Britain, Germany And The Cold War: Search For A European Dete

Description:
This well-researched book details the ambiguity in British policy towards Europe in the Cold War as it sought to pursue detente with the Soviet Union whilst upholding its commitments to its NATO allies. From the early 1950s, Britain pursued a dual policy of strengthening the West whilst seeking detente with the Soviet Union. British statesmen realized that only through compromise with Moscow over the German question could the elusive East-West be achieved. Against this, the West German hard line towards the East (endorsed by the United States) was seen by the British as perpetuating tension between the two blocs. This cast British policy onto an insoluble dilemma, as it was caught between its alliance obligations to the West German state and its search for compromise with the Soviet bloc. Charting Britain's attempts to reconcile this contradiction, this book argues that Britain successfully adapted to the new realities and made hitherto unknown contributions towards detente in the early 1960s, whilst drawing towards Western Europe and applying for membership of the EEC in 1961. Drawing on unpublished US and UK archives, 'Britain, Germany and the Cold War' casts new light on the Cold War, the history of detente and the evolution of European integration. This book will appeal to students of Cold War history, British foreign policy, German politics, and international history.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Map Glossary Introduction: Britain, Germany and Europe in the Cold Wa Chapter One: Stunde null to Deutschlandvertrag Chapter Two: Detente or Politik der Starke? Chapter Three: Macmillan and the search for detente Chapter Four: The fall of the Politik der Starke and rise of the Anglo-Saxon consensus Chapter Five: The Wilson government and the German question Conclusion: new roles in a new era Bibliography

Author Biography:
University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK