Exposé of the German Question, Especially the Question of the Rearmament of Western Germany

This at the time highly confidential document outlines the views of Gustav Heinemann on German rearmament and its consequences for the security of Europe. Heinemann had fallen out with Konrad Adenauer a year earlier over this very question and the geopolitical developments during 1951 had strengthened his position even further. The blueprint also includes replies by a variety of Heinemann’s peers in the CCIA, including Reinhold Niebuhr, C.L. Patijn, André Philip, and Kenneth Grubb. The question of Germany’s rearmament was pivotal in the question of Europe’s unity as well: those in favour of rearmament support a close union of Western European countries, while opponents like Heinemann wanted to reunite Germany first, as anticipation for European unity.

For the blueprint click here.

The blueprint is courtesy of the WCC Archives in Geneva and republished here with permission.

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