Osthandel and Ostpolitik: German Foreign Trade Policies in Eastern Europe from Bismarck to Adenauer

by Robert Mark Spaulding

Overview

Eclipsed by the scope of the Atlantic economy, obscured by Anglo-German rivalry, and nearly destroyed by the post-1945 division of Europe, the flow of goods across East Central Europe has been, nonetheless, an immensely significant pattern of European economic exchange. For Germany, the Osthandel (Eastern trade) was both a blessing and a curse; its bounty provided much of the raw material for the rise of German economic and political power in Europe, while its lure tantalized German ambitions to the point of madness. Despite the enduring importance of this commerce, no monograph has yet made this pattern of trade the centerpiece of its treatment of German-East European relations. This study puts this important pattern of German-East European trade into the center of discussion and views an extended period of German foreign policy toward Eastern Europe through this lens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571810397
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	06/01/1997
Series:	Monographs in German History , #1
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1690L (what's this?)

About the Author

Robert Mark Spaulding teaches in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Germany and the Eastern Trade Issue

Chapter 1. Toward Managed Trade: the First German-Russian Trade Treaty (1894)
Chapter 2. German-Russian Trade: the Second Round
Chapter 3. Structures of German Trade Policy in the Weimar Republic
Chapter 4. German Trade Policy in Eastern Europe fromthe Great War to the Great Depression
Chapter 5. Guaranteeing the Market 1929-1934 - Trade in Preparation for War 1930-1939
Chapter 6. Seeking Autonomy: Resumption of Trade Relations in the Occupation
Chapter 7. Political Economy Resumed: Recreating the Networks 1949-1955
Chapter 8. Familiar Clients: West German Trade Policy in Eastern Europe 1955-1960

Conclusion: Structures and Patterns of German Policy

Epilogue: Continuities 1960-1990

Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

“… a monumental long-term study of a century of Germany's East European trade that demonstrates its continued response to political as well as market pressures - under liberal as well as authoritarian régimes, and during good times and bad … Spaulding's history also remains of acute contemporary relevance. • Charles Maier, Harvard University

“A long-term perspective on a topic of vital current and continuing importance, and a major contribution to the study of German-Russian relations.” • Gerald D. Feldman

From the Publisher

The first volume in a new series examines German foreign policy towards Eastern Europe from 1890 to 1960, through a narrower focus on its trade policy actions with Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Imperial Russia/Soviet Union. The author uses the time span of the study to compare how four different German regimes responded to the various and complex conflicts involved in conducting foreign trade with their Eastern neighbors, and to gain a better understanding of German attitudes and actions, both public and private. Includes graphs and tables to present some of the economic data. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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