German attitudes towards Russia

Abstract

German attitudes towards Russia during the inter-war period ranged from feelings of innate German superiority to deep-seated fears of the new communist regime. Focusing on the German case in particular, this chapter argues that there are two reasons to question characterizations of developments as a wholesale return to Cold War rhetoric. German attitudes towards Russia are arguably more multifaceted than during the days of the Cold War. Germany's historical division into a capitalist West and communist East has had lasting consequences for political cleavages, collective identities and public opinion in unified Germany. Russia's annexation of Crimea and the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine have triggered widespread fears that the world may be headed towards another Cold War between Russia and the West. The end of the Cold War once again lent a different inflection to German views of Russia and German-Russian relations.