The German question : the Stalin note of 1952 and the problem of reunification /

In 1952 Stalin offered a dramatic proposal for the creation of a unified, neutral Germany with its own army and "free activity of democratic political parties and organizations." The West rejected the offer and thus left nagging doubts among Germans that a golden opportunity had been missed. Publication of the original German edition of this book in 1985 inaugurated a fresh debate in Germany. On the basis of newly opened US, British, and German documents Steininger argued that German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer had consciously prevented negotiations and thus probably thwarted the last chance for reunification. Steininger clearly established Adenauer's leading role in rejecting the Stalin note. Whether the note represented a genuine offer will remain in doubt, however, especially since Stalin was never explicit about free, internationally observed elections. It is a great shame that this new English-language edition fails to take into account any of the extensive, documented responses by authors attacked in the book, e.g., Wilhelm Grewe, or analyses of such critical pieces of evidence as the Stalin-Nenni interview (by Hermann-Josef Rupieper) published since 1985. College and university libraries. -D. Prowe, Carleton College