ABSTRACT
The West German peace movement is a very heterogeneous movement composed of church and secular groups led by a handful of individuals who have become well-known during its development and who serve as rallying points for a mass following of predominantly youthful sympathizers. British-style Easter marchers turned up in sizeable numbers during the 1960s to protest against nuclear armament and the practice of deterrence, advo eating unilateral disarmament as a first step towards world peace. Decentralized organization is a trademark of the peace movement in the Federal Republic. The peace movement has put pressure on political leaders and institutions to take seriously its arguments and demands. The Social Democratic Party is internally divided as to what foreign policy and military strategy is adequate to promote German interests and Social Democratic goals. The German peace movement is an amorphous alliance of environmentalists, Christian initiatives and political Left, groups in which the young and the better educated are overrepresented.
