Hallstein Doctrine

Flags of West Germany (left) and East Germany (right)

In the 1950s, Germany sat right in the middle of the Cold War and divided between the capitalist democratic West and the communist East. The West German state, known as the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) reconstructed and economically developed. Under its chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, the country aligned with democracies of Europe and also worked towards European integration. In contrast, the Eastern German State, known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) joined the communist bloc falling to the sphere of influence of the Union Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). For West German Chancellor Adenauer, he sought to reunite the 2 German states by preventing the recognition of the other German State.

As the 1950s dawned, both Germanies contended for formal diplomatic recognition. Adenauer announced that the Federal Republic Germany solely represented the will of the German people and labeled the eastern regime as a puppet renegade state of the USSR. In response to the announcement, GDR leader Walter Ulbricht also did the same that the GDR truly represented the Germans, etc. In the race for diplomatic recognition, Adenauer scored a victory with all nations, except the communist bloc nations, recognizing The Federal Republic of Germany.

Ulbricht and his Soviet patrons devised a new way for the GDR to win global recognition by portraying the GDR as another German state. The Soviets approved Ulbricht's plan to be recognized as a second German state. They planned to make West Germany recognize the existence of East Germany through their establishment of diplomatic relations with the USSR. The Soviets in their part made Adenauer recognized the USSR by using World War II German POWs as leverage. It succeeded in September of 1955 when Adenauer arrived in Moscow and formally established relations between the USSR and the FRG. The German Chancellor returned to Bonn, the capital of the FRG, welcomed by cheering crowds becoming more popular by bringing home the POWs.

The plan also relied on the cooperation of the non-aligned countries that participated in the April 1955 Bandung Conference. Because of Adenauer’s visit to the USSR, it signaled to the non-aligned countries of Egypt, India, and Yugoslavia, the viability of establishing relations with the GDR. Back in West Germany, Adenauer’s government feared that if the nations of Egypt, India, and Yugoslavia, would recognize the GDR, other countries would follow soon and the idea of a unified Germany would fade away.

To prevent any recognition of the GDR as a state, the Adenauer government launched a new scheme. In December 1955, the Foreign Minister of the FRG announced that West Germany would immediately sever ties with any states that would recognize the GDR. The press dubbed the policy as Hallstein Doctrine, named after Foreign Deputy Minister, Walter Hallstein. The doctrine aimed to deter any nations from recognizing the GDR if they wanted to continue good relations with the economically strong West Germany.

Because of the Hallstein Doctrine, the FRG immediately won’t send any missions or have any contacts with Warsaw Pact communist member countries, of course, with the exception of the USSR.

Some non-aligned nations were sampled by the Hallstein Doctrine. First was the Communist non-aligned state of Yugoslavia under Marshall Tito. Tito recognized the GDR in October of 1957. As a result of Tito’s decision, West Germany immediately cut all ties with Yugoslavia. Following Yugoslavia was the small communist state of Fidel Castro, Cuba. In January 1963, Cuba and the GDR exchanged ambassadors and established diplomatic relations. As a punitive course, the FRG broke ties with Fidel Castro. With the sample nations, other nations were deterred from recognizing the GDR.

Many nations feared the loss of trade and investment from the FRG if they recognized the GDR, nevertheless, many nations took a loophole. Even if the GDR was a communist, good relations with them could mean aids and investments, so many nations continued relations with them. Similar to the situation of Taiwan today, states sent commercial offices as a proxy to embassies to the GDR and in return, the GDR also sent offices abroad. These states had a transaction with the GDR never officially announced their recognition of the GDR to prevent angering the FRG.

The idea of the Hallstein Doctrine from preventing the GDR as well as a divided Germany from being recognized became somewhat a failure. The doctrine itself did not prevent the erection of the Berlin Wall that became the symbol of German division. After decades of imposition, the Doctrine itself became impractical as it narrows the trade markets and influence of the Federal Republic.

The Hallstein Doctrine began to wane during the 1960s. It was during the term of Willy Brandt as Foreign Minister that weakened it. With Brandt, the FRG began a dialogue with some communist nations, including Yugoslavia and Romania. The Hallstein Doctrine eventually ended when Willy Brandt became the Chancellor of West Germany and announced a more practical and engaging foreign policy called Ostpolitik or towards the East.

See Also:
Ostpolitik

Bibliography:
Cronin, J. The World the Cold War Made. New York: Routledge, 1996.

Dijk, R. et. al. editors. Encyclopedia of the Cold War. New York: Routledge, 2008.

Kitchen, M. A History of Modern Europe. Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. 

Smith, J. & Simon Davis. Historical Dictionary of the Cold War. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2000.