ABSTRACT
The relative lack of international legitimacy arouses defiant assertiveness among some East Germans, as is manifest in their pride in national achievements. The Soviet alliance is the foundation of an ostensibly uniform socialist foreign policy, which aims at preserving and strengthening the achievements of existing socialist states and promoting conditions that are favorable to the creation of socialism in other lands. The military dimension of the German Democratic Republic’s security policy revolves around participation in the Warsaw Treaty Organization. East German efforts to promote economic development through foreign relations are dominated by participation in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, established in 1949 by the USSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland. The uncertainty of integrative efforts is especially problematic where East German citizens are concerned. The evolution of the relationship between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany has proceeded at several levels and through several stages, each revealing peculiar nuances and ambiguities.
