211. Which politician is associated with the 'Eastern Treaties'?

Answer options

1. Helmut Kohl
2. Willy Brandt
3. Mikhail Gorbachev
4. Ludwig Erhard

Explanation

The 'Eastern Treaties' refers to the agreements concluded between 1970 and 1973 by the social-liberal coalition under Chancellor Willy Brandt and Foreign Minister Walter Scheel (Moscow Treaty, Warsaw Treaty, Transit Agreement, Basic Treaty, Prague Treaty). They entailed renunciation of force, respect for existing borders including the Oder–Neisse line, and normalization of relations with the GDR on a basis of sovereign equality. In 1973, the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfGE 36, 1) held that the Federal Republic could conclude treaties with the GDR under international law without abandoning the constitutional mandate of unity; Germany as a whole continued to exist. This Neue Ostpolitik facilitated détente, the 1975 CSCE Final Act, and ultimately paved the way for reunification in 1990.