Who Is Chiefly Responsible for Reuniting Germany?

The President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, the
citizens of East Germany, former West German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, the
United States’ President George Bush, and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
are all cited as chiefly responsible for the reunification of East and West
Germany.

President Gorbachev had, inarguably, the most influence on
German reunification. However, swept away by the flow of history, Gorbachev had
no choice but to accept the reunification of East and West Germany. Thus, one
cannot explicitly say that he was responsible for it. On the other hand,
Chancellor Kohl used solid willpower to solve problems regarding reunification
and is, thus, thought to be unequivocally responsible for the reunification of
East and West Germany.

Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union

President Gorbachev is considered the most influential
person with regards to German Reunification for several reasons. One, he pushed
forward the Soviet Union’s reformation and open policies, which ended up
leading the trend for reformation and open policies in East Germany. Two, he
gave up on the Brezhnev Doctrine which was the basis for militarily oppressing
Eastern European countries’ democratic revolutions and revolts against
communism, which in turn, made Eastern Europe’s revolts against communism
possible. Three, he demanded that East Germany’s reforms be made public, which
made the East Germans’ protests even more widespread. Four, he made clear to
the communist government of East Germany that the Soviet forces would not
interfere in civilian protests and declared that he was against military
oppression, which allowed the East Germans to peacefully revolt without any
bloodshed; and, five, he held the key to reunification as one of the four
victorious countries of World War II and exercised this power by approving the
reunification of East and West Germany.

However, Gorbachev was unable to understand the “nature of
dynamism” which brought about change in the East-European Bloc. As such, he got
caught up in the flow of history, and freed Eastern Europe without realizing
that that was what he was doing. He is considered as the “passive player on the
world stage”, and delayed giving an answer even when it came to consenting to
German reunification. In the end, he was pressured by the West, and had no
choice but to accept the reunification of East and West Germany. Thus, it seems
that the context in which Gorbachev’s accomplishments were achieved disqualify
him from being considered chiefly responsible for German reunification.  

The Citizens of East Germany

The citizens of East Germany’s candlelight vigils brought
about the collapse of East German communist rule, and the citizens themselves
chose reunification in their very first free election. Thus, the citizens of
East Germany made a huge contribution to German reunification.

However, if it weren’t for Gorbachev’s reform policies and
abandonment of East Germany, it would have been difficult for the East Germans
to succeed solely through their peaceful demonstrations and protests. Also, the
affluent West Germans promised a quick reunification at East Germany’s free
election, and supported the German Alliance. It was West Germany’s yearning for
reunification that ultimately made it possible, and therefore, the citizens of
East Germany cannot be considered chiefly responsible for achieving German
reunification.

Willy Brandt, Former Chancellor of West Germany

Willy Brandt, the former chancellor of West Germany, used a
series of policies for reconciliation and negotiation with East Germany such as
the New Eastern Policy and the Basic Treaty of 1972 to normalize relations
between the two countries. He promoted trade negotiations, minimized
humanitarian agony following the divide, and contributed to disease prevention.

However, his New Eastern Policy for one, made the basic
mistake of assuming that improving the communist system in East Germany was
possible. Two, reunification was not its goal. Rather, it considered reunification
an impossible task, and was a policy for “peacefully managing the divide”.
Three, though the goal of the policy was also cited as “change through
accessibility”, reunification was ultimately achieved through the downfall of
the communist rule and not because of any change to the system. Four, the
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) acceded to Brandt’s policy line, and
even after East Germans started their peaceful protests, the party was against
reunification. Therefore, former chancellor Willy Brandt cannot be considered
chiefly responsible for the reunification of East and West Germany.

George Bush, President of the United States

President George Bush foresaw the reunification of East and
West Germany when the protests and demonstrations in East Germany started. He
actively supported the Kohl administration’s reunification policies, and
greatly influenced the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom to ultimately
consent to German reunification. In this regard, he did, in fact, greatly contribute
to the reunification of East and West Germany. 

However, he was limited to an outsider’s role in the
reunification process and, compared to Gorbachev and Kohl, his power of influence
was on a smaller scale. Thus, he cannot be considered chiefly responsible for
German reunification.

Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of West Germany

Chancellor Kohl foresaw that the East German citizens’
protests would be the key to German reunification from the beginning, and his
own volition and hard work to define the conditions for reunification makes him
stand out as the person chiefly responsible for the reunification of East and
West Germany.

Chancellor Kohl announced his ten-point plan for “Overcoming
the Division of Germany and Europe” on November 28, 1989, three weeks after the
opening of the Berlin Wall. He clearly had the will to turn the fall of the
Berlin Wall into reunification, and despite numerous criticisms and
difficulties, he was able to make the reunification of East and West Germany a
reality through quick and concise policies.

Moreover, the end of World War II brought with it a taboo on
discussing matters like reunification, which meant that this was a time in West
Germany where the possibility of reunification could not have been foreseen by
almost anyone. In these circumstances, Chancellor Kohl had a clear goal and
vision, and courageously pushed ahead with the reunification process.

Not only did he seize the narrow chance of reunification, he
daringly built up the momentum, widening the opportunity and turning it into a
reality. Thus, Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of West Germany, can be considered the
one chiefly responsible for German reunification. 

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