In his diary, Herbert Blankenhorn, diplomatic adviser to the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, describes how the Chancellor was made aware of events on the eve of Robert Schuman’s declaration of 9 May 1950 on the European coal and steel pool.
On 3 March 1950, in Paris, France and the Saar sign 12 conventions on the special status of the Saar which concern, in particular, the application of the economic union between France and the Saar, the operation of railways and mines in the Saar, the establishment of nationals from the two countries and the exercise of their professional activities, the supervision of insurance companies in the Saar, pharmaceutical regulations, inland waterway transport, mutual legal assistance, units and measuring instruments and the conditions for Franco-Saar road transport operations.
‘How did you manage to get this far? Thanks to agreements ...’ On 10 May 1953, the satirical Soviet magazine Krokodil deplores the dangers which would face France in the event of rearmament of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).
On 11 November 1953, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the Armistice of the First World War (11 November 1918), the French television and cinema production company, Pathé, organises a debate with a group of journalists on the implications of German rearmament and on plans for a European army.
'Hallo, over here!' In 1954, even if re-armed West Germany cannot accede to the abandoned European Defence Community, the doors of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) remain wide open to the West German troops.
In a radio broadcast on 4 September 1954, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer considers the European policy of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and its international situation following the rejection, on 30 August 1954, of the Treaty establishing a European Defence Community (EDC) by the French National Assembly.
On 22 January 1963, on the occasion of the signing of the Élysée Treaty, the French President, Charles de Gaulle, and the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, issue a joint statement highlighting the importance of Franco-German cooperation.
On 22 January 1963, in Paris, the representatives of France and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) sign the treaty known as the Élysée Treaty on Franco-German cooperation which enshrines the reconciliation between the two countries and under which they undertake to cooperate in particular in the fields of foreign policy, defence, education and culture.
In 1965, during the campaign for the legislative elections in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), a party political broadcast by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) promotes the party’s commitment and, in particular, the commitment of its very first leader, Konrad Adenauer, to Franco-German rapprochement.
