It is hard to imagine now, but Germany and Iran were once surprisingly close. A master poet, a German "Lawrence of Arabia," and an empress all played pivotal roles in this shared history, which spans from cultural exchanges to complex diplomatic ties.
Germany and Iran have been connected since long before either country took its modern form. Initially, their ties were predominantly cultural, with official diplomatic relations established later. In 1814, at age 65, German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe read a translation of the "Divan of Hafez" by the Persian poet and mystic Hafez and was captivated, seeing a kindred spirit. In 1819, Goethe published his "West-Eastern Divan," exploring themes of love, human conflict, the transience of life, and advocating for cultural openness and mutual understanding between East and West.
In ancient times, Persia was a vast empire, but over centuries it lost its dominant position. In the 19th century, the British and Russian Empires vied for influence in Asia in "The Great Game," with Persia becoming a pawn. Under the Qajar dynasty, the Persian court sought closer ties with European royal houses to break free from British and Russian influence. In 1857, Persia and the Kingdom of Prussia signed their first official trade and friendship agreement.
In 1873, Persian ruler Naser al-Din Shah became the first Middle Eastern monarch to visit Europe. In Berlin, he was received by Emperor Wilhelm I and noted in his travel diary the emperor's industriousness. However, Naser al-Din Shah was also active, pursuing reforms in Persia and strengthening political and economic ties with the newly unified German Empire. In 1885, Germany opened its first diplomatic mission in Persia.
During World War I, German diplomat Wilhelm Wassmuss, sometimes called the "German Lawrence of Arabia," supported Persian resistance against the British. In 1915, he and his allies seized the British consulate in Bushehr, but the mission failed against advancing British troops. After the war, Wassmuss returned to Germany, haunted by memories of Persia, and attempted to establish a farm in Bushehr to compensate his former comrades, but the venture failed.
In 1925, Reza Shah Pahlavi came to power in Persia, launching a modernization program. He sought technical expertise and industrial models from Europe, particularly Germany. German firms, including Junkers, contributed to early aviation development, and German engineers participated in constructing sections of the Trans-Iranian Railway. In 1929, Persia and the Weimar Republic signed a friendship and commercial treaty.
Reza Shah maintained economic ties with Germany after the Nazis came to power in 1933. In 1935, he officially requested the country be referred to as "Iran." During World War II, Iran declared neutrality, but British and Soviet troops occupied the country in 1941, forcing the pro-German Reza Shah to abdicate. His son, Mohammed Reza Shah, took the throne and cooperated with the Allies.
Post-war, economic ties intensified: German companies built factories, hospitals, and roads in Iran. In 1966, an arms agreement was signed, and in 1974, construction began on the Bushehr nuclear power plant with German involvement. In 1951, the Shah of Iran married Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, daughter of an Iranian diplomat and a German mother. The marriage ended in divorce in 1958 due to her inability to have children, fueling intense tabloid coverage in Germany and straining bilateral relations.
The Shah's visit to Germany in 1967 marked a turning point, as he was met not with jubilation but with vehement protests by Iranian students and expatriates against political repression and human rights abuses in Iran. After the Shah's fall in 1979, many Western countries distanced themselves from the new Islamic Republic, but West Germany pursued a policy of dialogue. In 1984, Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher became the first high-ranking Western politician to visit the new government, though political tensions and human rights violations ultimately ended the once-close partnership.
Source: www.dw.com