In his memoirs, the former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), Willy Brandt, describes the first steps of the Ostpolitik and recalls the reactions of Western countries to this opening of relations with the Eastern bloc as part of West German foreign policy.

Willy Brandt, Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from 1966 to 1969 and Federal Chancellor from 1969 to 1974, launches a policy of openness towards the countries of Eastern Europe and develops a policy of agreements with the German Democratic Republic (GDR). This Ostpolitik earns him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.

In his investiture address, given on 28 October 1969 in Bonn, the German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, proposes to the German Democratic Republic (GDR) the opening of a dialogue between the two States on new bases.

Am 4. Dezember 1969 übermittelt Hans Ruete, Ministerialdirektor im Auswärtigen Amt, die Gespräche zwischen den Außenministern Deutschlands, Frankreichs, Großbritanniens und den Vereinigten Staaten über die Ostpolitik der Bundesrepublik sowie die Europäische Sicherheitskonferenz.

In April 1970, the French monthly newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique gives an account of the latest situation concerning relations between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the countries of Eastern Europe in the early 1970s and sets out the conditions necessary for the success of the Ostpolitik pursued by the German Chancellor, Willy Brandt.

Am 10. Juni 1970 informiert Horst Blomeyer-Bartenstein, Gesandter und Vertreter des Botschafters der BRD in Frankreich, das Auswärtige Amt über die französische Haltung zur Ostpolitik der Bundesregierung.

Am 13. Juni 1970 informiert Karl-Günther von Hase, Botschafter der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Großbritannien, das Auswärtige Amt über die britische Haltung zur Deutschland- und Ostpolitik der Bundesregierung.

In its May 1971 issue, the federalist journal L’Europe en Formation identifies both the positive effects of and the threats posed by the Ostpolitik pursued by the German Chancellor, Willy Brandt.

On 20 September 1971, in his programme for RTL radio, the journalist, Jean Ferniot, considers the implications of political rapprochement between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the Soviet Union.

On 10 May 1972 in Bonn, at the parliamentary session in the Bundestag devoted to the debate on the ratification of the Treaties of Moscow and Warsaw, Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), considers the political and historic impact of these Treaties and outlines the principles of Ostpolitik with the new prospects that it offers for the FRG’s relationship with the countries of Eastern Europe.

In spring 1972, political opinions differ in Bonn over the significance of the Treaties of Friendship signed in succession by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with the Soviet Union, Poland and the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

In 1972, at Easter and Whitsuntide, some 11 500 000 West Berliners cross into East Berlin in order to visit relatives and friends at crossing points like this one in Bornholmer Strasse.

On 19 November 1972, Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) (on the left), and his Foreign Minister, Walter Scheel (on the right), hold a press conference in Bonn on the progress of the Ostpolitik.

On 19 and 20 May 1973, German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung comments on the first official visit by Leonid Brejnev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

‘New look in Moscow — and in East Berlin?' In 1973, Chancellor Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik improves the image of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in Moscow government circles.

In this interview, Egon Bahr, the former Director of the Press and Information Office of the Federal State of Berlin appointed by Willy Brandt, then Mayor of West Berlin, summarises the different stages from the early 1960s onwards in the development of Ostpolitik, or the policy of opening towards the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Eastern states.

In this interview, Egon Bahr, former Junior Minister to the German Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt, explains the reaction of the United States, the United Kingdom and France to the new Ostpolitik espoused by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).