Peace note
The peace note of the Federal Republic of Germany of March 25, 1966 represents a first attempt by the Erhard government to initiate a policy of détente towards the Eastern Bloc countries. It was sent not only to all states with which the Federal Republic had diplomatic relations, but above all to the states of the Warsaw Pact . Only the GDR was left out as a recipient. In terms of content, the main aim was to show that the Federal Republic was interested in a pan-European peaceful security policy and no longer viewed the solution to the conflict with the “second” German state as a prerequisite for talks with the other Eastern European states.
From today's perspective, this first approach to the East appears very timid. The young Federal Republic, however, was still shaped by Adenauer's orientation towards the West and his policy of strength. Sending offers of talks and peace signals to the Eastern Bloc countries was still fairly new. A rethinking and dismantling of the Eastern enemy image in the population had to start in order to be able to take further steps.
literature
- Rainer A. Blasius: Erwin Wickert and the peace note of the federal government of March 25, 1966 , Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte 43, 1995, issue 3, pp. 539–553, pdf
Web links
Peace note: three names . In: Der Spiegel . No. 14 , 1966, pp. 25 ( online ).