A History of Franco-German Relations in Europe
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A History of Franco-German Relations in Europe From Hereditary Enemies to Partners by Carine Germond and Henning Türk
a history of franco-german relations in europe Copyright Carine Germond and Henning Türk, 2008. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-0-230-60452-0 All rights reserved. First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-37221-8 DOI 10.1057/9780230616639 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A history of Franco-German relations in Europe : from hereditary enemies to partners / edited by Carine Germond and Henning Türk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. France Foreign relations Germany. 2. Germany Foreign relations France. I. Germond, Carine. II. Türk, Henning. DC59.8.G3H57 2008 327.44043 dc22 2008017280 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: December 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 978-0-230-61663-9 (ebook)
For centuries, the history of France and Germany has been a continual effort of the two nations to get closer, to understand, to unite, to merge: Indifference was never possible for them; they had to hate or love one another, fraternize or go to war. France s and Germany s destiny will never be established nor assured individually. Ludwig Börne, Menzel: Der Franzosenfresser
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Contents Preface Introduction: Old Foes and New Friends: Historical Perspectives on Franco-German Relations since Napoleon 1 Carine Germond and Henning Türk Part I Franco-German Relations from Napoleon to World War I 1 Attraction and Repulsion: Franco-German Relations in the Long Nineteenth Century 13 Reiner Marcowitz 2 War, Occupation, and Entanglements: German Perspectives on the Napoleonic Era 27 Bernhard Struck 3 France and German Dualism, 1756 1871 39 Jörg Ulbert 4 Between Coercion and Conciliation: Franco-German Relations in the Bismarck Era, 1871 90 49 Nathan N. Orgill 5 Traditions of Hate among the Intellectual Elite: The Case of Treitschke and Bainville 61 Hugo Frey and Stefan Jordan Part II Franco-German Relations in Interwar Europe 6 Franco-German Relations, 1918 45 75 Sylvain Schirmann xi
viii Contents 7 Franco-German Relations and the Coal Problem in the Aftermath of the First and Second World Wars: From Bilateral Conflict to European Energy Cooperation 89 Laura Fasanaro 8 Civic Activism and the Pursuit of Cooperation in the Locarno Era 101 Elana Passman 9 Two Naughty Siblings : France and Germany in the Public Discussion of the Interwar Period 113 Verena Schöberl 10 Attempts at a Franco-German Economic Rapprochement during the Second Half of the 1930s 125 Frédéric Clavert 11 France and the German Economy 1945 48: An Imperialist Policy? 137 Martial Libera Part III Postwar Franco-German Relations 12 On the Path to a Hereditary Friendship?: Franco-German Relations since the End of the Second World War 151 Ulrich Lappenküper 13 A New Framework for Franco-German Relations through European Institutions, 1950 to 1954 165 Victor Gavin Munte 14 The Relance Européenne and the Nuclear Dimension of Franco-German Rapprochement 177 Mathieu L. L. Segers 15 More than a Geriatric Romance: Adenauer, de Gaulle, and the Atlantic Alliance 189 Ronald J. Granieri 16 The Soviet Factor in Franco-German Relations, 1958 69 199 Garret Martin 17 What Role for Europe in the International Arena of the Early 1970s?: How France and Germany Were Able to Matter 211 Katrin Rücker
Contents ix 18 Franco-German Relations in the Giscard-Schmidt Era, 1974 81 223 Michèle Weinachter 19 A Special Relationship: Franco-German Relations at the Time of François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl 235 Georges Saunier 20 The Other Franco-German Relations: The GDR and France from 1949 to 1990 249 Ulrich Pfeil 21 The Franco-German-Polish Weimar Triangle: A Strategic Instrument of Franco-German Relations 261 Wolfram Vogel Abbreviations 273 Selected Bibliography 275 Contributors 281 Index 283
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Preface The idea for this book came from the somewhat unexpected difficulty in finding relevant and up-to-date scholarly literature on Franco-German relations in English. It is certainly the case that many studies in French and German have already been devoted to the subject, whereas the academic literature available in English is much sparser and, except for more recent studies examining the contemporary development of Franco-German cooperation in the European Union, often outdated as well. In fact, a comprehensive historical retrospective presenting the current state of international research on Franco-German relations is still not available in English, even as the contribution of France and Germany in and to Europe remains largely misunderstood outside the European Union and especially in the United States. It thus seems important to us to highlight the historical roots of the contemporary Franco-German partnership to an English-speaking readership and contribute to a better understanding of its role in Europe. The fact that the editors are themselves descendants of Marianne and Germania gives an additional flavor to this book, which has truly been nurtured under the auspices of Franco-German collaboration and friendship. It is also a European and transatlantic venture of the cyber age; not only did the two editors live on opposite sides of the Atlantic during its conception but the contributors were spread out across Europe and the United States as well. This book would never have been put to press without the financial support of the FAZIT foundation in Germany, which allowed the translation and proofreading of the articles written by nonnative speakers of English. We are particularly grateful for the excellent work done by Robert Hogg (University of Chicago), who translated the articles by Reiner Marcowitz, Ulrich Lappenküper, and Ulrich Pfeil from German into English and proofread almost all other contributions. We would also like to thank Eric Dere (Yale University) for his translation of Sylvain Schirmann s article and the individuals who translated the chapters by Martial Libera, Michèle Weinachter, and Georges Saunier from French into English. Furthermore, our thanks go out to Christopher Chappell, our editorial contact at Palgrave, and to the anonymous reviewers who provided insightful comments on earlier drafts. We are also deeply indebted to Professor Wilfried Loth (University of Duisburg-Essen) for his active support of our book project
xii Preface and to Clifford P. Hackett, who gave us many helpful stylistic advices. We owe a final word of thanks to our contributors for their patience throughout the whole process and for their contributions that are the substance of this book.