Ostpolitik: An Honest Attempt at Understanding
On October 28, 1969, West Germans heard their new Chancellor’s first address, and with it the beginnings of a new foreign policy: Ostpolitik. Radically reversing previous policies such as non-recognition of the GDR and the Hallstein Doctrine, Ostpolitik called for a normalization of diplomatic and economic ties with countries in the Eastern Bloc.