The summit between West German chancellor Willy Brandt and East German premier Willi Stoph marked the first meeting of the two Germanys’ leaders after the separate republics were formed in 1949. Although the meeting did not result in immediate changes, it provided a foundation for additional talks and improved policies, which contributed to reunifying German territory almost two decades later.
After World War II, the four major allies—the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France—divided defeated Germany into zones.
In October, 1969, Brandt became the first Social Democratic chancellor of West Germany. He spoke to the Bundestag (the FRG’s parliament) in Bonn on October 28, describing his Östpolitik program to seek amicable relations with Eastern European countries. Since 1950, FRG leaders had embraced the Hallstein Doctrine,
As a result, Walter Ulbricht, the GDR’s Socialist Unity Party
Brandt disliked being pressured by the GDR leaders but hoped access to them would enable discussion of problems that had resulted by dividing Germany. He stated the it was not possible to meet Stoph’s schedule, recommending that representatives of each Germany begin preparations for a later meeting. Because transportation from Bonn to East Berlin posed logistical and political concerns, Brandt wrote Stoph on March 8, suggesting that they meet elsewhere. By March 11, the SED Politburo had selected Erfurt for the summit. Erich Mielke, the director of the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit—the secret police agency better known as the Stasi
On March 18, Brandt announced on West German television that he was optimistic but realistic regarding the meeting and would try to establish relations for a better future. In Bonn, Brandt and his delegation boarded a train that reached a siding at Gerstungen after midnight. The next morning, he switched to an East German train. At the border, GDR personnel welcomed Brandt. Despite police efforts to restrain people, Brandt saw East Germans acknowledge his passage with friendly gestures along the forty-mile route to Erfurt.
Stasi guards ordered children to remain at school and laborers to stay at their workplaces, and they limited East Germans’ visits to Erfurt on March 19. Several thousand curious East Germans, however—eager to observe Brandt—crowded near the train station and hotel. Stasi guards erected barricades. At about 9:30
People chanted Brandt’s full name and demanded that he appear at his third-floor suite’s window overlooking the plaza. Stasi personnel called Stoph’s name, attempting to be louder than the demonstrators, but were ineffective because they were focused on crowd control. At 9:45
Meeting with Brandt in the hotel at 10:00
At 4:00
In Bonn on March 20, Brandt described the meeting to the Bundestag, stating that Erfurt was a start for German discussions. Unsure what might be achieved later, Brandt pledged that he would consider future summits with GDR leaders, realizing that small agreements might progress eventually to resolution of complex issues. After the Erfurt talks, Stoph, in a televised broadcast, asserted that he would have approved a treaty with West Germany, but Brandt had been reluctant. Stoph expressed his gratitude for Erfurt residents’ loyalty to him. U.S. news magazines printed coverage of the Brandt-Stoph meeting, including photographs of demonstrators distributed by wire services.
The Erfurt Summit initiated the personal interaction of rival German leaders to discuss German issues after Germany had been divided following World War II. Not surprisingly, the meeting failed to result in the diplomatic recognition East Germany desired, although it did enhance Brandt’s political prestige globally. He received the 1971 Nobel Peace Prize
The Erfurt demonstrations, revealing East Germans’ interest in and public support for Brandt, startled GDR and Soviet leaders, who criticized security lapses. The SED’s Central Committee stated on March 25, 1970, that SED representatives had insufficiently perceived hazards associated with East Germans being in proximity to the western leader. Ulbricht’s role at Erfurt contributed to his losing his position the following year. Local party officials explained that they had followed orders to create public images for journalists instead of implementing effective security measures. Mielke intensified security standards for future interactions between westerners and East Germans. Ironically, as Brandt’s Östpolitik and the 1971 Berlin Accord
Despite FRG diplomatic achievements with other Eastern European countries after Erfurt, their efforts related to the two Germanys were hindered when Brandt and Stoph met at Kassel, West Germany, in May of 1970 because Soviet leaders discouraged GDR representatives from cooperating with FRG leaders. Resolution of issues discussed at Erfurt slowly occurred, however. By November 9, 1989, the border between the two Germanys was opened, and the Germanys were reunited eleven months later.
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Brandt, Willy. People and Politics: The Years 1960-1975. Translated by J. Maxwell Brownjohn. Boston: Little, Brown, 1978. Brandt describes his perceptions of Stoph and East German personnel and citizens at Erfurt. -
Federal Republic of Germany. Press and Information Office. Erfurt, March 19, 1970: A Documentation. Bonn: Bundesdruckerei, 1970. Correspondence, reports, and speeches reveal participants’ expectations, demands, and opinions regarding the Erfurt meeting. -
Gray, William Glenn. Germany’s Cold War: The Global Campaign to Isolate East Germany, 1949-1969. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Addresses various countries’ diplomatic attitudes toward the two Germanys, which influenced both the division and Brandt’s efforts to encourage goodwill instead of competition at Erfurt. -
Sarotte, Mary E. Dealing with the Devil: East Germany, Détente, and Ostpolitik, 1969-1973. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. Examines GDR perspectives, international influences, and historical context for the Erfurt meeting and related diplomacy, using such primary resources as secret police and Communist Party archives. -
_______. “A Small Town in (East) Germany: The Erfurt Meeting of 1970 and the Dynamics of Cold War Détente.” Diplomatic History 25, no. 1 (Winter, 2001): 85-104. Describes global responses to the German leaders’ meeting and poses unanswered questions because relevant sources remain restricted. Provides official and surveillance photographs depicting Brandt, Stoph, and Erfurters.
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