1 International recognition of the GDR

What did the GDR achieve by joining the United Nations?

full international recognition

When did the GDR join the UN?

September 1973

What treaty meant that the two Germany’s formally recognised each other sovereign states?

the Basic Treaty of 1972

What had lead to far greater international recognition of the GDR?

the treaties agreed between the FRG, GDR and the USSR

What did this far greater international recognition lead to both German states being admitted as?

admitted as members of the UN

What did the growing international recognition of the GDR allow SED leadership to do?

to legitimatise its rule

An East German saying that exaggerates the GDR’s world status?

“Which three great nations begin with ‘U’?”

The answer to the saying “Which three great nations begin with ‘U’?”

USA, USSR and Our GDR

What was did the SED desire to end?

the GDR’s international isolation

Who did the GDR have diplomatic relations with in 1961?

with the other Eastern Bloc states some other developing countries

2 examples of these other developing countries?

North Korea and North Vietnam

What severely restricted the international recognition of the GDR?

the FRG’s Hallstein Doctrine

What did the Hallstein Doctrine make the GDR even more dependent on?

its relations with the USSR and other Eastern Bloc states

How long did the influence of the Hallstein Doctrine delay the GDR’s international recognition by?

many countries didn’t formally recognise the GDR for the first two decades of its existence

What did both German states wanted to build themselves a reputation based on?

international relations and global standing

What did West Germans want the international community to see them as?

the only lawful representative of the German nation

What did the GDR want to develop new international relations separate from (to gain acceptance as a legitimate state)?

the Warsaw pact and NATO

What threats did the FRG make to countries if they recognised the GDR as a legitimate state?

threats to withhold aid from Third World Countries

When did this threat made by the FRG become complicated in the Middle East?

during the Arab-Israeli conflict in the 1960s

What opened a door for East Germany to develop relations with some of the Arab states?

When West Germany recognised the state of Israel

When did a number of Arab states recognise the GDR as a state?

1969

What policy demonstrates a change in attitude by the FRG on how to deal with the GDR?

the Ostpolitik policy (which lead to the Basic Treaty of 1972)

What did each state pledge to respect in the Basic Treaty of 1972?

to respect one another’s Sovereignty

What paved the way to East Germany joining the UN (by it helping the GDR to be recognised as a legitimate state)?

the Basic Treaty of 1972

What number member was the GDR to join the UN?

133rd

Who removed their veto to allow the GDR to join the UN?

the Western powers in the UN Security Council

Veto meaning?

a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a lawmaking body

Once a part of the UN what would the GDR now be a part of?

other international agreements

What did Honecker sign in 1975?

the Helsinki Agreement

What was the Helsinki Agreement?

pact to ease Cold War tensions by acknowledging post-WWII borders, promoting human rights, and encouraging economic/cultural cooperation

How many nations signed the Helsinki Pact?

35

What aspect of the Helsinki accords did Honecker and Brezhnev completely ignore?

the human rights aspects

What did the Helsinki agreement do to the GDR’s international standing?

boosted the GDR’s international standing

What did Honecker conclude the Helsinki conference showed?

that the GDR was the socialist heart of Europe

What was the full text of the Helsinki accords published in?

the SED newspaper - Neues Deutsschland

What did the publication of the full text of the Helsinki accords cause for the newspaper Neues Deutsschland?

resulted in it selling out for the first time in its publication

What is the selling out of this particular issue evidence for the effect of what occurs at an international level?

what occurs at the international level, for good or bad, becomes internalised on the domestic level

The East German people’s reaction to their country’s prestige growing?

interested and pleased to see that their country’s international prestige is growing (e.g. the selling out of the newspaper detailing the Helsinki accords shows their interest)

Although the prestige of the GDR joining the UN helped the SED to justify the independence of East Germany, what did it also force East Germany to do?

interact with other nations

What why is there trouble for a nation in the heart of Europe when having to interact with other nations?

it is connected to all nations in Europe, making diplomacy a careful balancing act

The GDR interacting with other states lead to contact with Western states, however what did they try to limit despite this contact?

any cultural and political penetration

What did the GDR interacting with other states lead to them trying to maintain a relationship with?

with an increasingly tense Eastern Bloc

While trying to increase the GDR’s personal sovereignty through interacting with other states, who did the GDR have to remain subservient to?

the USSR

Subservient?

prepared to obey others unquestioningly

Sovereignty?

supreme power or authority