ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the reasons for this gradual policy shift, focusing on the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschland's (SED) political objectives at the time and their response to new initiatives from Bonn, and also looks at the theoretical justifications for policy changes. At the Seventh Party Congress, for the first time in the history of the SED, differences of opinion regarding the national question among members of the party leadership became evident. The key to understanding the SED’s policy regarding the nation during the late 1960s was the leadership’s dogged determination to acquire international recognition of the GDR, an objective fully supported by Moscow as part of its plan to guarantee the status quo in Europe. In December 1967 an article by Norden in Neues Deutschland publicly challenged Ulbricht’s line for the first time and raised doubts about the unity of the nation.
