Word: bonne
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Union was the main factor behind the decision. Suspense had been building for weeks about the East German leader's visit. The Soviet Union had made clear, in a virulent propaganda campaign against the West Germans, that Honecker ought to think twice about seeking to improve relations with Bonn. The shrill tone of the attacks left no doubt that Moscow expected East Berlin to support to the full the Soviet hard line against the deployment of new U.S.-built missiles in Western Europe...
...time, it had seemed that Honecker was torn between a desire to pursue closer ties with his neighbor to the west and still keep the peace with his allies to the east. But as one Soviet watcher in Bonn observed: "The question 'Will Honecker come or will he not come?' appeared like a tug of war between the Soviet Union and East Germany, and that is a tug of war that the Soviet Union could not lose." In retrospect, Western observers were surprised that Honecker had held out against Moscow as long as he did. With as many...
...thaw between Bonn and East Berlin this year has contrasted with the deepening chill between the superpowers. Honecker has seemed intent on pursuing detente despite the U.S.-Soviet deadlock. An unprecedented number of political and cultural delegations have exchanged visits across a barbed-wire border that was virtually impenetrable. So far this year, West German banks have extended credits, backed by Bonn, totaling $330 million to East Germany, which, in turn, has eased some restrictions on travel and allowed more than 30,000 of its citizens to emigrate to the West. Thus, even if the news that Honecker had postponed...
Some politicians in Bonn were not so ready to let the government off the hook. Former Chancellor Willy Brandt, chairman of the opposition Social Democratic Party and architect of Bonn's Ostpolitik in the late 1960s, denounced the "garrulous dilettantism" of Kohl's coalition. Christian Democratic Coalition Parliamentary Leader Alfred Dregger was singled out for blame. He had angered the East Germans by bluntly stating in an interview with the conservative daily Die Welt that "our future does not depend upon whether Herr Honecker pays us the honor of his visit." The East German Communist Party daily Neues...
...several weeks, the Soviet press has aimed a steady barrage of criticism at the Bonn government, openly accusing some West Germans of seeking to fulfill Hitler's dream of changing Europe's borders. The propaganda onslaught reflected the Kremlin's frustration over its failure to block the deployment of the Pershing II missiles in West Germany, but it also fed on deep-rooted fears about the reunification of Germany. Last week Pravda accused Kohl of supporting German groups that oppose the postwar division of Europe. "The imperialist circles in West Germany," the official Communist Party daily declared...