HOW TO DEAL WITH THE GERMAN MENACE? WEST GERMAN REARMAMENT, PROPOSALS FOR A COMMON EUROPEAN ARMY, AND THE DUTCH AND WEST GERMAN RESPONSE, 1949-1955
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE GERMAN MENACE? WEST GERMAN REARMAMENT, PROPOSALS FOR A COMMON EUROPEAN ARMY, AND THE DUTCH AND WEST GERMAN RESPONSE, 1949-1955

Summary/Abstract: At the end of the 1940s and the early 1950s, the question whether or not to rearmWest Germany was a fiercely and hotly debated topic in Europe. The Americans suggesteddoing this by integrating the Federal Republic in NATO. However, many Europeans fearedthe resurgence of German militarism. Nowhere was this more true than in France. Therefore,the French Foreign Minister René Pleven launched the so-called Pleven Plan, designed toallow West German units to be established, but only in small units. That way, Europe couldprofit from West Germany’s manpower, without the country becoming a military threat.Discussions on the European Defence Community were tough, but in the end was signed bythe six Founding Fathers. The Dutch did so reluctantly, especially because the Americans wereleft out, favouring security arrangements in NATO and rearming and incorporating WestGermany in the Western alliance. To the Netherlands, it was essential to incorporate theBritish and especially the Americans in the Western defense; the Dutch always favoured anAtlantic alliance, opposing too much supranationality in the European integration project. TheFederal Republic of Germany on the other hand, saw it as an opportunity to regainsovereignty. In the end, the French National Assembly did not ratify the EDC-Treaty, openingthe way to rearming West Germany and making it a full member of NATO.

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