europe, Wilton Park’s founder Heinz Koeppler, along with British planners and other German Social Democrats in exile, was considering how Germany could be rebuilt – not just physically but in the minds of a people who had been living under a fascist regime and absorbing its propaganda for years.

An image of early Wilton Park participant Karl Freudenstein, from his 1950 travel permit
An image of early Wilton Park participant Karl Freudenstein, from his 1950 travel permit Credit: Wilton Park

Next year, in January 2026, Wilton Park will also celebrate its 80th anniversary. The very first sessions, aimed at re-educating and rehabilitating German prisoners of war, took place in Beaconsfield in 1946.

Wiston House today
Wiston House today Credit: Wilton Park

The programme opened to the public from 1948 and its organisers set out to find people who would be suitable to attend the sessions.

In 1950 a young man from Germany, Karl Freudenstein, was invited to attend Wilton Park and write a report on the programmes to help inform the selection of future participants.

Pages from the travel document issued to Karl Freudenstein in 1950, allowing him to travel from Germany to the UK.
Pages from the travel document issued to Karl Freudenstein in 1950, allowing him to travel from Germany to the UK. Credit: Wilton Park

Karl jumped at the chance to travel to England and learn more about Wilton Park.

Now in his nineties, Karl got in touch with us to share his story of attending those historic first sessions. Follow the link to listen to him tell that story in his own words:  Wilton Park at 80: rebuilding from the rubble of war - Wilton Park

A group photo of attendees at the first Wilton Park session held at Wiston House, in 1951
A group photo of attendees at the first Wilton Park session held at Wiston House, in 1951 Credit: Wilton Park

Wilton Park, now an executive agency of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, brings together experts and policy-makers to engage in genuine dialogue with a network of diverse voices, in order to to address the most pressing challenges of our time.

A female participant stands to speak at a Wilton Park event
A female participant stands to speak at a Wilton Park event Credit: Wilton Park

Find out more: Home - Wilton Park

Participants at a recent Wilton Park event
Participants at a recent Wilton Park event Credit: Wilton Park