Gustav Stresemann und seine Ostpolitik

Gustav Stresemann’s achievements regarding the reconciliation between Germany and the Entente are well-known (for example the Locarno Treaties, Germany’s admission to the League of Nations, the evacuation of the allied troops from the Rhineland). But as long as Germany officially recognized the new - post-World-War I - western borders, the eastern borders were not guaranteed by a general agreement. The paper analyses the so-called „Ostpolitik” of the German Foreign Minister until his unexpected death in 1929. The study comes to the conclusion that at the end of the 1920’s the chance of a peaceful change in the East was significantly reduced, which is one reason why the Wilhelmstrasse refused to proceed with this prudent policy.