German-German relations fluctuate between rapprochement and distance. West Germany’s policy of détente toward Eastern Europe, for which Brandt wins the 1971 Nobel Peace Prize, moves the FRG closer to Eastern Europe. However, in East Germany, Ulbricht (who had clashed with Brezhnev) is forced to resign and is replaced by Erich Honecker; this shift in power and policy that reflects the GDR’s loyalty to Moscow results in renewed distance between the two Germanys.
A similar dynamic also dominates the inter-German travel situation. While the Four-Power Treaty and the Transit Treaty facilitate transit traffic, the GDR upgrades German-German border fortifications.
Following the downturn of the student movement in West Germany, progressive social movements are manifested more as single-issue movements.
Nixon announces in April that he intends to withdraw 100,000 troops from Vietnam by the end of the year. The New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers, a leaked U.S. Defense Department study of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
1971 A Change in Course
Change of power in East Germany: Erich Honecker succeeds Walter Ulbricht as First Secretary of the SED. Honecker is shown here as a speaker at the Eighth Party Congress of the SED on June 15.
“We had abortions.” This “self-accusation campaign” by 374 women in the magazine Stern (Star) focuses public attention on the discussion of Article 218 of the German penal code, which defines abortion as a punishable offence. Cover of Stern from June 6, 1971.
