ABSTRACT
At first sight, history played a trick on Helmut Schmidt. It is often argued that history denied Schmidt the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy. Adenauer is remembered for Germany's Westbindung, Willy Brandt is associated with Ostpolitik, Helmut Kohl will always be remembered for bringing about Germany's unification. In fact, Helmut Schmidt had a clear conceptual framework for sustainable diplomacy, and he had a sense for Germany's past and for its future. The 1970s were not merely a transitional phase but a period of profound transformation in which Schmidt was able to play a significant part. Schmidt made a crucial contribution to the longevity of detente in Europe. Over the short term, the expansion of trade with the Soviet Union facilitated a significant increase on the number of exit visa permissions for ethnic Germans living in the Soviet Union. Ostpolitik had over time resulted in Soviet tolerance for closer relations between the Federal Republic and the German Democratic Republic.
