We explain to you what was the Ostpolitik or “eastern policy” and what effects it had on Germany during the Cold War. Also, who was Willy Brandt.
What was Ostpolitik?
Ostpolitik (“Eastern Policy”) was a foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany (or West Germany) implemented by the social democratic politician Willy Brandt, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs (1966-1969) and later Chancellor (1969-1974). ).
The Ostpolitik It was an effort to normalize relations of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with communist Europe, especially with the German Democratic Republic (GDR) or East Germany.
Two key elements of this policy were:
- The abandonment of the Hallstein Doctrine which was named after the German diplomat Walter Hallstein and was applied between 1955 and 1966. This doctrine held that the Federal Republic of Germany was the sole representative of the German people and, therefore, would never establish diplomatic relations with any country that diplomatically recognized Germany. the German Democratic Republic, with the exception of the Soviet Union (USSR). The rejection of this doctrine began to take effect in 1970.
- Recognition of Germany's territorial losses after the Second World War, which meant the acceptance of the Oder-Neisse line as the border between the German Democratic Republic and Poland.
Depending on the Ostpolitikduring the early years of the seventies A series of agreements were signed with the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries, including the German Democratic Republic. This fact It meant the mutual recognition of both German States and the renunciation of the use of force.
Key points
- The Ostpolitik (“Eastern policy”) was the foreign policy applied by the German leader Willy Brandt when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs (1966-1969) and, especially, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (1969-1974).
- It consisted of the detente of relations with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and with the other countries of the communist bloc during the Cold War.
- The result of the Ostpolitik was the signing of treaties and agreements that led to the rejection of the use of force to resolve conflicts and the mutual recognition of the two German republics, admitted to the UN in 1973.
The historical context
When the Second World War (1939-1945) ended, Germany was divided into four occupation zones. corresponding to the four allied powers: the Soviet Union (in the east) and the United States, the United Kingdom and France (in the west).
When the “iron curtain” that characterized the Cold War was consolidated and separated the countries of Western Europe (under the hegemony of the United States) from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (which formed “people's democracies” under the control of the Soviet Union), The Federal Republic of Germany was proclaimed in West Germany. in May 1949. In October of the same year The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was born .
In 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany was internationally recognized as a sovereign nation and was admitted to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). That same year, the Warsaw Pact was created, a military alliance made up of the countries of the Soviet bloc (including the German Democratic Republic). In 1961, the Berlin crisis occurred, which ended with the construction of the Berlin Wall. that separated the eastern and western sectors of the city.
In those years, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany adopted the Hallstein Doctrine, which consisted of denying the legitimacy of the East German government and rejecting diplomatic relations with any country (except the Soviet Union) that recognized the German Democratic Republic.
At the end of the sixties, when there was a period of détente in the Cold War, the German politician and diplomat Willy Brandt (first as Minister of Foreign Affairs and then as Chancellor) proposed a change in the foreign policy of the Federal Republic. from Germany: Ostpolitik.
The agreements and treaties of the Ostpolitik
The Ostpolitik It took shape in a series of agreements and treaties:
- Treaty of Moscow between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Soviet Union (1970): The renunciation of the use of force and the inviolability of existing borders were established.
- Warsaw Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland (1970): the Oder-Neisse line established at the Potsdam Conference (1945) was accepted as the border between the German Democratic Republic and Poland. During his visit to Warsaw, in a symbolic act, Brandt knelt before the monument in memory of the victims of the Jewish ghetto under Nazi occupation.
- Quadripartite agreement on Berlin (1971) : The authority of the four occupying powers (the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union) over Berlin was confirmed and communications between the two parts of the city (West Berlin and East Berlin) were made more flexible.
- Basic Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (1972) : The two German states recognized each other, economic relations and communications improved.
- Admission to the UN of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (1973) : The division of Germany was internationally recognized.
- Treaty of Prague between the Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia (1973) : The Munich Pact of 1938 was annulled, mutual diplomatic recognition was proposed and bilateral relations were improved.
All these agreements and treaties were ratified with the signing of the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference in 1975.
Who was Willy Brandt?
Willy Brandt, whose birth name was Herbert Ernst Frahm, was born in Lübeck (Germany) in 1913, into a family with deep social democratic convictions.
In 1930 He joined the SPD (German Social Democratic Party) and in 1933 fled the Nazi dictatorship. and settled in Norway, where he adopted the name Willy Brandt. Stripped of German nationality by the National Socialist regime in 1938, he collaborated with the resistance against Nazism.
After returning to Germany at the end of World War II, he regained German nationality and became an active member of the SPD. He was mayor of West Berlin from 1957 to 1966 and He gained international fame for his steadfastness during the crisis that led to the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. . He accompanied US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy when he gave his famous speech Ich bin ein Berliner (“I am a Berliner”) in West Berlin in 1963.
Brandt was elected president of the SPD in 1964 and was appointed foreign minister in 1966 in a Christian Democrat-Social Democratic “grand coalition” cabinet. Finally, After winning the elections, he became chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1969.
Despite being a fervent anti-communist, He opted for a realistic stance regarding the communist countries and, especially, the German Democratic Republic. He launched a new foreign policy, known as Ostpolitik (“eastern policy”), which served to reduce tensions in central Europe and led to the signing of various treaties between the Federal Republic of Germany and some countries of the Soviet bloc: Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 .
After it was discovered that a counselor close to him, Günter Guillaume, was a secret agent of the German Democratic Republic, he resigned in 1974. He later presided over the Socialist International and, as a figure of international prestige, contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany .
References
- Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2010). Ostpolitik. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
- Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Willy Brandt. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
- Powaski, R. E. (2000). The Cold War: United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991. Criticism.
- Schulze, H. (2005). Brief history of Germany. Alliance.
