Willy Brandt

The German statesman Willy Brandt (1913-1992) became the first Socialist chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, in 1969.

Herbert Frahm, who later adopted the name Willy Brandt, was born in the North Sea port of Lübeck on Dec. 18, 1913, the illegitimate son of working-class parents. After a lonely and deprived childhood he found fellowship in the youth organizations of the Social Democratic party (SPD), the strongest bulwark of German democracy in the 1920s. He won a scholarship to a prestigious Lübeck gymnasium (secondary school), from which he graduated in 1932. He had joined a left-wing splinter group of the SPD strongly opposed to the rising tide of Nazi power. Thus, when Hitler came to power in 1933, he decided to change his name to Willy Brandt and flee from certain persecution. He therefore escaped the pursuit by secret police and the confinement in concentration camps which befell so many other SPD leaders.

Brandt spent the rest of the 1930s in Norway and eventually became a Norwegian citizen. But in 1940 he was again forced to flee the Nazis, and he spent the remaining war years in neutral Sweden. Throughout his exile Brandt worked as a journalist, and at the end of World War II he returned to Germany to cover the Nuremberg war crimes trials. Once again a German citizen, in 1949 he became an SPD representative of Berlin in the first West German Bundestag (parliament), and a year later he was elected to the city parliament of Berlin.

In 1957 Brandt became lord mayor of West Berlin. He became internationally known for his resistance to Soviet and East German pressures on the isolated city, especially during the Berlin Wall crisis of 1961. The SPD had dropped the last remnants of its revolutionary Marxist heritage in 1959. It was eager to attract a less radical and larger electorate, and Brandt's suave, youthful appearance and proven courage made him a leading contender for the leadership of the party. As candidate for the chancellorship (1961, 1965, and 1969) and as leader of the SPD (after 1964), Brandt led his party to solid political gains on a social reform platform. In 1966 he led the party into a "grand coalition" with the other major party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU); he then became the foreign minister of West Germany.

In the 1969 Bundestag elections the SPD (with support from the small Free Democratic party) won a majority; Brandt, assuming the highest governmental office, became chancellor. While not abandoning West Germany's commitment to Western European economic integration, Brandt took a softer line toward Eastern European governments. In the domestic sphere he initiated broad political, educational, and economic reforms. As chancellor, Brandt ably demonstrated to both his supporters and detractors that a Socialist leader could be effective, statesmanlike, and popular.

Ostpolitik

This policy of softer lines of governmental and economic dealings with Eastern European countries came to be known as ostpolitik. Brandt signed treaties and in doing so, relaxed tensions. This enabled both Germanies to enter the United Nations and Germans to cross borders. It also led to the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Brandt in 1971. It also led to his resignation. In 1974 Brandt's close aide, Günter Guillaume, was revealed to be an East German spy. Though this scandal led to his resignation, Brandt remained Chairman of the SPD for 13 more years.

Out of Office

Besides chairing the SPD, Brandt served as President of the Socialist International, an umbrella group for all Social Democratic Parties. In the early 1980s he chaired a worldwide panel known as the Brandt Commission. The Commission called for a more equitible distribution of the world's wealth; the advice was both lauded and ignored. Because of Brandt's efforts, the re-unification of Germany occurred, though more quickly than even Brandt ever imagined. Historians honor Brandt more than his own countrymen did; few of his contemporaries in the early 1970s realized how his efforts and policies prepared Germany for a united future. Brandt spoke of the slow and painful process of unifying Germany, and he remained an advocate of unity until the end of his life. Brandt died of cancer in 1992.

Further Reading

Willy Brandt's autobiography, Willy Brandt: A Political Biography, St. Martin's Press, 1997. An overview of his accomplishments is Arthur M. Schelsinger, Jr., "Thinking Aloud: The Difference Willy Brandt Has Made, " The New Leader, October 29, 1990, 11-13. □

Brandt, Willy (b. 18 Dec. 1913, d. 8 Oct. 1992). Chancellor of West Germany 1969–74 Born Ernst Karl Frahm, he joined the SPD in 1930 and fled to Norway, where he became a journalist and published under the name Brandt. He acquired Norwegian nationality in 1938, but escaped to Sweden following the German invasion of Norway in 1940. He returned to Germany in 1945, rejoined the SPD in 1947, and reacquired German citizenship in 1948. He was a member of the Berlin city parliament 1950–66, and of the West German parliament from 1949 to 1957 and from 1969. As Lord Mayor of Berlin (1957–66) he proved an inspiration to Berliners when the Berlin Wall was built. From this time he had a deep desire for a fundamental change in German internal relations to relieve the lot of individuals suffering from the German division. He became Foreign Secretary in 1966, and, after leading his party to its first election victory since 1945, he became Chancellor in 1969.

Brandt's term in office was marked by a radically new approach to the German question, in particular through his policy of recognition and cooperation with the Eastern European states of the USSR, Poland, and in particular East Germany. His policies not only proved to be a new departure for German internal relations, but also introduced a new phase in the Cold War globally. In recognition of this achievement, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971. In domestic politics, Brandt took over at a time of deep social divisions caused by the student protest movement. Under the slogan ‘Daring more democracy’, Brandt's government, with the support of the Liberal Party, dramatically increased funding for universities, and introduced co-decision in university administration. His ministers reformed many of Germany's penal laws, liberalized laws on sexual behaviour, and instigated a change in abortion legislation. Many of Brandt's social reforms were stopped by the onset of the oil price shock in 1973, which made them financially unfeasible. Soon thereafter, his secretary was uncovered as an East German spy. Brandt resigned as Chancellor, though he remained SPD Chairman until 1987. In this position, he retained a significant influence on his party, and his lack of support for Schmidt contributed to his downfall in 1982. From 1977 to 1989 he chaired the North–South Commission, which produced the Brandt Reports.

Although Brandt was Chancellor for a relatively short period, his government was crucial in two ways. Its domestic policies paved the way for the ultimate political integration of the radical left active in the student protest movements. Brandt's policy towards the GDR became the foundation of the West German government's policies until 1989. This increased exposure with the West fundamentally destabilized and delegitimized the political system of the GDR, as its people realized the political and economic advantages of West Germany.

German Question

Willy Brandt , 1913–92, German political leader. His name originally was Karl Herbert Frahm. Active in his youth in the Social Democratic party, after Adolf Hitler came to power (1933) he fled to Norway and began a journalistic career, soon becoming a Norwegian citizen. When Norway was invaded (1940), he was imprisoned briefly by the Germans but escaped to Sweden. Returning to Germany after World War II, he resumed (1947) German citizenship. He served (1949–57) in the Bundestag and (1957–66) as mayor of West Berlin. In 1964 he became chairman of the Social Democratic party and was named foreign minister (1966) in the Christian Democratic–Social Democratic coalition government headed by Kurt Kiesinger. After Brandt's party won the federal elections he became chancellor (1969–74) with the support of the Free Democratic party. His government initiated peace talks with Eastern European countries and with East Germany, resulting in nonaggression treaties with the USSR and Poland (1971) and the signing of a treaty with East Germany in 1972. Brandt was awarded the 1971 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. He resigned on May 6, 1974, following revelations that a close aide was an East German spy, but remained chairman of the Social Democratic party until 1987. President of the Socialist International in 1976, and Socialist member of the European Parliament (1979–83), he became honorary President of the East German Social Democratic party in 1990: after campaigning unsuccessfully for it in that year's elections, he remarked that the "so-called Socialist countries gave socialism a bad name."

Bibliography: See his North-South: A Program for Survival (1980).

Brandt, Willy (1913–92) German politician, chancellor of West Germany (1969–74), b. Karl Herbert Frahm. An active Social Democrat, he fled to Norway and then Sweden during the Nazi era. He returned to Germany after World War II, and was elected mayor of West Berlin in 1957. In national politics, he became foreign minister in 1966. As chancellor, Brandt initiated a programme of cooperation with states in the communist bloc, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971. He resigned after a close aide was exposed as an East German spy. He chaired the Brandt Commission on international development issues, which published North-South: A Programme for Survival (1980) and Common Crisis (1983).

Brandt, Willy (born Karl Herbert Frahm) (1913–92) German statesman, Chancellor of West Germany (1969–74). He was mayor of West Berlin (1957–66) and in 1964 he became chairman of the West German Social Democratic Party. He achieved international recognition for his policy of détente and the opening of relations with the former Communist countries of the Eastern bloc in the 1960s. A pragmatist, he encouraged the negotiation of joint economic projects and a policy of non-aggression. He also chaired the Brandt Commission on the state of the world economy, the report on which was published in 1980 (see BRANDT REPORT). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.