Unification of East and West Germany (Why did the Soviet Union unify East and West Germany?)
Why did the Soviet Union allow East and West Germany to unify? There are generally two views on this Youyou resource network. One is not that the Soviet Union let it go, but that it couldn’t stop it at all. At that time, the Soviet Union was a mud bodhisattva crossing the river, and attitudes didn’t play much role. This is the strongest argument for the collapse of the Soviet Union, more than a year after the unification of Germany.
Related video: Why did the Soviet Union allow East and West Germany to unify?
The second point of view is that the Soviet Union did play a key role in the unification of Germany. At that time, Gorbachev’s new thinking diplomacy conformed to the general trend of the times and made historic contributions to the eventual reunification of Germany and Germany. As an argument for this view, Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 until 15 years later in 2005. In recognition of Gorbachev’s outstanding contribution to the unification of Germany, the Germans also awarded him the “German Unification Award”.
I believe that these two views are biased, underestimating and exaggerating the role of the Soviet Union in the unification of Germany. Let me talk about a point of view first. It is undeniable that in the 1980s, the Soviet Union was indeed on the defensive during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, and completely lost its aggressive power for 60 to 70 years. Especially since the brazen invasion of Afghanistan, the Soviet Union was isolated by the international community at that time, and its domestic economy was in a mess. However, the skinny camel is bigger than the horse. After all, the Soviet Union at that time was still one of the bipolar worlds, and had a considerable say in major international events. No country dares to ignore the existence of the Soviet Union, including the United States.
What’s more, the relationship between the unification of Germany and the Soviet Union is too close. Throughout World War II, the Soviet military and civilian casualties exceeded 27 million. Isn’t most of it caused by Germany? So although the Soviet Union could not dominate the unification of Germany at that time, it was still possible to destroy it.
Furthermore, the USSR opposed German unification for good reasons. The Soviet Union, as the greater victim of German aggression, could once again join forces with Britain and France. As the four major occupying powers at the time, Britain and France obviously did not have enough say in this matter. During the war, they had to join forces with the Soviet Union against Germany. Now in order to prevent the reunification of Germany, Britain and France should be willing to do so. If so, could the US push for German unification on its own? In the worst case, the Soviet Union would not withdraw the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in East Germany. What can the US and NATO do to fight World War III?
Let’s talk about the second point of view first. It should be said that the unification of Germany was the general trend. By the end of the 1980s, the international situation had undergone the most profound changes in the past 40 years after the war, and the call for the reunification of East and West Germany was also the strongest. Under the conditions of internal and external troubles, outstanding leaders also appeared in West Germany and the four major occupying powers, such as Kohl in West Germany, Bush Sr. in the United States, Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom, France Mitterrand. I have to admit. In short, various factors contributed to this important event. In a sense, the unification of Germany was a historicalhistory arrangement. It is not the Soviet Union or the United States that Germans should be grateful for, but the German nation itself.
Of course, the Soviet Union did not agree with German reunification at first. Britain and France are easy to deal with, but it is not so easy to make the Soviet Union change its attitude. As we all know, the Germans did spend a lot of money on the issue of unification, and made major concessions in terms of politics, national defense, economy and even territorial requirements, such as reducing the tens of billions of dollars in debt of the Soviet Union, and Germany paid for the withdrawal from East Germany Hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers. Most importantly, regarding the so-called eastern territories that the Soviet Union and Poland were worried about, the Germans specifically stated in the Unified Constitution: Since then, no German territory has joined Germany.
Germany is so persistent, so sincere, so generous, how can the Soviet Union stop it? Gorbachev also knew that even if he could stop it for a while, he couldn’t stop it in the end. At that time, the most embarrassing thing will probably be the Soviet Union, and nothing will be gained. In the end, the Soviet Union agreed to the unification of Germany on the condition that the newly formed Germany could not join NATO.
However, the Germans took a sensible approach to unity. Instead of merging the two Germanys, East Germany declared itself ceased to exist. The 16 special zones at that time were restored to the 5 states before 1952, and then “collectively joined Germany” in accordance with the Basic Law. As a result, it cannot be said that East Germany or the newly formed Germany joined NATO, it can only be said that West Germany chose to stay in NATO, and the Soviet Union could do nothing about it.