France and the German Question, 1945–1990

"In the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the victors were unable to agree on Germany's fate, and the separation of the country--the result of the nascent Cold War--emerged as a de facto, if provisional, settlement. Yet East and West Germany would exist apart for half a century, making the 'German question' a central foreign policy issue--and given the war-torn history between the two countries, this was felt no more keenly than in France. Drawing on the most recent historiography and previously untapped archival sources, this volume shows how France's approach to the German question was, for the duration of the Cold War, both more constructive and consequential than has been previously acknowledged"-- Provided by publisher This book revisits France's attitude towards the German question as it existed and evolved during the post-World War Two and the Cold War eras in order to shed light on previously neglected aspect of the history of the Cold War, of Germany, and of Europe in the second half of the twentieth century.