서독의 대동독 정책 및 시사점 = West Germany’s Policy toward East Germany and its Implications

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

German unification is a miracle of modern history. It is the only unification model we should refer to. German unification was the outcome of all the policies adopted by various prime ministers since Adenauer. Prime Minister Brandt could not pursue his “Ostpolitik” (East Policy) without the success of Adenauer’s West Policy, by which Germany won the trust of major powers and accomplished the economic miracle of the Rhine River.
Some experts in Korea over-emphasize the importance of Brandt’s Ostpolitik. They have blind faith in Egon Bahr as designer of Ostpolitik, but he was a pro-Eastern sympathizer and incompetent in national security. The fatal flaw of Ostpolitik was proved when Brandt resigned after the Guillaume spy case was discovered. Bahr criticized Prime Minister Helmut Schmidt for “creating a war situation” when Schmidt agreed to deploy US Pershing II missiles to West Germany to counter the Soviet intermediate-range nuclear missile SS-20 deployed in East Germany. Bahr was full of anti-American sentiment. In 1996, six years after reunification, Bahr said openly that “all West German Prime Ministers, from Adenauer to Kohl, were informal agents of the CIA.”
Still, the accomplishments of Brandt s Ostpolitik cannot be denied. It promoted exchanges and cooperation between East and West, allowing the two countries to exchange broadcasts and hold regular visits of separated families. This led East Germans to see for themselves the liberty, human rights and economic prosperity of West Germany and generated the energy to drive an anti-communist resistance movement in East Germany in 1989.
Prime Minister Helmut Kohl pursued two goals that built on that resistance movement. One was to create a democratic regime in East Germany, and the other was to carry out ‘unification diplomacy’ toward neighboring countries such as the US, United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union. In accordance with this commitment, the first free elections in East Germany were held March 18, 1990, and Lothar de Maiziere’s regime was born. Kohl promoted unification negotiations with de Maiziere’s regime and completed reunification on Oct. 3, 1990. Kohl’s diplomacy provides invaluable lessons for South Korea. With the full support of the United States, he convinced Gorbachev and won the endorsement of neighboring countries such as England, France and Poland on German unification.