What is meant by Ostpolitik?
[ German awst-paw-li-teek ] SHOW IPA. / German ˈɔst pɔ lɪˌtik / PHONETIC RESPELLING. noun. the German policy toward the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, especially the expansionist views of Hitler in the 1930s and the normalization program of the West German government in the 1960s and 1970s.
What was the purpose of Ostpolitik?
Ostpolitik was a political and diplomatic policy of West Germany (which, at that time, was a state independent of East Germany) towards Eastern Europe and the USSR, which sought closer ties (economic and political) between the two and recognition of the current boundaries (including the German Democratic Republic as a …
What was the impact of Ostpolitik?
Ostpolitik, pursued and conducted by the Federal Republic from 1969 to 1990 was instrumental in ending the Cold War and eventually in achieving German unification in October 1990.
How did Ostpolitik help détente?
In the late 1960s European countries took a role in promoting the idea of détente. West Germany under Willy Brandt developed Ostpolitik (Eastern Policy). This encouraged greater cooperation and communication through the Iron Curtain. Ostpolitik led to warmer relations between many Eastern and Western countries.
What caused the two Germanys to reunify?
The Peaceful Revolution, a series of protests by East Germans, led to the GDR’s first free elections on 18 March 1990 and to the negotiations between the GDR and FRG that culminated in a Unification Treaty.
What year was Ostpolitik?
1969
Neue Ostpolitik (German for “new eastern policy”), or Ostpolitik for short, was the normalization of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, or West Germany) and Eastern Europe, particularly the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) beginning in 1969.
When did Germany reunify a country?
3 October 1990
With the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, Berlin was reinstated as the capital city of united Germany and the Länder of the former German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany in its membership of NATO.
Who started Ostpolitik?
Willy Brandt
Initiated by Willy Brandt as foreign minister and then chancellor, the policy was one of détente with Soviet-bloc countries, recognizing the East German government and expanding commercial relations with other Soviet-bloc countries.