Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis

When Germany surrendered to the Allies in May 1945, the country was in shambles. Almost all its cities were destroyed, one-quarter of its former territory was lost, its economy had collapsed, it was divided into four occupation zones, and about 10 million of its citizens were homeless (217-8). Nevertheless, Germany became “the most powerful country in Europe west of Russia” (218). Shedding its authoritarian past, it developed a liberal democracy and strong economy. Diamond explores how Germany successfully navigated this crisis.

In 1949, the Allies joined their three zones of British, French, and American occupation into one country, which became West Germany. The Russian zone, which included Berlin, became East Germany. The city of Berlin was divided among the allies and became a means for East Germans to escape Soviet repression and go west. To prevent this exodus, the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall in 1961. Over 1,000 East Germans died trying to escape to the West. With the Cold War in place, the US allocated economic aid to West Germany. The US needed West Germany to regain its strength and serve as “a bulwark against communism” (222).

While the Allies prosecuted the top leaders of the Nazi Party for crimes against humanity, large numbers of Germans were simply re-educated. It was not until 1958 that a German Jewish lawyer, Fritz Bauer, began prosecuting ordinary Germans who had taken part in the atrocities. These trials attracted publicity and “demonstrated to the German public again and again, in excruciating detail, the beliefs and deeds of Germans during the Nazi era” (229). Following this, West Germans were taught to face up to past crimes.



However, in the 1960s, Germany still had “authoritarian behaviors and attitudes” (236). Student revolts in the 1960s against the Vietnam War, authority, and traditional morality became more violent than in other countries. The generational division was intense, as parents of these students were part of the Nazi generation. While those who became violent terrorists were arrested, the student movement contributed to “liberalizing trends” (236). In 1969, Willy Brandt became West Germany’s first left-wing chancellor (237).

Brandt not only advocated for the students’ goals, such as the promotion of women’s rights, he also transformed foreign policy. He signed a treaty with East Germany, established diplomatic relations with Eastern bloc countries, and accepted the losses of German territory. In 1970, he visited the former Warsaw ghetto. There, he “spontaneously fell down on his knees, acknowledged the millions of victims of the Nazis, and asked for forgiveness” (238). Subsequent chancellors continued his approach to foreign policy. West Germany was established as a trusted Western partner and a valued trading partner to the east. Later, when the Berlin wall came down in 1989, Chancellor Helmut Kohl negotiated a means for East and West Germany to be reunited.

Germany experienced “several overlapping and gradually unfolding challenges from 1945 to 1990” (241). However, its condition in 1945, the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961, and student revolts during 1968 presented immediate crises. Four of Diamond’s factors are present in this case to an extreme degree (242). Germany is extremely geographically constrained, sharing land borders with nine countries with no natural defense barriers. These constraints, per Diamond, cause bad leadership to be much more costly for the country (244). Germany reflects two opposite extremes in its sense of self-pity and victimization. Following World War I, the country considered itself a victim, given the severity of war reparations. However, after World War II, Germans accepted responsibility for the atrocities their country committed.

Germany also constitutes an extreme case in the role of leadership and honest self-appraisal, or lack thereof (247). Hitler, of course, was an evil leader. His unrealistic appraisals caused the defeat of his country in the war. On the other hand, Brandt exhibited “realism and political courage” (249). After World War II, Germany made selective changes, shedding its authoritarianism, increasing the status of women, and accepting its loss of territory. It retained core values, such as governmental support of medical care and community values. The country also took advantage of economic aid from the US after World War II. Its strong sense of national identity “helped it survive the trauma of devastation, occupation, and partition” (251).