German Question, 1945–1990, in Anglo-American Historiography: Key Aspects of the Problem Study

Abstract

Understanding and, after the unification of Germany in 1990, rethinking the process of evolution of the German Question, in particular its main components, is an important scholarly task. The origins of the modern power of Germany, its desire to establish itself as a world power, were formed in 1945–1990 with the active participation of the United States and Great Britain. Therefore, the assessment of the development of the German Question by researchers from these countries is important for its understanding. The study of the problem contributes to a comprehensive analysis of the post-war international policy of Great Britain and the United States as well as their modern relations with the FRG. Special attention to the German Question in the publications of the United Kingdom and the United States was shown at the stages of its qualitative transformation: the creation of the FRG, its rearmament, the implementation of a new Eastern policy, as well as the unification of Germany. Each of these events required a prompt response from the academic and expert community and the development of a balanced model of foreign policy response. Anglo-American historiography of the German question has not previously been the object of a special study by Russian historians. The purpose of this article is to analyze the main aspects of the German problem study in the works of British and American researchers. The article identifies four key aspects of the German question, around which the study of the problem in Great Britain and the United States was concentrated. The historiographic core consists of the works devoted to the issues of denazification, West Germany rearmament, Ostpolitik, as well as the unification of Germany and its consequences. Each aspect study was of particular importance and relevance for determining the further foreign policy strategy of the Western countries in Europe, mainly in relation to the FRG and USSR. Changes in approaches to evaluation of the aspects during the post-war period are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to identifying and studying stable geopolitical models that accompanied the perception of the German question by academic and expert communities of Great Britain and the United States: the concepts of “Finlandization” and “Mitteleuropa”, as well as the “Rapallo complex”.