Word: west
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...national vote and thereby earned the right to sit in the Bundestag (parliament); in that case, fears of renascent Nazism would have chilled much of the world. As it turned out, the National Democrats were able to draw only 4.3%. Far from becoming a black mark against West Germany's name, the election turned into what could well prove a historic turning point...
...mere 5.8% ?just above the 5% required for representation in the Bundestag. After three days of intense negotiations, the Free Democrats, who are led by Walter Scheel, threw their slight but decisive weight behind Brandt. At week's end the onetime outcast of West German politics informed President Gustav Heinemann that he was prepared to form a government in coalition with the Free Democrats and rule the Federal Republic...
Brandt also harbors grander schemes for Europe that would break down the barriers between the East and West blocs. While some critics feel he is overly optimistic, he wants to accept the Soviet proposal for a European security conference, provided the U.S. would be invited to attend. He would be prepared to renounce Germany's claim to its lost territories that comprise some 40,000 square miles...
...Izvestia called him "more realistic on certain foreign policy questions." Perhaps they might sign a mutually attractive trade deal or grant Lufthansa landing rights in Russia. But so far, it seems unlikely that the collective leadership of Brezhnev and Kosygin would agree to any far-reaching accommodation with West Germany. One reason the Soviets moved against Czechoslovakia was that Brandt had opened negotiations in Prague that might have led to diplomatic relations and German investments in Czechoslovak industry. Soviet diplomats subsequently warned Brandt's aides that they do not want the Germans poking around in Eastern Europe. Still, Brandt...
Brandt's administration means, in fact, a new era in which the power in West Germany has largely passed to the untainted Germans?those who were too young to be accomplices in Hitler's crimes. When Brandt cries, "Twenty years is enough!", it is not so much a plea for absolution as a reminder that a new generation is arriving and should not be condemned in advance...