Germany in the Middle East: from Bismarck to Hitler

Abstract

Germany has always been interested in expanding its influence in the Middle East where the strategic interests of the main imperialist powers competing among one another met. For a long time this region was for Germany a territory that provided access to sea, played the role of the military and political bridgehead, was a source of raw materials and a market for German goods. Having embarked on the path of colonial conquests much later than Great Britain and France, Germany was forced not to conquer but to win back its share of the “colonial pie”. Nevertheless, Germany managed to take a leading place in relations with the countries of the Middle East, which considered it as a central European power capable of becoming a conductor of their interests in Europe. However, Germany’s defeat in two world wars led to the fact that it lost its positions in the region and two new German states needed one decade to start a new dialogue with the countries of the region in the conditions of Cold war and bloc confrontation.