Ostpolitik
Berlin served as a political hub for Detente, the lessening of tensions during the war through Ostpolitik, a series of foreign policies created by West German leaders, most notably, West German Chancellor, Willy Brandt. Detente was an important era of the Cold War during the 1970s, after the conflict between the Soviets and Americans came to a stalemate. Willy Brandt, the Chancellor of West Germany during this period argued for this series of policies “to improve relations with East Germany and Eastern Europe” (C. B. Jones, 2004) in the interest of increasing trade and contact between the separate German nations.
Although Ostpolitik refers specifically to the normalisation of relations between East and West Germany, it had wide spread impacts in resolving some tensions, especially across Europe. “Ostpolitik had rid Europe of many of the problems that had contributed to strained relations between East and West” (C. B. Jones, 2004), by essentially increasing contact and exposing the Communist bloc to Western consumerism which was symbolically divided by the Berlin Wall, playing a significant role in improving relations between America and the Soviets in Berlin and Germany. Ostpolitik also had a profound impact on the process of German reunification as a result of “exposure to Western values” which had the potential to have “a long term impact upon Western Europe, and indeed on the Soviet Union itself” which was recognised by Anne Deighton in Foreign Policy Statements of 1968-1975, corroborating with University Scholar, O’Brien who suggests that “the economic superiority of West Germany and the lasting impact of Brandt’s Ostpolitik ensured that there was a significant desire on the part of the majority of East Germans to unite with their Western counterparts” (O’Brien, 2010.).
A significant document from Ostpolitik is the ‘Basic Treaty’ of December 1972, which was created by West Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany to establish better a relationship with its East German neighbour, the German Democratic Republic. This intention is outlined in the first article of the treaty -
“The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall develop normal, good-neighbourly relations with each other on the basis of equal rights.” (Basic Treaty, cited in German History in Documents and Images, online.)
This treaty, signed in East Berlin served as an important policy which guided the wider establishment of Ostpolitik and Detente policies during the 1970’s.
It is popularly regarded that Ostpolitik, the first movement towards Detente and German unification, which originated in Berlin, was the beginning of a global normalisation and lessening of political and ideological tensions, which “ultimately transformed the global environment of the Cold War” (Fink, C, Schaefer, B. 2009.).
Although Ostpolitik refers specifically to the normalisation of relations between East and West Germany, it had wide spread impacts in resolving some tensions, especially across Europe. “Ostpolitik had rid Europe of many of the problems that had contributed to strained relations between East and West” (C. B. Jones, 2004), by essentially increasing contact and exposing the Communist bloc to Western consumerism which was symbolically divided by the Berlin Wall, playing a significant role in improving relations between America and the Soviets in Berlin and Germany. Ostpolitik also had a profound impact on the process of German reunification as a result of “exposure to Western values” which had the potential to have “a long term impact upon Western Europe, and indeed on the Soviet Union itself” which was recognised by Anne Deighton in Foreign Policy Statements of 1968-1975, corroborating with University Scholar, O’Brien who suggests that “the economic superiority of West Germany and the lasting impact of Brandt’s Ostpolitik ensured that there was a significant desire on the part of the majority of East Germans to unite with their Western counterparts” (O’Brien, 2010.).
A significant document from Ostpolitik is the ‘Basic Treaty’ of December 1972, which was created by West Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany to establish better a relationship with its East German neighbour, the German Democratic Republic. This intention is outlined in the first article of the treaty -
“The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall develop normal, good-neighbourly relations with each other on the basis of equal rights.” (Basic Treaty, cited in German History in Documents and Images, online.)
This treaty, signed in East Berlin served as an important policy which guided the wider establishment of Ostpolitik and Detente policies during the 1970’s.
It is popularly regarded that Ostpolitik, the first movement towards Detente and German unification, which originated in Berlin, was the beginning of a global normalisation and lessening of political and ideological tensions, which “ultimately transformed the global environment of the Cold War” (Fink, C, Schaefer, B. 2009.).