Lecture: 1955 – A Key Year in the Cold War

1955 – A Key Year in the Cold War
With Apl. Prof. Dr. Christian Th. Müller (University of Potsdam)

Ten years after the end of World War II, a constellation had emerged that would shape international politics for the next three and a half decades, particularly the situation in Central Europe. Led by the USA and the USSR, two military alliances, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, faced each other antagonistically, into which both German states were now integrated. Politically, this meant a formalization of the division of Germany for an indefinite period. From a security policy perspective, this meant that the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR established their own armed forces and, in the event of an escalation of the East-West conflict, would likely have become the central battleground of a Third World War. The lecture will first provide an overview of the fundamental political developments and then focus on discussing concepts and problems of rearmament.