The Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands rule survived a severe economic crisis and secured the existence of a socialist Germany in the short term. The East German long 1970s were decisively shaped by earlier developments, not only by the division of Germany but also the economic path(s) chosen. Historiography has established solid knowledge of the German Democratic Republic’s (GDR) foreign relations, but a thorough analysis of East Germany’s perceptions of the West and its dealings with it in the “long 1970s” is lacking. Privileged access to the West German market made the GDR’s economic relations with the West unique. While the other socialist states lacked this advantage and complained about it, the GDR defended it regardless of broader political goals. None of the Western countries recognised the GDR until the settling of German-German relations with the Basic Treaty of 1972.