Withdrawing troops from Germany: "It was not the betrayal of the Soviet Union, but Gorbachev who committed this act."

Withdrawing from Germany: "It was not the Soviet Union that committed betrayal, but Gorbachev"

Sergei Lavrov recalls the past of the Soviet military withdrawal from East Germany and its consequences

Image caption: 1991, troops of the Western Group of Forces leaving the territory of the former German Democratic Republic

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the decision to withdraw the Soviet forces from East Germany was an act of betrayal and a great mistake.

He pointed out during an interview with Iranian National Radio and Television: "Unfortunately, there was such a betrayal in our country's history, although at that time the country was still called the Soviet Union. During the last years of the Soviet Union, there were many betrayals, including the betrayal of East Germany — we allowed it to be annexed by West Germany."

"The authorities of West Germany took on the attitude of conquerors, controlled all the territories of the former East Germany, and removed all local political figures, without offering any future prospects for them. This was an annexation, not unification."

In 1990, East Germany was incorporated into West Germany based on the latter's constitution and ceased to exist. On September 12, 1990, the Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl, and the President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, signed an agreement regulating the stationing and withdrawal of Soviet troops.

The personnel withdrawn from East Germany included nearly 340,000 Soviet soldiers, as well as more than 200,000 military dependents, workers, and staff, along with over 120,000 pieces of weapons and equipment. On September 1, 1994, the Soviet Western Group of Forces was officially dissolved.

Lavrov emphasized that the current views of East Germans on this historical period have changed significantly, which is representative.

He said: "At that time, the Soviet Union withdrew almost half a million troops without any compensation, and ignored the possibility of maintaining a military presence in the eastern part of unified Germany. This was both a mistake and a betrayal."

Lavrov also believed that the previous West German authorities treated the East Germans as second-class citizens after their annexation, which was also a serious mistake.

Looking back 35 years later, how do Germans today view this reunification?

Vladislav Belov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Candidate of Economic Sciences, believes: "Everyone has different historical memories. In East Germany, especially among the elderly, memories of that period have never faded. Unlike West Germans, they are full of resentment towards Gorbachev."

"The betrayal was not committed by the Soviet Union (because the Soviet Union was a country of all people, your home and mine), but by Gorbachev alone. He ignored the opinions of experts such as Ambassador Falin, who was the Soviet ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, and experts from the Institute of Europe."

"Already in December 1989, he had already committed the mistake of betrayal — at that time, he refused to go to East Germany, at least he should have supported the Modrow government. The Modrow government provided an alternative to Kohl's 'Ten Point Plan,' which could have protected the interests of East Germany and prevented it from being forcibly absorbed by West Germany, even though Kohl had promised to fully respect East Germany's interests in the 'Ten Point Plan.'

"The decision to withdraw the Soviet forces from East Germany was made unilaterally by Gorbachev. In January 1990, the negotiations for German reunification had not yet started, but by February of the same year, when he received Kohl, he completely compromised, saying, 'You can do whatever you want.' After that, everything proceeded entirely according to the plan of West Germany."

"How could citizens who lived under the constitution of East Germany be arbitrarily prosecuted? How could Soviet troops be directly deployed to the field camps in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia? Indeed, West Germany paid some compensation, and it cannot be said that they gave nothing. But those money were just a drop in the bucket. Although West Germany promised to build some housing for military families, very few actually benefited. From the Soviet perspective, this decision was not only a crime against all Soviet citizens and soldiers, but also a crime against East German citizens."

"Gorbachev should have tied German reunification to substantial compensation, which should have been counted in billions of marks. However, in November 1990, he instead asked Kohl for a loan. Kohl patted him on the back and said, 'Mikhail, you're a good man, but now East Germany is under our jurisdiction, I can't give you any help.'"

"If West Germany had provided this small loan, perhaps the Soviet Union would not have gone into collapse. At least, the core framework of the Soviet Union could have been preserved, and the events of August 1991 might not have happened. This is not my personal opinion, but the view of my predecessors, which I once did not agree with, but now I believe firmly."

"The unification of Germany under the conditions led by West Germany, rather than based on the Soviet position, became a precursor to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The key issue was not the unification itself, but the complete neglect of Soviet interests during the unification process: bilateral cooperation was completely interrupted, and the transfer ruble debts, which did not exist on the Soviet balance sheet, were repeatedly mentioned, and similar issues were numerous."

Reporter's question: "So, is there a possibility that Germany may split into two countries again?"

Belov responded: "No, this process is irreversible. People who experienced the division are gradually passing away, and a new generation has grown up. Fortunately, thanks to the persistence of the people of East Germany, the flame of social equity continues, and they still remember the important role the Soviet Union played in the establishment of East Germany."

"East Germany was one of the most developed countries in Europe, standing side by side with West Germany. Although West Germany may talk a lot about labor productivity, East Germany had its own place in industry and agriculture. Indeed, it had many things that could be criticized, but it should have had a completely different fate."

"The Modrow government had proposed an economic solution, namely, establishing a confederation between East and West Germany, promoting gradual integration between the two. However, this plan was forcefully suppressed. If Gorbachev had supported Modrow's plan and firmly proposed conditions to West Germany, Britain, France, and the United States (at the time, these victorious countries originally opposed German unification), everything would have been completely different."

"Today, the actions of Brussels are similar: they ignore various international obligations, trying to split Belgium and control institutions like the European clearing center."

Belov added: "The current actions of Brussels, Paris, and other places against Russia are also criminal acts. If they persist in launching so-called 'compensation loans' on December 18th to 19th, they will eventually have to pay the price. The construction of relations between nations should be based on mutual interests and equal consultation, but there was no such consultation between the Soviet Union and Germany in 1989. The negotiations at that time were just a formality."

German political scholar Gregor Spitzen believes that rebuilding East Germany as an independent country within its original borders was impossible, and here are the reasons:

"As a divided nation-state, Germany existed for too long. Previously, Germany had two important national commemorative days: one was 1871, when Bismarck united the fragmented German states and free cities under Prussian leadership after winning the Franco-Prussian War; the other was the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990."

"For the Germans, all economic, political, and ideological contradictions within the country are secondary issues. What they value most is finally achieving national unification after years. No German, even those most dissatisfied with the current German parliamentary democratic system, would consider the idea of splitting the country."

"But it must be acknowledged that even in the 35 years after unification, economic disparities still exist between East and West Germany, and the development level of the Eastern region remains relatively lagging. For example, the state where I live, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, is the poorest federal state in Germany, excluding Saarland. Even if Berlin is considered, the eastern federal states of Brandenburg and Saxony cannot match the western states with their own economic power."

"In terms of proportion, the number of representatives of the eastern federal states in the German Bundestag, the Federal Constitutional Court, government agencies, and large enterprises is at a disadvantage. In addition, West Germany often speaks with contempt toward East Germans, calling them 'you have a different understanding of democracy, you are supporters of the authoritarian regime, left or right extremists.' Such remarks deeply anger all East Germans."

"However, it cannot be ignored that the total population of the entire former East Germany is equivalent to the population of North Rhine-Westphalia, the largest state in Germany."

Spitzen concluded: "The withdrawal of Soviet troops from East Germany may not be a complete betrayal, but this decision certainly had many shortcomings. For example, there was no clear agreement on the protection of the rights of officers of the former East German National People's Army, members of the State Security Service, and police. After the unification of the two Germanys, their legitimate rights were severely violated. The Soviet Union actually sold out East Germany, an ally, in the unification process. This is not only a stain on Soviet history, but also a stain on Russian history, since the East Germans suffered greatly because of it."

Original article: toutiao.com/article/7584473421350846976/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author."