Synopses & Reviews
The question of German unity was the most important and intractable problem to remain unsettled after World War II. W.R. Smyser explores "the German Question" and uses it to illustrate the story of how Germany was divided and then united against a background of global events and a continuing search for stability in an area that has not known it since the age of Charlemagne. Focusing on the personalities who controlled Germany's fate -- FDR, Churchill, Stalin, Kennedy, Brandt, Reagan, Bush, Gorbachev, Kohl and others -- Smyser creates a masterful portrait of a country that has played a pivotal role in the history of the 20th century.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [419]-456) and index.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Bismarck and the German question -- Making peace while making war -- The occupation begins -- Stalin's indecision -- The Berlin airlift -- Political division -- War in Asia, warning in Germany -- The lines harden -- The Berlin ultimatum -- The Wall -- The battle for West Berlin -- De Gaulle moves in -- The poisoned chalice -- D§etente in Moscow -- D§etente in Germany -- Brandt's brief triumph -- Brezhnev alters the bargain -- Moscow under pressure -- Bursting through the Wall -- Putting Germany together again -- The new German question.