Germany's Role in the World Germany's Role in the World

The question of Germany’s role in the world is as old as the Federal Republic. In the beginning, it was easy to answer: first an occupation zone, then a more or less sovereign entity at the mercy of the Allied Western Powers, and only from 1955—virtually coinciding with its entry into NATO—a fully sovereign country, firmly integrated into the Western defense alliance. Germany’s role began with the Federal Republic’s unequivocal commitment to the West, which practically went hand in hand with rearmament. It was forced under Konrad Adenauer, initially fiercely opposed by the Social Democratic opposition party, and only accepted by the SPD with the Godesberg Program. In the years that followed, it was recognized across all parties as the foundation of German foreign and security policy and has been the continuum of political action by the established parties in the Federal Republic ever since.