Synopses & Reviews
Recent studies of the Cold War transcend a narrow focus on four decades of superpower rivalry, recognizing that leaders and governments outside of Washington and Moscow also exerted political, economic, and moral influence well beyond their own borders. One striking example was the Ostpolitik of Chancellor Willy Brandt, which not only redefined Germany's relation with its Nazi past but also altered the global environment of the Cold War. This book examines the years 1969-1974, when Brandt broke the Cold War stalemate in Europe by assuming responsibility for the crimes of the Third Reich and by formally renouncing several major West German claims, while also launching an assertive policy toward his Communist neighbors and conducting a deft balancing act between East and West. Not everyone then, or now, applauds the ethos and practice of Ostpolitik, but no one can deny its impact on German, European, and world history.
Review
"Given the already existing literature on the origins, implementation, and goals of West Germany's Ostpolitik, the editors focus on the question of how Western allies of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), adversaries from the Warsaw Pact, and governments around the world reacted to it." -Gottfried Niedhart, H-Diplo
Review
"...the editors and contributors have produced a fine collection, one that breaks new ground on some questions and sheds light on others with innovative theses that will require further discussion." -Jost Duelffer, H-German
Review
"This is a valuable book. Its chapters are based on new archival materials in many cases (particularly in the former Communist bloc), and all are in touch with the latest published work. For anyone interested in how the Cold War began to end, this book is essential reading."
The Russian Review, Keith Neilson, Royal Military College of Canada
Synopsis
This book examines the Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik and its global impact in the years 1969-1974.
Synopsis
The Ostpolitik of Chancellor Willy Brandt not only redefined Germany's relation with its Nazi past but also altered the global environment of the Cold War. This book examines the years 1969-1974, when Brandt broke the Cold War stalemate in Europe with the practice of Ostpolitik, with significant impact on world history.
Table of Contents
Part I. Adversaries and Allies: 1. Dealing with Bonn: Leonid Brezhnev and the Soviet response to West German Ostpolitik Andrey Edemskiy; 2. Ostpolitik and Poland Krzysztof Ruchniewicz; 3. The difficult path to the establishment of relations between Czechoslovakia and West Germany Oldrich Tuma; 4. To grin and bear it: the Nixon administration and Ostpolitik Holger Klitzing; 5. Chancellor Brandt's Ostpolitik, France, and the Soviet Union Marie-Pierre Rey; Part II. Global Responses: 6. Ostpolitik, 'Fernostpolitik', and Sino-Soviet rivalry: China and the two Germanys Bernd Schaefer; 7. West German Ostpolitik and Korean South-North relations Meung-Hoan Noh; 8. India and Ostpolitik Amit Das Gupta; 9. Ostpolitik and West German-Israeli relations Carole Fink; 10. Ostpolitik and the relations between West Germany and South Africa Tilman Dedering; 11. 'You have the political prestige and we the material opportunity': Tito and Brandt and Toto between Ostpolitik and non-alignment Milan Kosanovic; 12. Abstinence and Ostpolitik: Brandt's government and the nuclear question William Glenn Gray; 13. Conclusion Bernd Schaefer and Carole Fink.