Edition of Documents: Austria and the German Question 1987-1990

The goal of this project is to produce an edited volume of documents on the subject of "Austria and the German Question 1987-90". In so doing, it aims to make a substantial contribution to the ongoing international research on German "reunification". Today editions of British, (East and West) German, French and Soviet documents exist. Research on the position and role of Austria within the stated period has hardly begun. The work can now be undertaken as a result of the declassification of files. While the editions up to this point have placed the focus on the years 1989-1990, this project picks up the story earlier. German-German relations to a large extent escaped the international squabbles of the first half of the 1980s. Those relations had rather intensified on all levels which made the financial dependence of the GDR on the Federal Republic had already become more and more obvious. From September 7-11, 1987, GDR Head of State and Party Chairman Erich Honecker was able to carry out his much desired visit to the Federal Republic, which appeared to be the highpoint of his political career and was to seal the two-state existence of Germany. Taking these developments into consideration, it is evident that even in November 1989 hardly anyone called into question the continuing existence of two German states. The formation of the Grand Coalition (SPÖ/ÖVP) in Austria in 1987 resulted in a deepening of the policy leading toward European integration. This change in policy is of special importance, because a country`s position toward the German question can not be analyzed outside the context of its European and integration-policy. Hence, the year 1987 is a reasonable starting point for documenting and demonstrating the rapid changes in the country`s position on the German question and German "reunification." These decisive years will be reconstructed, primarily on the basis of sources of the Austrian foreign ministry which have been declassified at the request of the project applicant. Most of these documents contain diplomatic reports and notes on conversations on developments in the GDR, on the German-German relationship and on the international dimension of German "reunification" (in the fields of diplomacy, politics, economics and security questions). Moreover the sources provide rich material on the relations of Austria with the two Germanies. Not least they will allow a more detailed analysis of the opposing positions of Chancellor Franz Vranitzky (SPÖ) and Foreign minister Alois Mock (ÖVP) concerning the German question in the period from the late autumn 1989 until spring 1990. Additionally, East and West German documents as well as sources from party and private archives will help to round out the picture.

No additional funding sources recorded.