Dealing with the Devil: East Germany, Détente, and Ostpolitik, 1969-1973

318 Pages·2001·5.287 MB·English

by  M. E. Sarotte

dealing with the devil
the new cold war history john lewis gaddis, editor
East Germany,
Détente, and
Ostpolitik,
1969–1973
m. e. sarotte
The University of
North Carolina Press dealing
Chapel Hill & London
with the
devil
Frontispiece: Drawing by ∫ 2001 The University of North Carolina Press
Eugène Delacroix, illustration All rights reserved
for Johann Wolfgang von Manufactured in the United States of America
Goethe, Faust 1. Theil, trans- This book was set in Aldus by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
lated by Albert Stapfer (Paris: Book design by April Leidig-Higgins
C. Motte, 1828). This volume
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for perma-
is in the collection of the
nence and durability of the Committee on Production
Houghton Library, Harvard
Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library
University (hu Hollis Number
Resources.
apb9572/bks, Houghton Typ
815.28.4320p), and the image Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is reproduced here with Sarotte, M. E.
permission from Department Dealing with the devil : East Germany, détente, and
of Printing and Graphic Arts, Ostpolitik, 1969–1973 / M.E. Sarotte.
The Houghton Library, Har- p. cm.—(The new Cold War history)
vard University. Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-8078-2599-9 (cloth: alk. paper)
isbn 0-8078-4915-4 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Germany (East)—Politics and government.
2. Detente. 3. Germany (West)—Foreign relations—
Europe, Eastern. 4. Europe, Eastern—Foreign relations
—Germany (West) I. Title. II. Series.
dd288.s27 2001 327.43%1%009047—dc21 00-046690
A portion of this work appears, in somewhat different
form, as ‘‘A Small Town in (East) Germany,’’ Diplomatic
History 25, no. 1 (January/February 2001) and is reprinted
here with the permission of Blackwell Publishers.
05 04 03 02 01 5 4 3 2 1
For Frank and Gail Sarotte
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Contents
Preface xi
Note on Usage xv
Abbreviations xix
Introduction: Opposing Devils 1
1 Setting the Stage in 1969:
Old Worries and New Initiatives
in the Era of Nixon and Brandt 7
2 Speaking Civilly Face-to-Face
in the First Half of 1970:
Meetings in Moscow, Erfurt,
Berlin, and Kassel 37
3 Discovering the Perils of Bargaining
in the Second Half of 1970: The Moscow
Treaty, the Quadripartite Talks, and the
Beginning of the End for Ulbricht 65
4 Expediting Negotiations in 1971:
Superpower Maneuvering and the
Importance of China 87
5 Achieving Initial Aims in 1971–1972:
The Quadripartite Agreement, the Transit
Accord, and the Traffic Treaty 113
6 Sealing the Bargain in 1972–1973:
The Basic Treaty in the Context of
the International Cold War 135
Conclusion:
The Costs of Dealing with the Devil 163
Note on Sources:
The Bureaucracy of Evil 181
Notes 189
Bibliography 269
Index 289
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Maps and Illustrations
Maps
Divided Germany and Divided Berlin
in the Cold War 9
The Division of Europe 14–15
The Soviet Union and China 22
Illustrations
Walter Ulbricht 10
Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker 20
Willy Brandt and Richard Nixon 25
Henry Kissinger 26
Egon Bahr 28
Secret surveillance photo of Erfurt 47
Official photographs of the Erfurt
meeting, 19 March 1970 50–51
Willi Stoph and Brandt in Kassel,
21 May 1970 61
Protesters in Kassel 62
Signing of the Moscow Treaty,
12 August 1970 70
Bahr and Michael Kohl 89
Honecker, Pjotr Abrasimov, Ulbricht,
and Stoph 105
Signing of the Quadripartite Agreement,
3 September 1971 121
Herbert Wehner meets Honecker 158