German Question
독일 문제
The German Question refers to the international-political and legal issues surrounding Germany’s status, division, and eventual reunification after the Second World War. After the Allies assumed supreme authority and established occupation zones in 1945, the absence of a final peace settlement and an agreed status for Germany as a whole sustained disputes over the relationship between the two German states and representation of Germany.
In depth
In the nineteenth century, the German Question concerned the scope and leadership of German unification, especially whether Austria should be included. During the Cold War, the phrase was repurposed for the division and reunification of Germany after 1945. The Allies assumed supreme authority without declaring Germany annexed, administered occupation zones, and postponed final territorial and peace-settlement questions. After the Federal Republic and the German Democratic Republic were founded in 1949, the debate focused on state continuity, the two states’ international-law relationship, and which government could speak for Germany as a whole; reunification and the Two Plus Four Treaty in 1990 supplied the settled framework.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) (supports the term’s use for the Cold War-era issues of Germany’s division and reunification)
- de.wikipedia.org (supports the post-1945 dispute over Germany’s continued legal existence, occupation, division, and reunification)
- opil.ouplaw.com (Katarina Weilert, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, supports the nearly 45-year legal debate, Allied assumption of supreme authority, provisional occupation arrangements, and clarification through reunification in 1990)