In post-war Britain there was a small but highly influential group of historians who excelled as academic teachers and who made significant contributions to British and international learning. These people share one thing in common - they all fled Hitler's evil regime in the 1930s. In these autobiographical essays, historians reflect on their lives, their teaching and research, and their crucial role as brokers between Britain, Germany and Austria.

Peter Alter is Emeritus Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. He is the author of Nationalism (1989) and The German Question and Europe: A History (2000).