Joint issue stamps by both France and Germany in 1973, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Franco-German Cooperation
France
Germany
More recent stamp honoring the 50th anniversary of the alliance between France & Germany in 2013
A picture of the coin honoring the 50th anniversary of the alliance:
A picture of the coin honoring the 50th anniversary of the alliance:
Ceremonies were held yesterday in Berlin in recognition of the 50th anniversary of a treaty of cooperation between France and Germany.
It has now been half a century since France and Germany, traditional enemies for such a long period of time, signed the Élysée Treaty, recognizing cultural and economic ties, cooperation in foreign affairs, and youth affairs, and effectively becoming allies. This came at a time when both countries were still struggling to try and get out from the shadow of shame and skepticism following World War II, when both nations had been disgraced, albeit for different reasons.
For Germany, of course, it was the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, and what can likely still be seen as the most extremist government that the world has seen, before or since. Hitler rose to power, strictly through legal means, and then began to change the laws and eliminate opposition to ensure a long reign at the top. Anti-Jewish legislation did not take long to become the law of the land, with the infamous Nuremburg Laws of 1934. Anti-semitism was everywhere, and would get progressively worse as time went on. Germany grew in strength under Hitler, who emphasized re-armament, and soon, began to test the resolve of other powers, particularly France and Britain. Germany grew tremendously in power, and this began to be reflected in their more aggressive stance, as Germany began to grab more and more territory, with the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria) in 1938, and then again in the acquisition of Czechoslovakia, with what amounted to the blessing of their enemies, due to the policy of appeasement. But when Germany began to eye Poland, Britain and France decided to make a stand (albeit it a relatively weak one), declaring war on Germany officially after Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Yet, they actually did nothing. The war followed, and before long, Germany seemed to possess most of Europe before very long. Along the way came a push eastward, culminating in "Operation Barbarossa" (the German code name for the invasion of the Soviet Union). The war on the eastern front ended up being the most deadly and destructive warfare in human history, and that's really saying something! Before long, the Soviets began to drive the Germans back, eventually all the way to Berlin. Still, even when defeat was clearly inevitable and beyond any doubt, Hitler and the Nazis remained in power until the very bitter end, with Hitler eventually taking his own life in his secret bunker under the capital city. Surrender came quickly thereafter, but the Nazi empire, which Hitler had boasted would last a thousand years, fell after twelve years, and is the most infamous regime in history, known best for the Holocaust and the "Final Solution", the design to exterminate all of Europe's Jews.
For France, of course, it was the sudden and complete collapse of the military, who essentially capitulated to the Germans within a span of six weeks or so. Technically, the two countries had been at war since early September of 1939, following Hitler's invasion of Poland. But France and Britain both seemed to not want war, and so the war front between the two nations remained non-combative. The period between September of '39 and May of '40 was known as the "sitzkrieg" (a play on the word "blitzkrieg", which was, at the time, Germany's new secret strategy in warfare). But in the spring of 1940, Hitler decided to move, and using the element of surprise, the German army was able to overtake France. What followed was the shameful collaboration with Germany, particularly in enacting and enforcing anti-Jewish legislation (which actually went further than the Nuremburg laws, in many respects), and the deportation of Jews from France at the behest of the Nazis. France actually not only met the German quotas in this regard, but exceeded them, leading to many subsequent suspicions regarding French anti-semitism.
Both had been defeated and discredited nations following World War II, and both were just trying to recover from the enormous conflict that changed the world map. They had fought frequent wars between one another, including the Napoleonic wars following the French Revolution, then again in 1870-71, again during World War I, and finally, for the last time in World War II. During that time, Alsace-Lorraine, a region presently in France, continually exchanged hands between the two nations, and remained contested with each war, and feelings always ran high regarding this territory. The newly formed German Empire acquired the territory following it's defeat of France in the war of 1870-71. France won it back following World War I. Then, the Germans took it back with the triumph of Hitler and the Nazis in 1940. With Germany's final defeat at the end of World War II, it came back to France, which it has been a part of since. Some local people old enough to have lived through all of these wars had lived to see their land exchange hands no less than four times, even if they lived in the same home and had never moved. The enmity between France and Germany remained active until the end of World War II, when both countries were forced to focus on simply recovering and rebuilding.
What followed was a wonderful recovery indeed. France recovered enough to become relatively strong again, economically and militarily, although it remained a shadow of what it had been. Much like Great Britain, it lost it's global empire, and not always peacefully. It engaged in wars in Indochina (Vietnam) and Algeria, but was forced to abandon those former colonies. Once again, France's image suffered as a result. German recovery came surprisingly thoroughly, and became known as the "German miracle". The two nations began to cooperate much more closely together, and each became a founding member of the fledgling European Union early in 1958, not even a decade and a half following the end of perhaps the most bitter war that humanity had seen.
France and Germany were the two leading powers of the European Union, and as such, needed to find a new spirit of cooperation between the two nations. Simply put, the two nations needed to shift gears, and act on what they had in common more than what made them different. They needed to be allies now, rather than enemies. But it was far from certain that they could actually do this. History between the two had not been kind, up to that point.
That is where the significance of the Élysée Treaty, signed on January 22, 1963, comes in. The two leaders, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles De Gaulle, had begun to work closely together, trying to cement the tricky alliance. Given the history, one could understand the slippery slope that the two leaders were treading. But they both understood that they needed to work together to navigate the rough waters of the post-war world, that they were stronger together, than apart. Both had been compromised, but could empower themselves by mutual cooperation. It would take compromise, perhaps, on both sides. But both leaders worked very hard to find common ground to stand upon.
In his article, "Sealed with a Kiss: Treaty Heralded New Era in Franco-German Ties" (see link below), Christoph Gunkel of Spiegel Online International writes:
"In the four years leading up to the signing of the Elysée Treaty, they had met 15 times, spent about 100 hours discussing the matter, and written each other 40 letters."
Neither necessarily entered into these negotiations, and yes, this friendship between the two men, easily. I borrow again from Christoph Gunkel:
"The German chancellor had feared the worst when de Gaulle was elected president in 1958. Adenauer even believed he and the Frenchman were "so fundamentally different" that communication between them would be "extremely difficult." However, their very first face-to-face meeting brought an amazing turnaround: The general suggested close cooperation on foreign policy, and the chancellor was "pleased to discover a completely different person to the one I had worried I would find.""
So, we can see that there were certainly challenges in the relations between the two countries, and their leaders. Yet, they overcame their personal obstacles, as well as the historical obstacles standing between the two countries, to find this new, mutual cooperation.
The culmination of their efforts was the Élysée Treaty, which promised cooperation on basically all matters. Nothing like it had ever existed before, and it had not come easily. Still, both leaders had worked towards achieving it, and But it was a monumental accomplishment.
In the spirit of this historic treaty, the parliaments and governments of both France and Germany met yesterday in Berlin. “I know of no other such example anywhere in the world.” said Andreas Schockenhoff, the Chair for the German-French Parliamentary Friendship Group.
It was no small feat that this alliance came about, and the reactions following the signing of the historic treaty in 1963 for cooperation between the two traditional enemies was telling. There certainly was strong opposition in both countries at the time as well. The German foreign ministry warned that any agreement with France required parliamentary approval. DeGaulle's anti-American stance was particularly troubling to many Germans, who wanted to maintain good relations with the United States, understandably. Gunkel explains that the West German diplomat to Paris warned Adenauer "against letting de Gaulle "ensnare" him in "a Bonn-Paris axis." The diplomat thought there was a real "danger" de Gaulle would offer Germany a "friendship pact." But the chancellor ignored the dire warnings. In fact, he told advisor Horst Osterheld that he was willing "to put up with a few years of tense relations with the Americans." After all, he was more interested in betting on the "German-French and European horse". "
The stakes rose even higher when DeGaulle quite bluntly rejected British membership into the European Union. Opponents of Adenauer were incensed, and criticism rose to a fever pitch!
A month later, when the German Bundestag did ratify the treaty, it emphasized the importance of maintaining good relations with the US, and expressed their desire to see Great Britain become part of the European Union. DeGaulle felt at the time that it signified the effective end of the treaty, although he was ultimately proven wrong on this score.
Despite the political pitfalls, there is no minimizing just how important this treaty was, or the spirit of greater understanding and cooperation that it cemented. The two countries had always been antagonistic towards one another before, and if they were to find a prominent place in the modern, post-war world after both had been so compromised, they needed to lean on one another more, to rely upon each other. To be allies. The Élysée Treaty, despite the difficulties in reaching it, effectively achieved this, and it marked an enormous and unprecedented success!
"My heart overflows and my soul is grateful that I have signed this treaty with the chancellor," Charles DeGaulle said in German, "No one on this planet can fail to appreciate the immense importance of this act. It not only turns the page on a long and bloody era of fighting and war, but also opens the door to a new future for Germany, for France, for Europe and therefore for the world!"
Adenauer was more sober in his response, although he was still flattering. "General," he said," you have spoken so eloquently that I cannot add anything to your words."
Europe has never been the same since. That is not the first time such a statement can be made in regards to the policies of the two nations towards one another. But it is perhaps the first time that it can seriously be argued that it has been to the benefit of both countries and, indeed, of Europe in general.
These are difficult and trying times indeed for Europe, and France and Germany have not always been on the same page in regards to the most divisive issue of this day: austerity. Still, it should be remembered that the history between these two countries was governed by hatred and misunderstandings, and that is where this accord truly shows the improvement. They may not always agree, but the level of communication and, yes, cooperation between the two nations, and Europe in general, has improved so dramatically, that a war between these two nations, far from being inevitable, seems now unthinkable. Despite the strong criticism (much of it with some measure of legitimacy) about the European Union having received the Nobel Peace Prize, it also should be remembered where these two countries in particular, and Europe in general, was before, with countless wars and conflicts soaking the history of the continent in blood. That has changed in the post-war years, and the Élysée Treaty is the best example of this newfound spirit of cooperation in Europe, which came just less than two decades following the rubble at the end of the bloodiest conflict in history.
Tough times as these may be, it serves humanity well to remember the success that this treaty has signified since. Half a century of peace and cooperation, on a continent that had previously been defined by a lack of such things. The world seems to be lacking this kind of a spirit in the present day, but we can turn to some of the success stories of the past, of which I certainly would qualify this as one of them. Two countries that certainly have not always been known for a spirit of cooperation and peace have actually managed to find a truly remarkable example of the benefits of compromise and understanding. So today, I honor the spirit of the Élysée Treaty!
Below are some very interesting articles relating to this topic that I would recommend, and from which I got some of the information, particularly the specific quotes used in this piece:
"Europe's Odd Couple, France and Germany, 50 Years Later" by Melissa Eddy and Steven Erlanger of the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/world/europe/france-and-germany-celebrate-50th-anniversary-of-elysee-treaty.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
France, Germany celebrate 50 years of landmark Elysee Treaty by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/france-germany-celebrate-50-years-landmark-elysee-treaty-004524952.html
"Elysee Treaty: France and Germany celebrate 50 years of friendship" by Jessica Phelan of The Global Post
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/130122/elysee-treaty-france-germany-celebrate-50-years-friendship
"Sealed with a Kiss: Treaty Heralded New Era in Franco-German Ties" by Christoph Gunkel of Spiegel Online International. This has a bit of the background history added, and was a very interesting and informative article on the subject:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/the-elysee-treaty-has-been-a-cornerstone-of-european-stability-a-879002.html
"Élysée Treaty signed 50 years ago" piece posted on "Deutschland.de" on January 18, 2013:
https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/germany-europe/elysee-treaty-signed-50-years-ago
"Elysee – a treaty for friendship" MSN Arabia (posted yesterday, January 22nd)
http://arabia.msn.com/news/world/1242730/elysee-treaty-for-friendship/
And here's an article with a picture of the recently issued stamp honoring the alliance:
http://www.stampnews.com/stamps/stamps_2013/stamp_1357286324_817764.html
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