German-British Ties Good, but Still Faulty

Britain's Queen Elizabeth arrives in Berlin on Tuesday for a three-day visit to three different cities. She will meet with businesspeople, politicians, schoolchildren and be the honorary guest at a concert benefiting the reconstruction of Dresden, a city British bombers flattened in the waning months of WWII.

In an effort to show just how well the two countries understand each other, British officials have been eagerly pointing out that it is the Queen's fourth visit to Germany since the war.

Indeed, Chancellor Gehard Schröder and Prime Minister Tony Blair, both left-of-center leaders, seem to enjoy a good relationship and the two governments have worked closely together on major issues such as the European Union and nuclear proliferation in Iran. Yet when it comes to cultural understanding between the two countries there remain major deficits.

DW-WORLD presents a dossier on why, almost 60 years later, the war continues to cast a shadow over relations between Germans and the British.