Germany's reconciliation process is very impressive

[Tounsi_Tag]

I'm doing some work on the reconciliation process of Germany in the international system post-ww2 and I genuinely think it's impressive. More so when put in contrast to other nations that haven't assessed their past or properly accounted for their mistakes ( Japan comes to mind).

Having to adopt a foreign policy approach that was reluctant yet pragmatic must've been incredibly challenging at the hight of state-building and the volatile situation of the world during the Cold War. The antimilitarist and moral internationalism stance, need to build cooperation with those it wronged, and slowly advocating for integration with the West and the institutionalization of such relations constitute the slow yet cohesive stance with which various Chancellors sought to advance their foreign policy.
It didn't even dawn on me how reconciliation is still imbedded in Germany's foreign policy today with their somewhat reluctant take in approaching offensive military plans for political outcomes in situations like Kosovo and Afghanistan and their heavy advocacy for multilateralism as a means to achieve it.

I did notice, however, that a large part of literature focuses on the Federal Republic of Germany's foreign policy approach as the de-facto entity behind most of the reconciliation efforts. I did come across many publications highlighting The German Democratic Republic's perspective at the time but it seemed to me that West Germany had a peculiar situation in trying to consolidate its ties with the West while slowly building bridges with the East and that's been at the centre of many discussions till the ultimate unification.

Would you agree that Germany's reconciliation led it to adopt a " pragmatic yet moral " approach today as a big military and civilian power in the international system?

 

[Deleted member 39587]

as a german, i wanna die

 

[EloKa]

Here's a thread about the VE-day speech held by the president of germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The president holds very little influence in germany and it's mostly a decorative title somewhat like the Queen in the UK. But the speech shows some very significant aspects in regards of how we're handling our reconciliation process:

Germany can only be loved with a broken heart

Edit: Link fixed

 

[S-Wind]

as a german, i wanna die

Click to shrink...

Why is that?

 

[Tounsi_Tag]

Here's a thread about the VE-day speech held by the president of germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The president holds very little influence in germany and it's mostly a decorative title somewhat like the Queen in the UK. But the speech shows some very significant aspects in regards of how we're handling our reconciliation process:

Germany can only be loved with a broken heart

Click to shrink...

Thank you so much for the reference. The link didn't work but I searched for the speech and was intrigued by the fact that it's a couple of days ago and that this discussion is still ongoing today. The words of the president were poignant and I wish other countries addressed the woes of the past and made amends to those they wronged. That's why Germany's always been an interesting case study in International Relations when it comes to national self-image and responsibility to other nations.

as a german, i wanna die

Click to shrink...

Care to elaborate? ( assuming you're not making a snide remark over the thread itself)

 

[lazygecko]

It helped that Germany in the midst of all this also had a new generation growing up during the counter culture movements of the 1960's and being horrified upon learning what their parents had been complicit with. At the time it seemed like the older generation who had lived through the war were mostly content with just quietly putting it behind them and not really confronting it.

Germany seems like the one success case of actually having grown positively as a nation state after properly reconciliating their part in a terrible conflict, as opposed to caving in to reactionary face-saving. I imagine a country like Japan would have had a lot more friendly and productive relations with their neighboring Asian states if they had actually gone through something similar.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Unfortunately no country could call America on its hypocrisy in forcing Germany to go through reconciliation but treated it's people like shit

 

[ss1]

Yes and no. For the crimes during WW2, yes Germany is doing admirably in its active role for reconciliation.

However, I would take a read of Anna Funder's Stasiland book about some horrors inflicted by the DDR on its own citizens. For me the most shocking aspects was the lack of justice for the victims of the former regime post reunification against those who were directly at the heart of the DDR security apparatus. In some cases doing better in unified Germany with their past not being a stigma that you would of expected:

The Stasi men, after the initial shock, have done much better in the new Germany than the people they oppressed. Many were snapped up by security firms and private detective agencies eager for their considerable expertise. Or they went into selling real estate and insurance, industries unknown in the communist bloc but in which they had, as it turns out, a distinct advantage, having been schooled in the art of convincing people to do things against their own better judgement. Others rose high in politics and business; their solid work histories and training as "team players" in "The Firm" standing them in good stead, especially in comparison to their victims, whom they had denied educations and work, and tried to destroy.

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Stasiland now | Anna Funder

Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the author of ‘Stasiland’ reveals the ongoing power of the former East German regime, not just in politics and business but also in shaping perceptions of victimhood in unified Germany

www.themonthly.com.au