France and the German Question, 1945-1990 (Paperback or Softback)

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.

Frédéric Bozo is Professor of Contemporary History at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, University of Paris III, Institute of European Studies. He is the author of numerous books, including Mitterrand, the End of the Cold War, and German Unification (2009) and French Foreign Policy since 1945 (2016), and the editor of such collections as Europe and the End of the Cold War: A Reappraisal (2008).

Christian Wenkel is Associate Professor of Contemporary History at Artois University. His research interests cover the Franco-German relationship, French foreign policy, the Cold War and European integration. His publications include Auf der Suche nach einem anderen Deutschland. Das Verhältnis Frankreichs zur DDR im Spannungsfeld von Perzeption und Diplomatie (2014) and La diplomatie française face à l’unification allemande. Archives inédites réunies (with Maurice Vaïsse, 2011).