From Yalta to Berlin: The Cold War Struggle Over Germany [Paperback]

W. R. Smyser (Author), Paul H. Nitze (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 031223340X | ISBN-13: 978-0312233402 | Publication Date: September 16, 2000

W. R. Smyser explores the German Question and uses it to illustrate the story of how Germany was divided and then united against a background of global events and a continuing search for stable peace in an area that has not known it since the age of Charlemagne. Focusing on the personalities who controlled Germany's fate--FDR, Churchill, Stalin, Kennedy, Brandt, Reagan, Bush, Gorbachev, Kohl, and others--Smyser creates a masterful portrait of a country that has played a pivotal role in the history of the 20th century.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"No nation's fury, no nation's fate, had a greater impact on the twentieth century" than Germany's, writes W.R. Smyser, a onetime State Department official now considered a leading expert on Germany. In this eye-opening account, Smyser suggests the question of Germany is central to understanding the cold war. The country itself lies in the heart of Europe: "If one takes a map of Europe and draws one line from Paris to Moscow and another line from Stockholm to Rome, the two lines intersect remarkably close to the Brandenburg Gate," writes Smyser, in one of his characteristically smart observations. The author has a strong grasp of the leaders who quarreled over Germany between the end of the Second World War and its unification in the 1990s, and an especially good grasp of their motives. Using new archival information, he suggests that Stalin did not in fact want a divided Germany, and that President Kennedy, for his part, had the opportunity to prevent construction of the Berlin Wall but failed to take proper action. Despite all its agonies, the Cold War did have some positive effects: "It served as the essential incubator for a modern German state" and eventually allowed this most problematic of nations to become a peaceful member of the world community. As Smyser points out; the Cold War "ended as it had to end, not on the battlefield but on the streets, in the churches, atop the Berlin Wall and in the conference room. It ended so that all could win, and did." This is a winning account of how it happened. --John J. Miller --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

From WWII meetings at Casablanca, Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam to the far-flung shuttle diplomacy that brought about German unification, Smyser (The German Economy, etc.) provides a masterful account of diplomatic detail that deserves broad recognition and acclaim. Anything but a dry history, it reflects the high stakes, uncertain distribution of forces and hidden landscapes of risk that forged the Cold War era, dominated by centuries-old concerns for security, self-determination and national honor among all the contending powers. The copious details concern nuances of maneuver, positioning and interpretation that make for compelling drama. Drawing on a full range of sourcesAfrom diplomatic records, to personal recollections and his own interviewsASmyser provides an authoritative, remarkably engaging account. Its two weaknesses are the absence of any discussion of the persistence and resurgence of fascism in Germany, and an insider's insularity of focus and outlook. Smyser faithfully notes how leading figures who kept Berliners' (and all Germans') hopes aliveAGeneral Lucius Clay during the Berlin airlift, JFK with his "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, Willy Brandt with his Ost-PolitikAdid so because their vision and instinct transcended the parameters of normal diplomatic thinking. Nevertheless, in the quality of its prose and the depth of its excavations into diplomatic and political activity, this is a valuable and exciting contribution. Maps, photos. Additional text on Kosovo not seen by PW.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (September 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031223340X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312233402
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #975,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, engaging, history as it was meant to be written, January 28, 2000

By 

Richard E. Hegner (Columbia, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From Yalta to Berlin: The Cold War Struggle Over Germany (Hardcover)

Anyone with even the slightest interest in German history or the history of the Cold War will find this well-written analysis of how Germany was divided, why it remained divided, and how it was reunified very worthwhile. Smyser does an exceptional job of making sense of a crucial element of postwar Europe, balancing the influence of a few great men (Truman, Stalin, Clay, Adenauer, Brandt, Kohl, DeGaulle, and Gorbachev) with the larger political-economic influences at work during these years. He also very deftly places "the German Question" in a larger world context--linking, for example, the Cuban Missile Crisis and developments in Germany, and demonstrating how Allied uneasiness over Communist machinations in the Korean War led to the rearmament of Germany and its acceptance as a full-fledged member of the NATO alliance. He also reveals some surprising facts he has dug out of newly available Soviet archives--for example, that Stalin preferred to reunify Germany after the war, while the Western Allies opposed him because of his actions in Eastern Europe. For anyone who has lived through these years without knowing the full history--as I have, born in 1949--this book is especially enlightening. Smyser's style is at once lucid and persuasive, making this a joy to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed, dry and a good read, June 6, 2004

By 

William Tegner (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Yalta to Berlin: The Cold War Struggle Over Germany (Paperback)

This book is quite intriguing. Although a mass of detail, possibly too much, it made my 35 minute train journeys to the city go by very quickly. That shows how readable it is. Most interesting of all are the author's descriptions of the various political and military leaders, and I agree with another reviewer that Lucius Clay comes out of it very well. Ulbricht on the other hand appears as a right villain.

One criticism is that Smyser hardly touches on the fact that the former East Germany has struggled so badly after unification. I have been there on more than one occasion, and various locals protest that they "had no problem with the GDR". They probably did, but things are not easy now, fourteen years on.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars conscise overview of the east-west struggle over germany, December 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: From Yalta to Berlin: The Cold War Struggle Over Germany (Hardcover)

This book shed increased light on the Cold War for a person who lived through only the final 25% of the four-decade struggle. The ideological struggle between expansionist totalitarianism and the freedom of the West is the defining episode of our lifetimes. Germany was the crucible of that struggle. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their knowledge of the titanic struggle that was the Cold War.

PS -- This book has introduced me to a new hero for whom I now have the utmost respect: US Gen. Lucious Clay, who played a central role in both the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and the Berlin Wall crisis and aftermath of 1961, etc. Please e-mail me at the address above if you can offer details on the life of this genuine American hero.