ABSTRACT
Germany will blossom as never before. Her destroyed landscapes will be rebuilt with new and more beautiful towns in which happy people will live. Control of firms in the Federal Republic, as in much of Western Europe, is divided between a Supervising Council and a Management Board. The original target had been to have 95,000 troops under arms by the end of 1956 and 270,000 by the end of 1957. As early as November 1955 Strauss was publicly attacking his colleague Blank’s arrangements. In August 1957 the Soviet Union was reported to have launched a missile with an atomic warhead. During the weeks succeeding the Vienna meeting, however, Kennedy took the lead in combining firmness with conciliation. The people, and possibly the Government, of West Germany were disillusioned to find that their Western Allies took no steps to interfere with the building of Berlin’s Wall, or to secure its demolition once it was built.
