It has been in the DNA of the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949 never again to take a national “special path” in the heart of Europe. However, Konrad Adenauer first had to fight for it before it became a national consensus.
The decision to integrate with the West on the basis of the Basic Law (… “to serve peace in the world as an equal member in a united Europe”…) was also a commitment to stand up for freedom in the Western community of values.
This has contributed to the worldwide trust that the Federal Republic enjoys.
This was an essential basis for German unity to become possible in 1990. It was therefore important to Helmut Kohl that a united Germany remain in NATO and that the Central and Eastern European states that had shaken off the dictatorship could become part of this community of values.
Germany’s clear positioning is being questioned in many places these days. In some countries it is even feared that Germany, as with the partitions of Poland and 1939, could come to an agreement with Russia at the expense of its neighbors.
The lobbying of the former Chancellor Schröder and his friends for the dictator Putin as well as statements from German business circles are not the only reasons for this.
The German policy, which only indulges in declarations of principle, in the face of Russia’s aggressive policy and threats towards Ukraine and also towards the sovereign new EU and NATO member states, makes one sit up and take notice.
The impression is created that Germany is not actively involved in the development of a clear Western policy, but is thinking more about its own economic interests (Nord Stream 2, sanctions). The overflight ban on British military planes trying to deliver defensive arms to Kiev has also raised concerns, as has the ban on the delivery of nine old NVA howitzers from Estonia to Ukraine.
Not providing defensive weapons even in the event of another Russian attack on Ukraine leads to a lack of understanding. The current delivery of 5,000 old steel helmets and a field hospital in the spring is seen as a mockery.
Söder’s position is just as unhelpful as the consideration for Russia “for historical reasons”, especially in the SPD, which is caught up in a nostalgic Ostpolitik that doesn’t fit here at all.
The Ukraine, which is a democracy despite all the necessary reforms, is like perhaps only Poland and Belarus a victim of the Hitler-Stalin pact and the starvation caused by Stalin of around five million Ukrainians.
The history-forgotten statements like those of the unspeakable chief of the German Navy have not contributed to the credibility.
If clarity is not created very quickly, the lasting damage for Germany, and thus also for the entire liberal “West”, will be very great.
Annalena Baerbock, who otherwise makes the best impression of all members of the government, rightly said: “Those who talk don’t shoot.” But she must also know that only those who are strong can speak successfully.
Incidentally, Putin’s claim that Ukraine has no right to statehood and has always been a part of the Russian people is historically incorrect. The Germans and the French are not one people either, despite the Carolingian empire.
* Karl Fürst zu Schwarzenberg is a former Czech foreign minister and head of the cabinet of President Vaclav Havel. Elmar Brok is a former Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and Co-Chair of the Working Group of Foreign Ministers of the European People’s Party.