Brain behind German 'Ostpolitik,' Egon Bahr, dies aged 93

[Little Tich]

Source: Deutsche Welle

Egon Bahr, known as one of the architects behind West Germany's "Ostpolitik," has died aged 93. His work was essential for the rapprochement between East and West Germany and Eastern Europe starting in 1969.

Social Democrat Bahr, who was born in the eastern state of Thuringia in 1922 and later lived in Bonn and Berlin, was instrumental in West Germany's efforts to improve ties with the Soviet Union, East Germany and other Warsaw Pact States, which were virtually non-existent in the late 1960s.

While West Germany's first chancellor, Christian Democrat Konrad Adenauer, had focused solely on strengthening ties with the US and other western nations after World War II, the mood was shifting in 1969, when Social Democrat and former foreign minister Willy Brandt became chancellor.
70 Jahre Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto Kniefall Willy Brandt

Egon Bahr, officially deputy minister in the chancellery, was Brandt's chief negotiator for a series of contracts, the most important of which were with the Soviet Union (Treaty of Moscow), Poland (Treaty of Warsaw) and East Germany (Basic Treaty of 1972).

Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/brain-behind-german-ostpolitik-egon-bahr-dies-aged-93/a-18659368

[hunter]

1. It's amazing Germany held together after the wall came down.

It's almost as if the U.S.A. and Mexico were merged into a single nation.