Austria's “Ostpolitik” in the 1950s and 1960s: Honest Broker or Double Agent?

Abstract

In literature on diplomacy, the term Ostpolitik refers to the new foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany introduced in 1966. The policy, was initiated by the grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic party (SPD) and was continued after 1969 by the SPD and Free Democratic party (FDP) coalition. The policy aimed at reconciling Germany with Poland and the Soviet Union. Willy Brandt, the SPD foreign minister from 1966 to 1969 and chancellor from 1969 until 1974, and Walter Scheel, FDP foreign minister from 1969 to 1974, were the architects of this new “selective Détente.” From the beginning, Brandt's Ostpolitik was “controlled” by the Nixon administration, especially by Kissinger. The United States feared that Brandt and Scheel would go too far without taking account of Washington's geo-political point of view.

Die Außenpolitik gegenüber den Vereinigten Staaten und Kanada

“…Außenminister Bruno Kreisky (SPÖ, 1959(SPÖ, -1966 vermittelte in der Berlinfrage zwischen seinem Freund, dem Berliner Bürgermeister Willi Brandt, und Chruschtschow. Er wollte mit seiner eigenen "Ostpolitik" bessere Beziehungen zu den kommunistischen Nachbarn aufbauen (Rathkolb 1995). 1961 trafen sich Nikita Chruschtschow und der neue amerikanische Präsident John F. Kennedy in Wien.…”

Austrian Neutrality: The Early Years, 1955–1958

“…Austrian neutrality began to resemble more markedly the Swiss form. 172 To this end, noted Rathkolb, the "state visit to Moscow, coincidentally planned" for July 1958, "provided great publicity" and "was highly criticized" by the United States. 173 Jandrey, for example, stated after the Moscow visit that the "United States Government is disappointed with the Chancellor's statement at the Moscow airport that the State Treaty was concluded 'mainly thanks to the Soviet Union' and that it proved that the Soviet Union wanted peace."…”